Listening in on the famous, p76

Books for little stockings, p38

Horse tales, p63

THE WEEK

3 Leading article 7 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary Quentin Letts 10 Politics James Forsyth 11 The Spectator’s Notes 14 Barometer 17 Rod Liddle 27 Matthew Parris 28 James Delingpole 31 Letters 32 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

12 After spring, winter Islamists are poised to take over from the fallen Arab dictators Douglas Murray 13 Voices from Egypt Daniella Peled 14 Never trust a technocrat A suddenly fashionable word with a deeply suspect history Dot Wordsworth 18 It’s the stupidity, stupid The problem with the Republican candidates’ foreign policy Daniel W. Drezner 20 Nothing if not critical Brian Sewell interviewed

Freddy Gray 22 Labour’s golden girl Stella Creasy is an MP on the rise

James Forsyth 24 Democracy makes us happier Swiss research proves it

James Bartholomew

BOOKS & ARTS

Books 36 Philip Hensher Look, I Made a Hat,

by Stephen Sondheim 38 Juliet Townsend on children’s books 40 Mark Mason Johnson’s Life of London,

by Boris Johnson Ed Howker You Can’t Say That,

by Ken Livingstone 43 Anthony Mockler Cry Havoc, by Simon Mann Bookends Gary Dexter 44 Anthony Cummins The Angel Esmeralda,

by Don DeLillo Patrick Skene Catling The Sea is My Brother,

by Jack Kerouac 45 John-Paul McCarthy Enigma, by Paul Bew 47 Melanie McDonagh on cookery books

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Stephen Collins, Bernie, RGJ, Grizelda, Geoff Thompson, Adam Singleton, Holland, Hunter, McCoy, Percival and Robert Thompson. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 71 Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0250, Email: editor@spectator.co.uk (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0219 Advertising fax: 020 7961 0020 Subscription and delivery queries Spectator Subscriptions Dept., 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8GU; Tel: 01795 592886 Fax: 0870 220 0290; Email: spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0057, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 317; no 9561 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson

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the spectator | 26 November 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk William Morris unravelled, p48

Meet the Düsseldorf School, p52

Good news from Venice, p54

fine Arts special 48 Andrew Lambirth on a new gallery for public art 50 Saleroom Susan Moore 52 Exhibitions World Class: The Düsseldorf School of Painting 1819–1918 Robin Simon 54 Venice and Egypt

Roderick Conway Morris 56 The Flamboyant Mr Chinnery: An

English Artist in India and China Laura Gascoigne 58 Olden but golden Charles Spencer 59 Cinema The Deep Blue Sea

Deborah Ross 60 Theatre The Lion in Winter;

Salt, Root and Roe Lloyd Evans 61 Opera Eugene Onegin Michael Tanner Radio Kate Chisholm 63 Television Simon Hoggart Culture notes David Blackburn

LIFE

Life 69 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 71 Real life Melissa Kite The turf Robin Oakley 73 Bridge Janet de Botton

And finaly . . . 74 Chess Raymond Keene 75 Competition; Crossword 76Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 77 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 78 Food Tanya Gold Ancient and modern Peter Jones the spectator | 26 November 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk

In Derbyshire when the question is Europe-centred, ‘It doesn’t look good’ will generally serve as a reply Matthew Parris, p27

The problem with extending news programmes is that the only way to fill the minutes is extra interviews. Anything else would cost too much Kate Chisholm, p61

‘If my leave pass doesn’t come through by tonight, I think I’ll take a chance and slip away…’ (August 1942)

In memoriam: David Langdon Sad to hear of the death of David Langdon at 97! One of the most prolific cartoonists of the 20th century. I don’t have to believe it, and I’m sure he’ll still be sending in cartoons. — Michael Heath, cartoon editor

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