Reviews

Review

The invention of party politics

At the turn of the 18th century, English political life was suffused with sectarian strife. This is a story of partisanship with a peculiarly contemporary resonance.

Max Skjönsberg September 4, 2025

Review

When England began

Despite his strong claim to have been the first king of a united England, the enigmatic Æthelstan has long been neglected by historians. His remarkable achievements are finally bei..

Samuel Rubinstein September 3, 2025

Review

Catullus 64 unravelled

Gail Trimble's commentary on the text of Catullus’ Poem 64 is a triumph of painstaking yet imaginative scholarship, and an extraordinary mine of knowledge about Latin and Greek lit..

Armand D'Angour September 2, 2025

Review

A culinary quest through Paris

Chris Newens has captured the French capital in all its bewildering variety. The expat Englishman paints an optimistic portrait of a city of many different parts, rubbing along tog..

Henry Jeffreys August 29, 2025

Review

Mystery in the Moon

Across the medieval world, the Moon induced feelings of fear and fascination.

Katherine Harvey August 28, 2025

Review

Millet’s rural rides

A modest but moving exhibition of Jean-François Millet’s works illuminates the divisions, routines and solitude of French 19th-century rural life.

Alexandra Wilson August 13, 2025

Review

The day we learned how to end the world

The true dawn of the nuclear age did not come with the Trinity test in 1945, but seven years later, with the first detonation of a thermonuclear weapon.

Peter Hoskin August 12, 2025

Review

Food as a weapon of war

Conflict fundamentally alters social norms and cultural values, including how people eat.

Caroline Eden August 11, 2025

Review

The lives of the great – and good – composers

In an age when classical music has fallen out of the cultural mainstream, composers remain a source of endless fascination for playwrights.

Alexandra Wilson August 4, 2025