French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy decries Brexit, claiming it is the victory of fusty England over an England open to the world and fully in touch with its glorious past.

Literature doesn’t get much stranger — nor more fun — than this. 

Frederick the Great is judged by many historians to have been an enlightened despot. Geoffrey Roberts on an  impressive, comprehensive new biography by Tim Blanning.

Alexander von Humboldt was one of the scientists who defined our world. Dick Warner on a book that may help restore his well- deserved reputation as the father of environmentalism.

After previous triumphs, expectations are high for this year’s opera at the Everyman. The team behind Faust are confident they can fulfill them, writes Jo Kerrigan

Des O’Driscoll reveals what he expects will be the arts and entertainment  highlights of spring 2015.

Van Morisson’s incantations and repetitions, admonitions, yearnings and folk-music prove that people walked this earth yearning for a heaven elsewhere. Thomas McCarthy on a selection of Morisson’s lyrics.

Are we looking for too much in our analysis?

Helena Attlee

The Arrival of Swallows

Kerrigan In Copenhagen

Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

My Flirtation with International Socialism