Review
A little history of privacy
The idea of privacy is a surprisingly modern notion, but one worth defending.
Katherine Harvey
May 28, 2025
Reviews
Significant works reviewed by Engelsberg Ideas writers.
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Review
The times and tides of the wild River Thames
A fascinating exhibition at the London Museum Docklands shows vividly how the River Thames has always been a wild place at the heart of urban civilisation. Its tides are constantly..
Mathew Lyons
May 27, 2025
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Review
A new world of discovery
The Age of Discovery was a time of disasters – and surprises.
Caroline Eden
May 20, 2025
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Review
Countryside writing’s rebirth
In the writing of Patrick Galbraith, country life has won the observer and interpreter it needs.
Richard Smyth
May 19, 2025
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Review
The art of Siena: a question of perspective
The National Gallery's Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300 ‒1350 captures key developments, in elegantly curated snapshots, of the early textures of Western Europe’s artistic vitalit..
Alastair Benn
May 16, 2025
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Review
What Mary Shelley did in the shadows
Bath was, for Mary Shelley, a sanctuary and a retreat from the world, a place of refinement and confinement, where she wrestled with, and channelled, her private sorrows.
Malcolm Forbes
May 14, 2025
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Review
A bleak but brilliant take on Wagner’s epic
An austere, musically enthralling Die Walküre is the latest instalment in Australian director Barrie Kosky's new Ring Cycle for London's Royal Opera House.
Tim Bouverie
May 12, 2025
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Review
Britain’s man inside Hitler’s inner circle
Baron William de Ropp, one of a family of Baltic aristocrats whose fortunes produced eccentric allegiances and adventurous careers, played a significant role in MI6's efforts to ac..
Gill Bennett
May 12, 2025
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Review
A glimpse of Edwardian splendour
A new exhibition, curated by the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, provides an opulent vision of the Edwardian era that is both unapologetically upper-class and wonderfully enri..
Alexandra Wilson
May 6, 2025