National Gallery: the film of the art history lecture

I just sat through three hours of Frederick Wiseman's documentary National Gallery (2014), a film about the British national gallery of art in London's Trafalgar Square that needs a damn good editing, marvellous though it is. Stupidly, I did not think to check how long it would be before paying for the ticket. Some way into the … Continue reading National Gallery: the film of the art history lecture →

Rose Macaulay’s Potterism

I wrote this podcast for Why I Really Like This Book for a miniseries called Fictions about Newspapers. Journalism is something I’ve dabbled in enough to know that I’m no good at it. I can write reviews, but I have no nous when it comes to news, and I am not hard-boiled. But I do … Continue reading Rose Macaulay’s Potterism →

Mrs Ames: not Lucia

E F Benson was stretching his talons in this novel. You'd think, from first glance, that this was a tryout for Mapp and Lucia. Although it's from 1912, there are dinner party wars, stunts to bring the other middle-class and servanted neighbours on side, and hurried impromptu fancy-dress ball preparations. But Mrs Ames is not … Continue reading Mrs Ames: not Lucia →

What Katy Did, Next, and At School

This is another repost from the vaults of Why I Really Like This Book, a round-up of three books I reread addictively all through my childhood and early twenties. You can also listen to the original podcast on Susan Coolidge and the What Katy Did books (1872, 1873, 1886) The origins of my love of 19th-century fiction lie in … Continue reading What Katy Did, Next, and At School →