In a pickle, p39

Posh Polly, p25

One of life’s greats, p10-12, 14 -16 & p43

BOOKS & ARTS

BOOKS 22 Paul Kildea

Goodbye Russia, by Fiona Maddocks 24 David Abulafia

Blue Machine, by Helen Czerski 25 Juliet Nicolson

An Uneasy Inheritance, by Polly Toynbee 26 Andrew Rosenheim

Death Under a Little Sky, by Stig Abell Jude Cook

The Choice, by Michael Arditti 27 Simon Kuper

Everybody Wants to Rule the World, by Roger Domeneghetti 28 Philip Marsden

One Midsummer’s Day, by Mark Cocker 29 Leyla Sanai

Friendaholic, by Elizabeth Day; Is This OK?, by Harriet Gibsone Houman Barekat

August Blue, by Deborah Levy 30 Camilla Cassidy

Orwell, by D.J. Taylor

ARTS 31 Michael Hann

The enduring power of goth 33 Exhibitions Sarah Sze;

Monster Chetwynd; Jiro Osuga Laura Gascoigne 34 Opera Carmen; Wozzeck

Richard Bratby 35 Cinema Sisu

Deborah Ross 36 Theatre Brokeback Mountain;

Bleak Expectations Lloyd Evans Radio & podcasts Great Lives;

Rylan: How to Be a Man; Free Thinking Jenny McCartney 37 Pop Beyoncé

Graeme Thomson 38 Television Silo; Sanctuary

James Delingpole 39 Museums The ethics of anatomical specimens Margaret Mitchell 40 Dance Howool Baek;

Damien Jalet; Trajal Harrell Rupert Christiansen 41 Australian Arts

Peter Craven

LIFE

LIFE 43 High life Taki 44 Real life Melissa Kite Bridge Susanna Gross 45 Aussie life Jason Strecker AND FINALLY . . . 42 Notes on… Mermaids

Melanie McDonagh 46 Chess Luke McShane

Competition Lucy Vickery 47 Crossword Fieldfare 48 No sacred cows

Toby Young Battle for Britain Michael Heath 49 Sport

Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 50 Food

Tanya Gold Mind your language Dot Wordsworth 51 A tale of two Durhams

Crucial turning points David Flint

CONTRIBUTORS

Melvyn Bragg writes this week’s diary on p5. He is the presenter of In Our Time on BBC Radio 4.

David Goodhart reflects on his friendship with Jeremy Clarke on p10. He is the founder and former editor of Prospect.

27 2023 . . .

Niru Ratnam, who runs an art gallery, discusses the politics of striking teachers at his son’s school on p18.

Paul Kildea is the former artistic director of the Wigmore Hall. He reviews a new biography of Rachmaninoff on p22.

Leyla Sanai explores the troubles of female friendship on p29. She is a Persian-British writer and retired doctor.

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