A bike ride that joins together London’s cobbled streets throws up unusual perspectives on the city.
Category: history
The Rhapsody in Blue problem
Rhapsody in Blue was an immediate commercial and critical success when it was first played in 1924. But it’s caused problems for black music, and black musicians, ever since.
Charles Dickens and the idea of Christmas
Charles Dickens didn’t invent the Victorian Christmas. But he shaped it in ways that are still with us.
Daniel Ellsberg and ‘The Post’
Steven Spielberg’s film The Post is effectively a prequel to All The President’s Men. But it couldn’t be more different.
Redressing statues
It’s amazing what adding some fabric can do to the way we think about our statues and their legacy.
Death at Farthing Castle
Alternate history as country house murder mystery. In Jo Walton’s novel, Britain sues for peace in 1941. Eight years later the architect of the peace is murdered.
The Guernsey Literary etc: better than I expected
I’m not fond of modern British films that evoke the second world war. But at least GLPPPS evoked a story that hasn’t been told much.
Working on power
Robert Caro has spent 50 years working on biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. His short memoir is illuminating.
Muddling through and doing the right thing
Charters and Caldicott seem like upper-crust twits. But they can be relied on in a wartime crisis.
Island stories
Films about the Hebrides come in three varieties. The saddest version is closer to the truth.