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Issue: October 2012

Legends of the Urban Landscape
A provocative new book by Jonathan Meades asks us to reassess the value of the under-appreciated metropolitan environment
Simon Heffer

Falstaff’s Sack
Shakespeare's Falstaff — suspicious of the "sober-blooded" — is veritably rhapsodic about the empowering virtues of Andalusian sherry
Saintsbury

The Art of the 64 Squares
While not all artists are chess players, all chess players are artists. So said Marcel Duchamp, a mean player himself
Dominic Lawson

Underrated: Chris Woodhead
The iconoclastic former Chief Inspector of Schools understood the dangers of state control.
Anthony O'Hear

Overrated: Fiona Millar
The indefatigable enemy of education reform is making the job of free school champions easier
Toby Young

Tiptoeing in the Mecca Ballroom
Tom Holland's film on the origins of Islam deserves praise for not shying away from controversy
Nick Cohen

All Pout and No Clout
Joe Wright's Karenina is well-scripted but too stagey and his Anna lacks depth
Peter Whittle

What Are Big Girls Made Of?
Two new plays and one classic depict young women who are mad, bad and dangerous to know
Anne McElvoy

A Mania For Nymphs
Peter Lely's underrated pastorals and mythologies are erotic delights for the connoisseur
Michael Prodger

Ballet Lessons For the Orchestra
Classical music must follow the example of an art form that has survived by extending its range
Norman Lebrecht

An autumn note
“For many, the end of this uneasy year cannot come quickly enough”
Andreas Campomar

An ordinary killing
Ian Cobain’s book uses the killing of Millar McAllister to paint a meticulous portrait of the Troubles
Chris Mullin

Greater—not wiser
John Mullan elucidates the genius of Charles Dickens
Anthony Quinn
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