Cameron’s missing ingredient, p14

Studio portraits, p41

Painting the town, p35

THE WEEK

3 Leading articles 7 Portrait of the Week 9 Diary Daniel Hannan 10 Politics James Forsyth 11 The Spectator’s Notes 14 Barometer 22 Ancient and modern 23 Matthew Parris 26 James Delingpole 29 Letters 30 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer

Rod Liddle and Deborah Ross are away.

BOOKS & ARTS

12 Out of the east The Arab Spring has only increased persecution of Christians Douglas Davis 13 Iraq’s Christian exodus Why aren’t we helping more?

Ed West 14 Not too posh, just too rude

On the PM’s politeness deficit Ross Clark 17 In praise of organists

I love these modest virtuosos Ysenda Maxtone Graham 18 A soldier for Labour An interview with Dan Jarvis MP

Mary Wakefield 20 Spare me the fees, please Even the best school isn’t a panacea

The case against Jeremy Bamber Leo McKinstry Boks 32 Blair Worden Thomas Becket, by John Guy 34 James Stourton Buildings of Scotland: Dundee and Angus, by John Gifford Marcus Berkmann The History of the NME, by Pat Long 35 Nicolas Barker As They Really Were, by Keith Middlemas 36 Thomas Hodgkinson A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome, by Alberto Angela Andrew Gimson The Spicer Diaries, by Michael Spicer 37 Life and letters Allan Massie 39 Andro Linklater Double Cross, by Ben MacIntyre 41 Ariane Bankes Sanctuary, edited by Hossein Amirsadeghi

Andrew Gimson 22 Was Chris for real? A bet on human nature

Mick Brown 24 Lack of appeal

Cover by Christian Adams. Drawings by Michael Heath, Castro, Kyle T. Webster, Kipper Williams, Mazurke, Nick Newman, K.J. Lamb, Colin Wheeler, Geoff Thompson, Bernie, Grizelda, Warner, Hunter and Adam Singleton. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 28 Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7681 3773, 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 7681 3773 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 7681 3773, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 318; no 9580 © 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 | 7 april 2012 | www.spectator.co.uk This way to the restaurant review, p62

Box office fairytales, p46

Giving organists their due, p17

Arts 42 Andrew Lambirth A meditation on a painting of the

Crucifixion by David Jones 44 Theatre The Duchess of Malfi; Uncle Vanya

Lloyd Evans 46 Cinema Mirror Mirror

Peter Hoskin Music Peter Phillips 47 Opera Life is a Dream

Michael Tanner 49 Radio Kate Chisholm 51 Television Simon Hoggart Culture notes Andrew Lambirth

LIFE

Life 55 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 56 Real life Melissa Kite 57 Long life Alexander Chancellor Bridge Janet de Botton

And finaly . . . 58 Chess Raymond Keene 59 Competition; Crossword 60 Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 61 Sport Roger Alton Your problems solved Mary Killen 62 Food Tanya Gold Mind your language Dot Wordsworth

The organist is destined to be heard but not seen, like a Radio 3 presenter. Sometimes he’s not even heard Ysenda Maxtone Graham, p17

The Duchess of Malfi is a Jacobean slasher-play, a straight-to-video Tarantino bloodfest, full of cloaked assassins and scheming dukes Lloyd Evans, p44

Companies pretend to put their customers first, but everyone knows that they don’t. Elaborate systems are set up to protect their employees from the outside world Alexander Chancellor, p57

Contributors oss Clark’s books include The Road to Southend Pier, on CCTV surveillance, and How to Label a Goat, on over-regulation. On p. 14, he considers David Cameron’s manners.

Mick Brown is the author of six books on topics from religion (The Spiritual Tourist) to Phil Spector (Tearing Down the Wall of Sound). On p. 22, he encounters a moral dilemma at Victoria Coach Station.

the spectator | 7 april 2012 | www.spectator.co.uk

Blair Worden’s most recent book is God’s Instruments: Political Conduct in the England of Oliver Cromwell. On p. 32, he reviews John Guy’s life of Thomas Becket.

James Stourton is a board director of Sotheby’s UK and author of Great Smaller Museums of Europe. The new Pevsner guide to Dundee and Angus, which he reviews on p. 34, includes his house.

Andro Linklater’s books include Measuring America, Wild People and Compton Mackenzie: A Life. On p. 39, he reviews Ben MacIntyre’s latest tale of second world war espionage.

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