Admirably and endlessly discursive, the essayist explores Orwell's ideas of happiness and joy - 'the right to live, not just to exist' - that permeate his writing and which are exemplified b... read more
Quiet utterances like snatches of conversation, from the magnificent JB. These brief reflections and observations are not quite poetry, not quite prose - an absolute joy to read and to pause... read more
Blaise Pascal famously said that "all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone".
In 1790 a young French aristocrat living in Turin was confined to a ... read more
How we can emerge from the current global crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic with our humanity intact. A salutary reminder of unfashionable ethical values, and that individual effort is... read more
Post-war France through the despatches of Mavis Gallant, James Baldwin, A J Liebling and others. This collection is the source for Wes Anderson's forthcoming film, 'The French Dispatch', and... read more