Poverty
Victor Hugo speaks volumes for the outcast and the destitute
Somewhere between his first and second drafts, Victor Hugo decided to change the title of his great novel from Les…
The therapeutic effects of Modafinil and a mob doctor
Still depressed, or, as Matthew Arnold put it, ‘the foot less prompt to meet the morning dew’, I got out…
Scarcely worth discussing this daft old muddle: Hedda Gabler at the Lyttelton reviewed
Hedda Gabler is one of the most influential plays ever written. It not merely illuminated an injustice, the enslavement of…
There’s a bad smell about Grasse
We’re driving east, destination Grasse. Hairpin bends circling oak-clad hills. Autumn gold and scarlet. Exciting cambers. Blinding winter sunshine. The…
My fascist moment on the ship of failures
There are no roads from the Peruvian river port of Iquitos, but the rich take aeroplanes. Those who cannot pay…
Wales is not an emergency – it’s worse than that
On Monday 25 July we climbed Cader Idris. No particular reason except a free Monday and a memory of what…
Why can’t we see that we’re living in a golden age?
There’s never been a better time to be alive. Why can’t we recognise that?
Prince George County, Maryland — among the meanest streets in America
Quick tip, should you ever find yourself alone in the interview room at the police headquarters of Prince George’s County,…
Training the horse from hell
There were moments while reading this sprawling, ambitious novel when I thought I was reading a masterpiece. But at other…
Penury dictates that I find more lucrative work — but I can’t afford to
My adventures in penury land me with two job applications on my screen, one for MI6, one for Sainsbury’s. Do…
The climate change agenda is a conspiracy against the poor
In trying to protect ‘our grandchildren’ from climate change, politicians are hurting the poor. They shouldn’t
The climate summit in Paris will feature a lot of hot air
The delegates who will gather for the star-studded Paris climate summit include celebrities, presidents and perhaps even the Pope. Among…
Dear Mary: How can I make visiting friends realise it is a burden to take them to see the sights?
Q. I am an impoverished artist living in a famously cheap European city, largely for reasons of economy. I love…
The Tories must move quickly to recruit ex-Labour voters. Here's how
David Cameron might not be remembered as the best prime minister in modern British history but he will probably be…
Chairman Mao: monster of misrule
Mao Zedong, once the Helmsman, Great Teacher and Red Red Sun in Our Hearts, and still the Chairman, died in…
Archbishop John Sentamu on why politicians are like men arguing at a urinal
Archbishop John Sentamu is not scared to tell off politicians, across the spectrum
Why are there so many fat people in pictures of food banks?
Were you aware that the famous actor Andy Garcia was born with a foetus growing out of his left shoulder?…
Ukip is in the middle of the most cynical political repositioning ever
I think I’ve cracked it. If you want to springboard your minor political party into the mainstream and take British…
The nun who took down an Isis flag – and stands up for east London's Muslims
Sister Christine Frost, who works on an east London estate, sees why young Muslim men are going to fight in Iraq and Syria
If you thought this World Cup was weird, take a look at Brazil 1950
Old world Brazil has struggled to get ready for the World Cup, even though it hosted it before, in 1950.…
Is Hamas finally losing its grip on Gaza?
The party is out of favour with its foreign neighbours and with ordinary Gazans
Joy to the world
Pessimism sells. It shifts books and newspapers, sends ratings soaring. It fills lecture halls, wins research grants, makes political careers.…
Why can't Ed Miliband accept that Labour voters want welfare reform?
David Cameron, it has been argued this week, has become detached from the views of Conservative voters on Europe. Amid…
Low dishonest dealings
The strange, unsettled decades between the wars form the backdrop of much of D. J. Taylor’s recent work, including his novel, Ask Alice, and his social history, Bright Young Things. At the Chime of a City Clock is set in 1931, with a financial crisis rumbling in the background.
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