Reviews

Review

Fate and fortune in the 21st century

Alexander Starritt's powerful Bildungsroman about 21st century capitalism explores the nature of youthful ambition and the sacrifices of entrepreneurship.

Daniel Johnson October 21, 2025

Review

Nigeria’s modernist folklore

Western modernism wanted to eliminate religion from civic life. By contrast, in 1960s Nigeria, artists and architects absorbed old patterns into the new.

Theo Weiss October 20, 2025

Review

A land without opera

In contemporary Britain, opera is endlessly apologised for, caricatured and denigrated. It is a tragic development that must be reversed.

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri October 14, 2025

Review

Lee Miller’s life on both sides of the lens

Vogue model, photographer, Surrealist muse, war correspondent and gourmet chef – Lee Miller's life was one of constant reinvention.

Katie Tobin October 8, 2025

Review

Tea and treachery in Hitler’s Berlin

In a Berlin apartment in 1943, aristocrats and intellectuals gathered for tea to vent their doubts about Hitler. But one guest was a spy, and their words would seal their fate.

Roger Moorhouse October 7, 2025

Review

Tennyson was young once

A new biography of the formative years of the Victorian poet illuminates an unparalleled historical moment of vulnerability and wonder.

Mathew Lyons October 6, 2025

Review

Werner Herzog’s truth

All Werner Herzog's works are mysterious; they never quite resolve into a simple idea or conclusion. His latest book explains why.

Bryan Appleyard October 3, 2025

Review

The fight for the Arctic’s future

The melting of polar sea-ice is opening up a new and uncertain sphere for geopolitical competition.

Caroline Eden October 1, 2025

Review

The Assassins’ and Templars’ shared fate

Against a backdrop of shifting empires and fragile alliances, two brotherhoods — the Assassins and the Knights Templar — carved out reputations steeped in violence and myth.

Nicholas Morton September 30, 2025