Architecture
Deepdene: Rise and Fall of the House of Hope
The magnificent palazzo where Disraeli’s Young England group used to gather is long gone, but its grounds have now been restored
Osbert Lancaster
Skewering social stereotypes through interior decor
Bookish Brummies
Finally, Birmingham has the library it deserves, and its predecessor will be thankfully turned to rubble
Demolish the Relics of Yesterday’s Future
People want homes, not the “housing units” offered by tower blocks, yet planners continue to sanction these unloved monstrosities
The Beige of Beijing
‘When I asked my winsome Han tour guide what would happen when the skyscrapers collapsed, she said with cheerful gusto, “We’ll build them again!”’
Legends of the Urban Landscape
A provocative new book by Jonathan Meades asks us to reassess the value of the under-appreciated metropolitan environment
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