Author Archives: Ian Irvine
The way we were: the supernatural and the uncanny
Extracts from memoirs and diaries
Richard Burton on "The Drinking Man's Diet"—and other unsuccessful meal plans of the rich and famous
In this month's "The way we were," Ian Irvine explores diets detailed in memoirs and letters
“Oxford has made me insufferable” From Lord Byron to Sylvia Plath, writers recall their first days at uni
Sylvia Plath "could cry with happiness", while Jeremy Lewis found Dublin "quite dreadful"
How the world reacted to England's 1966 win
How did the world—and Denis Law—respond to England's historic World Cup victory?
Cheating in sport—from Emperor Nero to Donald Trump
Nero competed in the four-horse chariot race using a 10-horse chariot; Trump also allegedly "cheats like hell"
A short history of (alleged) political collusion with Moscow
Diary extracts, and letters, show that the fear of Russian influence is nothing new
A third of the world’s population were infected: here's how the diarists recorded 1918 Spanish flu
Extracts from Virginia Woolf to Guillaume Apollinaire
Sexual harassment in Hollywood is anything but new
As these diaries show, women in film and politics have long been wise to men's bad behaviour
The way we were: how Prime Ministers used to resign
Accounts from Harold Wilson, Stanley Baldwin and the men who knew them
I've recently become a bookshop owner—so I know why Alan Hollinghurst's novels matter
Among the armfuls of books in my new LGBTQ section, Alan Hollinghurst’s comprised the largest number. And for good reason
From John Adams to Kissinger, five stories of life in the White House
“The president was drinking. He said he was resigning.”
Will Catalonia be another Scotland? A new book tracks the struggle for independence
Raphael Minder's book shows why the struggle for Catalonian independence is only one of the questions Spain faces