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Peter Ackroyd’s tale of murky goings on in a rural idyll only occasionally hits the mark
Hammer horror meets 19th-century music hall meets postmodernism in Juan Carlos Medina’s film
The author explores the city’s gay culture in his new book, uncovering a long and subversive history
The restoration of the 18th-century church on the edge of the City reconnects it with its surroundings
Antonia Quirke picks her books of the year so far
The office of mayor is weak and our capital thrums to its own rhythms regardless
A new biography of the ‘master of suspense’ that emphasises the film-maker’s Catholic upbringing
Short walk, long history: the London chronicler explores 900 years of incident
Soprano Diana Damrau as the harlot raises this new opera to a higher level
Sadistic impulses surface in an extraordinary tale of 18th-century medicine
‘As a child I wanted to be Pope. I am disappointed to have missed out on that’
Peter Ackroyd’s account of the Tudor period is both celebration and lament
A murder case in London’s East End is given a fantastical spin
Three very different national histories are marred by their refusal to admit neighbours into the narrative, writes David Cannadine
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