Edward Alexander
Lionel Trilling: America’s Matthew Arnold
The great critic’s letters reveal his struggles with anti-Semitism and disillusion with Marxism
The Unfinished Journey of Lionel Trilling
Until recently, it was assumed that Trilling had written only one long fiction, The Middle of the Journey (1947). Now, thanks to Geraldine Murphy we know that Trilling was a third of the way through another novel, begun years earlier
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal