Podcasts – The Telegraph – My Life in Books
The authors you love. The books that shaped them.
Roving Report – The Telegraph – The rise, grim fall and redemption of Johannesburg’s Ponte City skyscraper
Chris Leadbeater, Travel writer We have written on these pages in the past about the allure of “dark tourism”; of that instinct some of us have for seeking locations where disaster has struck, and staring into the void. You can, these days, should you so choose, be guided around Namie, the…
UK Books – The Telegraph – Children who inspired Enid Blyton’s Famous Five book covers are revealed
Illustrator Mary Gernat’s four young sons – Roger, Francis, Nicholas and Justin – for the art work for the books by the great children’s author Mary with her boys (L-R) Francis, Roger, Nick and Justin on holiday in the early 1960sPhoto: MaryGernat-How/BNPS The children who inspired Enid Blyton’s Famous Five book covers are revealed for…
English – The Telegraph – Are grammar nazis ruining the English language?
by Tom Chivers Split infinitives make them shudder and they’d never end a sentence with a preposition. But linguist Geoffrey Pullum has a message for all grammar pedants: you’re wrong Imagine a world in which biology was taught using no textbooks written later than 1795; a world in which the advances of the science…
Authors – Doris Lessing spied on by MI5
National Archives photo of Doris Lessing. Photograph: PA The Guardian MI5 spied on Doris Lessing for 20 years, declassified documents reveal The Independent Doris Lessing: Acclaimed novelist was kept under MI5 observation for 18 years, newly released papers show The Telegraph MI5 spied on novelist Doris Lessing for decades, files disclose BBC Doris…
BITM – The Telegraph – 30 great opening lines in literature
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (1813)
English – Latest additions to the Scrabble lexicon
Official Scrabble book adds lotsa ridic new words New version of Collins Official Scrabble Words adds 6,500 new words to the popular board game’s approved list It is the book Scrabble players turn to when disputes arise over whether particular words are allowed, whether enjoying a sociable – or not so sociable – evening…
English – How much of a grammar pedant are you?
Quiz: how much of a grammar pedant are you? Know your “it’s” from your “its”? Your “less” from your “fewer”? As a new book makes the case for relaxing our grip on English grammar, try our quiz to find out how you fare Acknowledgements: The Telegraph Oliver Kamm | Accidence Will Happen | W&N 9780297871934…
Books (UK) – Review – The Girl From Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family by Roger Cohen
Roger Cohen | The Girl From Human Street; Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family | Bloomsbury 9781408863879 | £20 | 29th The Telegraph The Girl from Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family by Roger Cohen, review: ‘brave and enlightened’ The Financial Times [subject to registration and subscription] ‘The Girl from Human Street’, by…
English – ‘Government in £9 million payout after single letter blunder causes business to collapse’
Government in £9 million payout after single letter blunder causes business to collapse A High Court judge has found Companies House liable for the demise of Taylor & Sons Ltd, after they mistakenly recorded that it had been wound up By Camilla Turner It was a 124-year-old Welsh family business which took five…