Culture

Book review: The Best Catholics in the World

A new book traces the collapse of the moral and political authority of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Thomas Bernhard’s bleak novels force us to confront the futility of intellectual life.

Under threat of persecution, artists in Pakistan are using their work to sow the seeds of change.

The language of our forebears was rich in expressiveness and imagery, packed full of "false friends" and beautiful compounds, a new book reveals.

What can we learn today from Mary Whitehouse’s campaign to silence the humanist movement?

Juliet Jacques, who has written widely on the trans experience, explores class and sexual marginalisation in a new story collection.

The famed biographer take us through the life and times of H.G. Wells, and explains what the secret is to telling the stories of others.

We hope you enjoy our selection of the essays and podcast episodes that most enriched our minds during another difficult year.

Extensive coverage of refugee arrivals in the UK has placed the word at the heart of our political discourse. But what are its origins?

Dickens's short story electrified Victorian Britain. But it was a secularist tale, and its subversive qualities have been forgotten.