One day in 1936, the barrister Clifford Mortimer banged his head on the door frame of a London taxi and was immediately struck blind. He would never be able to see again. Then in his early 50s, he nev

As regular readers of this column will know, unusual anomalies in birth, marriage, and death records are far from uncommon. What they do offer, however, is the opportunity to dig a little deeper into

Emin’s newfound happiness These days, life is far ...

I was very interested to read Nicola Johnson’s article exploring the world of stokers in your January 2026 issue. My great grandfather, John Thomas Gray, was a stoker on the HMS Indomitable during the

Knapp’s sweet spot WHEN the former BBC and ...

Gerri Kimber Katherine Mansfield A hidden life 304pp. Reaktion. £20. Whenever a new biography of a well-known literary figure is published, the reader always hopes that the author may have included so