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Philip Hensher

Philip Hensher

The Guardian

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Classic mistakes / What lists of our greatest novels get wrong

‘Where are all my favourite parts?’ Arnold Schoenberg asked, on being presented with a severe academic analysis of the Eroica symphony. ‘Oh,...

08.06.2026 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

What lists of our greatest novels get wrong

‘Where are all my favourite parts?’ Arnold Schoenberg asked, on being presented with a severe academic analysis of the Eroica symphony. ‘Oh,...

21.05.2026 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

The fate of the British teenager who posed as a Russian oligarch’s son

This story is little more than a brutal anecdote, which Patrick Radden Keefe has chosen to tell at excessive length. It has the kind of fact-checked...

18.04.2026 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / A deadly imitation game: the fate of the British teenager who posed as a Russian oligarch’s son

This story is little more than a brutal anecdote, which Patrick Radden Keefe has chosen to tell at excessive length. It has the kind of fact-checked...

16.04.2026 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / A revival of Alan Bennett’s early work is long overdue

It is a curious literary form, the published diary. A surprising number of the classic diarists did write for eventual, usually posthumous,...

19.03.2026 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Spin doctors / The doctor will patronise you now

09.02.2026 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Spin doctors / The doctor will patronise you now

09.02.2026 40

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

The doctor will patronise you now

08.02.2026 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Spin doctors / The doctor will patronise you now

06.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Spin doctors / The doctor will patronise you now

05.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Kemi Badenoch’s favourite book is the perfect choice

01.02.2026 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Seasonal jeer / The joy of a miserable literary Christmas

25.12.2025 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

The joy of a miserable literary Christmas

20.12.2025 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Seasonal jeer / The joy of a miserable literary Christmas

11.12.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Are Vermeer’s paintings really coded religious messages?

28.10.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Are Vermeer’s paintings really coded religious messages?

28.10.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Literature / Jilly Cooper’s novels could well become classics

07.10.2025 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Since when did the English love to queue?

02.10.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Christopher Marlowe, the spy who changed literature for ever

28.08.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Give Eric Ravilious a rest

31.07.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Closed books / Public libraries deserve to shut – they’ve forgotten why they exist

07.07.2025 10

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Public libraries deserve to shut – they’ve forgotten why they exist

05.07.2025 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Public libraries deserve to shut – they’ve forgotten why they exist

03.07.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Spare us from ‘experimental’ novels

05.06.2025 30

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Whether adored or despised, Princess Diana is never forgotten

06.05.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher

Books / Whether adored or despised, Princess Diana is never forgotten

06.05.2025 20

The Spectator

Philip Hensher