More Egyptian wisdom, p14

Now about that review, Ms Ross… p45

Charles Pooter and other literary somebodies, p34

THE WEEK

5 Leading articles 9 Portrait of the Week 11 Diary Alastair Campbell 12 Politics James Forsyth 13 The Spectator’s Notes 20 Barometer 21 Rod Liddle 22 Mind your language 24 Ancient and modern 25 Matthew Parris 28 James Delingpole 29 Letters 31 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

14 What’s next for Egypt? Andrew Roberts, Stephen Walt,

Anne Applebaum, Alistair Horne, Brendan Simms, Joshua Muravchik, Charles Glass, Cassandra Vivian and Douglas Murray 16 Aims of the Brotherhood

Egypt’s Islamists John R. Bradley Cairo postcard Daniella Peled 18 The dominoes rally

Autocrats prepare for the worst Anthony Sattin 19 Talk like an Egyptian A cheat’s guide to the crisis

Quentin Letts

20 Speak to me Public lectures are popular again

Harry Mount 22 There is no alternative Comedy’s new establishment

James Walton 24 Less time, less crime The case for a leaner prison system

Ken Clarke 26 The hangover from hell On men, drink and rape

Carol Sarler

BOOKS & ARTS

Books 34 Sam Leith

Faulks on Fiction, by Sebastian Faulks 36 A.N. Wilson

The Immortalization Commission, by John Gray Connie Bensley

‘Retirement 1943’: a poem 37 David Crane

The True Story of Titanic Thompson, by Kevin Cook 38 Jervoise Andreyev

The Emperor of all Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee Philip Hancock

‘Getting to the Top’: a poem 39 James Walton

Chapman’s Odyssey, by Paul Bailey Lewis Jones

The Trinity Six, by Charles Cumming 40 Byron Rogers

Bright Particular Stars, by David McKie 41 Ian Thomson

The Taste of War, by Lizzie Collingham Bookends

Marcus Berkmann

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Simon Farr, Holland, Nick Newman, Bernie, Geoff Thompson, Kipper Williams, Richard Jolley, Adam Singleton, Grizelda, Mazurke, Paul Wood, K.J. Lamb and Smith. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 29. 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 Skills supplement If you are an overseas reader and would like a copy of Britain’s Skills Crisis please email spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk with your name and address and subscriber reference if appropriate. 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 315; no 9519 © 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 | 5 February 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk Kate Chisholm on the news from the BBC, p49

Bridget Riley’s deeper patterns, p44

Arts 43 Interview Sophie Thompson

Lloyd Evans 44 Exhibitions Bridget Riley: Paintings and Related Work Andrew Lambirth 45 Cinema Brighton Rock

Deborah Ross 46 Theatre Becky Shaw; Woody Sez

Lloyd Evans 47 Opera The Cunning Little Vixen

Michael Tanner 49 Radio

Kate Chisholm 50 Culture notes

Melissa Kite Television Simon Hoggart

LIFE

Life 55 High life

Taki Low life

Jeremy Clarke 57 Real life

Melissa Kite 58The turf

Robin Oakley 59 Motoring

Alan Judd 59 Bridge

Janet de Botton

And finaly . . . 60 Chess Raymond Keene 61 Crossword special 62Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 63 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen

If someone says ‘Who’s Beni Suef?’, do not rise to the bait. Beni Suef is a barracks, not a bloke Quentin Letts, p19 When comics appear on Question Time, they may be out of their depth, but who doesn’t secretly prefer them to the politicians? James Walton, p22 Personally, I felt privileged to be able to witness a girl in a wedding dress inlaid with flashing lightbulbs Melissa Kite, p50

SPECIAL

SECTION:

BRITAIN’SSKILLS

CRISIS

Contributors aniella Peled (‘A postcard from Cairo’, p. 16) is editor at the Institute of War and Peace Reporting and a former foreign editor of the Jewish Chronicle.

Kenneth Clarke (‘Less time, less crime’, p. 24) is the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, having previously been chancellor, home secretary, health secretary and education secretary.

the spectator | 5 February 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk

Quentin Letts (‘Talk like an Egyptian’, p. 19) is a writer for the Daily Mail.

James Walton (‘There is no alternative’, p. 22; Books, p 39) is the television critic of the Daily Telegraph.

Jervoise Andreyev (Books, p. 38) is a consultant gastroenterologist in pelvic radiation disease at the Royal Marsden hospital in London.

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