Dearest marianne

IN THEIR 1980 SONG OF THE SAME NAME, THE J. Geils Band sang, “Love stinks,” and boy, they weren’t kidding. In love, there are no guarantees. Infidelity, free-floating resentment, mutual loathing, gard

The rise and fall of a relationship in Muriel Spark’s letters

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue: Roy Harper . Since the mid-60s, the progressive folk singer-songwriter has enjoyed a successful solo career that’s also found him collaborating with everyone from Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel to Kate Bush and Ian Anderson. But he’s never quite reached the commercial heights of his peers. As his Final Tour: Part Two fast approaches, he looks back over highlights from his career so far and teases a brand-new album.

Fifty years after cutting ties with her notorious ex Charles Bronson, Irene began to consider a new life with him behind bars…

RUNNER-UP

HOW quickly Sylvia’s life had changed! At New Year, she’d wished that the next 12 months would mean better health for her grandmother, a new washing machine for her mother and, if at all possible, a p