In Defence of Personal Statements

 I've written a little blog for The Spectator about UCAS getting rid of personal statements.

James Shapiro's THE PLAYBOOK: review

 

My review of James Shapiro's THE PLAYBOOK, an account of the Federal Theatre Project in America, is in the August issue of Spectator World. Read it here.

Summer Children's Round Up for Literary Review, 2024

 In which I review a handful of children's books for that august publication Literary Review, including tomes by Alex Bell, David Almond, Farrukh Dhondy, Lucy Strange and Ross Montgomery. Read it here.

Daniel Handler's AND THEN? AND THEN? WHAT ELSE?: review

 

I've reviewed Daniel Handler's memoir / book of essays, And Then? And Then? What Else? Handler is perhaps better known for his pseudonym, Lemony Snicket, and the books published under that name, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Read it in the Times Literary Supplement here.

John Freeman's HIT AND RUN: review

 I've reviewed John Freeman's novella, HIT AND RUN, for Spectator World.

On the decline of Writing

 I've written about writing for The Spectator, link here.

On Shakespeare

 I've written about Jodi Picoult's suggestion that Emilia Bassano wrote Shakespeare's plays, for The Spectator.