Anthony Burgess’s Napoleon complex
In Napoleon Symphony, the life of the French statesman was transformed into a virtuoso romp that still dazzles 50 years…
ByLiterature
Immerse yourself in the captivating world of literature with our collection of articles, offering literary analysis, book recommendations, author spotlights, and thought-provoking discussions that celebrate the written word.
The case against George Orwell
As with DH Lawrence, Orwell’s private life has imperilled his reputation. Is there a way back?
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Why the novel matters
We read and write fiction because it asks impossible questions, and leads us boldly into the unknown.
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Quitting social media gave me a new creed: only disconnect
Online, intimacy is imagined and mystery non-existent. It’s time to lose our smartphones and find ourselves again.
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Alan Hollinghurst’s English underground
Our finest living social novelist has made it his mission to disrupt the sexual and literary status quo.
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Robert Icke Q&A: “Shakespeare is apparently infinite”
The award-winning playwright on the nobility of teachers and the masterpiece that is The Sopranos.
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Books of the year 2024
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
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The political afterlife of Paradise Lost
From white supremacists to black activists, readers have sought moral legitimacy in Milton’s epic poem.
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Celebrity book clubs are bad for literature
The novel becoming a cultural accessory means to look like a reader, not be one.
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JG Ballard’s apocalyptic art
In Empire of the Sun, published 40 years ago, the great novelist turned his childhood experiences in a Japanese prisoner-of-war…
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Janet Frame’s asylum dreams
The New Zealand author, born 100 years ago, was both tormented and inspired by her experience of mental illness.
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Bonfire of the humanities
With departments in decline, the English professor has become a risible figure in the British novel.
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Edna O’Brien was the last great Irish iconoclast
Great Irish literature is defined by dissent. So why do so many writers uphold the status quo?
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Why I feel like a literary Gareth Southgate
Also this week: My part in the great IT outage, and trying to impress Keir Starmer.
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Labour’s anti-intellectual moment
The past three decades have seen the Everymanification of British politics.
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The anti-Baillie Gifford mob wants to police art. Writers must not give in
In cutting ties with the firm, literary festivals have fallen prey to the worst sort of playground bully.
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James Shapiro Q&A: “I’d like to live in 1600s London – just for a week”
The American academic on finding fulfilment in Shakespeare, structuralism and dry-stone walls.
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The Clarksonification of the countryside
Also this week: AI enters the classroom, and the British obsession with gardening vs Brexit red tape.
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Salman Rushdie: “The world has abandoned realism”
The novelist on the threat to free speech, facing his attacker, and why writing Knife gave him back “the power”.
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Salman Rushdie’s warning bell
His memoir Knife is a defence of free speech for a new age of intolerance. We should listen.
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