Having a whale of a time

The crazy, overly demanding, and potentially damaging piano teacher is something of a cliché in film and fiction. Bernice Rubens described such a character in her novel Madame Sousatzka, which was mem

TLS contributors choose their favourites

Ruth Jones and James Corden are giddy with excitement when they arrive to talk with Big Issue. We are in St Katharine Docks, London, where they’re midway through the edit for the 90-minute Gavin & Sta