the Enlightenment
Liberty is a loaded word
Just about everyone is for it, but we mean different things by it – whether it be the freedom of independence or the absence of coercive constraint
What the Georgians did for us
‘The two most fascinating subjects in the universe are sex and the 18th century,’ declared the novelist Brigid Brophy when…
Only revolution will do
After the death of George Floyd last year, and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests around the world, racism is…
The making of a composer
‘My dear young man: don’t take it too hard,’ Joseph II counsels a puppyish Mozart, the colour of his hair…
What the new nationalism means
This article is in The Spectator’s March 2020 US edition. Subscribe here. For most of the past 200 years, the left, whether…
An electrifying politician
Just who was Benjamin Franklin? Apart, that is, from journalist, statesman, diplomat, founding father of the United States, inventor of…
Spellbinding stuff
With the briefest of introductions to each chapter, it is up to the reader to decide how they want to…
Swords of honour
Earlier this century I was a guest at a fine dinner, held in a citadel of aristocratic Catholicism, for youngish…
Calm after the storm
I hesitate ever to criticise an author for the inappropriateness of a book’s title, since it’s more likely the fault…
Scotland the brave
In 1707 Scotland surrendered what it had of its independence by the Treaty of Union with England. That independence had…
