From banned books to political activism, Marcus de Jong’s life was a testament to the power of ideas and the human spirit
Tom Holland draws extensively on the great work by the father of history, Herodotus, whose The Histories is a searching, if often discursive, investigation into the roots and causes of the war between Persia and Greece
The work of the French Renaissance philosopher offers wisdom applicable to modern politics
We ought to read them; we want to; we will. Next summer, or winter, when time indoors lends a circumstantial hand. Or next year. And so the pile grows, to be added to deathbed regrets
Today, 96 years after the great writer’s seminal speech on women in fiction, what has changed?
In this time of conflict, thoughts wander to Bob Dylan’s lyrics and John le Carré’s insights
The battle between Satan and the forces of good has preoccupied writers for aeons
The seminal Spanish novel and its author are difficult to pin down in translation and history
Alexei Navalny’s demise spotlights how death and displacement are portrayed in the media and in literature
Women writers have often been treated badly but the first novel was written by one