Aimez-vous Tremblay?
Among the many things monolingual Britain is unable to appreciate is the work of one of Canada’s best playwrights. Unlike the Canadian writers whose work we do know, Michel Tremblay … Continue reading
Was Shakespeare a Catholic?
Whether Shakespeare was a Catholic is and will always be a moot point. The only thing we can say with any certainty is that his grandfather was. The only way … Continue reading
We just don’t say that sort of thing
Philip Hensher begins his introduction to the Penguin Book of the British Short Story with the assertion that ‘the British short story is probably the richest, most varied and most … Continue reading
A short story by Giovanni Verga
A young Sicilian woman called Nedda declares, at the end of a short story by Giovanni Verga, that it is better to be dead than alive and thanks the Holy … Continue reading
Submission
By coincidence, I finished reading Michel Houellebecq’s latest novel, Soumission, just a few days before Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, was elected Mayor of London. In the novel, another Muslim, Mohammed … Continue reading
Tottel’s Miscellany
In 1557 Richard Tottel published the first anthology of English verse, the forerunner of Palgrave’s Golden Treasury and the Penguin Book of English verse. Tottel’s book, which came to be … Continue reading
The literary case for Britain to stay in the EU
There is nothing in the founding documents of the European Union about ever closer literary union. But if there were, even if that were the only kind of union proposed, … Continue reading
