An author’s wife sinks into paranoid fantasy after a social slight in an accomplished comedy-horror too arch for its own goodIf you were to generalise about psychological thrillers – a genre label now applied to pretty much any novel in which someone h…
Two pints of lager and a view of St Paul’s: the secret life of London’s most thrilling boozers
What makes a pub special? From the perfect place to flog atomic secrets to the official strictly protected viewpoint for St Paul’s, a new book tells the amazing stories behind the city’s greatest barsWhen you stumble out of the medieval warren of Ye Ol…
Hilary Mantel contrasts Dominic Cummings with Thomas Cromwell
Author adds Cromwell wouldn’t have gone on holiday during a crisis, in apparent shot at Dominic RaabDame Hilary Mantel has said Dominic Cummings “created a picture of himself as an outsider” that was intrinsic to his rise, while Thomas Cromwell had bee…
‘Cardinal Keith O’Brien was like God to me. Then he tried to seduce me’: the whistleblower’s tale
As disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick faces trial in the US, an ex-priest tells of how he testified against the Scottish cardinalAs disgraced 91-year-old cardinal Theodore McCarrick stood in an American court last week, charged with three counts of …
‘Loving ourselves is an act of defiance’: tender and heartbreaking letters to fathers and sons
The historical oppression of Indigenous men has shaped perceptions of First Nations masculinity. A lovingly curated book of letters challenges stereotypesWhen Wiradjuri woman and Miles Franklin-winning novelist Tara June Winch met Torres Strait Islande…
Damon Galgut: ‘The Booker pulls a nasty little trick on you’
The South African novelist on making a pilgrimage to Cormac McCarthy’s home, his youth in apartheid-era Pretoria and being shortlisted twice for the Booker prizeNovelist and playwright Damon Galgut, 57, grew up in Pretoria, South Africa, at the height …
A little bird told me: how a magpie taught me I could be a father
Charlie Gilmour never wanted to have children – his father had abandoned him at six months and he feared he’d do the same. But then a magpie came into his life and changed everythingIt wasn’t long after our wedding – on our New Forest honeymoon, in fac…
Original Observer Photography
Michael Rosen, Paloma Faith, St Etienne and ‘champing’ holidays – the best photography commissioned by the Observer in August 2021 Continue reading…
Richard Osman: ‘No one’s born a crime writer. I write crime because I read it’
The Pointless presenter’s debut crime caper sold millions, with movie rights snapped up by Steven Spielberg. Richard Osman talks to Alex Clark about growing up poor, meeting his estranged father and why he wrote his first book in secretSometimes, Richa…
Angelina Jolie: ‘I just want my family to heal’
The actor opens up about why her divorce from Brad Pitt is a human rights issue, escaping Harvey Weinstein and what young activists have taught her• ‘People try to stop us speaking up’ – Jolie meets inspirational young campaignersAngelina Jolie sits at…