Trail away, p7

Big Farmer, p6

BOOKS & ARTS

Hammer time, p40

LIFE

BOOKS 24 Philip Hensher

Write, Cut, Rewrite, by Dirk Van Hulle and Mark Nixon 26 Alice Loxton

Young Elizabeth, by Nicola Tallis 27 Jonathan Sumption

Remembering Peasants, by Patrick Joyce 28 Lynn Barber

Keir Starmer, by Tom Baldwin 29 A.N. Wilson

The English Soul, by Peter Ackroyd Caroline Moorhead

Empireworld, by Sathnam Sanghera ARTS 32 Calvin Po Will a Labour government let architects reshape housing? 34 Dance Pina Bausch: Nelken; Festival of New Choreography Rupert Christiansen Theatre Dear Octopus; The Addams Family Lloyd Evans 36 Opera Marx in London!; Aleko Richard Bratby Pop Oliver Anthony; Roisin Murphy Michael Hann 38 The gamer Suicide Squad Sam Leith

Leaving, by Roxana Robinson 30 Mark Bostridge

The Painter’s Daughters, by Emily Howes Mathew Lyons

Television The Way; Breathtaking James Walton 39 Cinema

Perfect Days Deborah Ross 40 Exhibitions

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind Laura Gascoigne 41 Australian Arts

Peter Craven

LIFE 43 Foreign life Owen Matthews 44 Real life Melissa Kite

Bridge Janet de Botton 45 Aussie Life Simon Collins

Language Kel Richards AND FINALLY . . . 42 Notes on… Tunbridge Ware

Robin Oakley 46 Chess Luke McShane

Competition Lucy Vickery 47 Crossword Lavatch 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 Jury verdict against republic

Ironic thanks to Albo David Flint

CONTRIBUTORS

Anne Robinson, who writes this week’s Diary on p5, is the former presenter of The Weakest Link and Countdown.

Lionel Barber, who writes about how the West has failed Ukraine on p16, was editor of the Financial Times from 2005 to 2020.

Alice Loxton writes about Queen Bess on p26. Her first book, Uproar!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London, was published last year.

the spectator australia | 24 february 2024 | www.spectator.com.au

Lynn Barber writes about the joy of Keir Starmer on p28. Her own new book is A Little Art Education, which will be published in May.

A.N. Wilson, who writes about the English and religion on p29, is the biographer of Jesus and author of the memoir Confessions: A Life of Failed Promises.

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