The benefits of large families, p16

The rest of the gang, p18

Does Birdsong sing? p59

THE WEEK

5 Leading article 9 Portrait of the Week 11 Diary stuart reid 12 Politics James forsyth 13 The Spectator’s Notes 16 Barometer 27 Matthew Parris 28 Ancient & modern 31 Letters 32 Any other business Martin VanderWeyer tHE nEW EstABLisHMEnt 14 Class distinction Even our aristocrats now consider themselves meritocrats Toby Young 15 rise of the special advisers Hothouse of the New Establishment Quentin Letts 16 Howtospend it Lifestyles of the discreetly powerful Rachel Johnson 18 Cameron’s tangled webs Who connects with whom 20 the ghost at the feast David Davis, odd man out Rod Liddle 22 Blackballed by Cameron How I became an outcast Douglas Murray

24 After the genocide Rwanda’s other lesson for the interventionists John Laughland 28 the real irish problem Blame the euro, not cuts Allister Heath

BOOKS & ARTS

BOOKs sPECiAL 36 sam Leith Love, Sex, Death and

Words, by John Sutherland and Stephen Fender; Title Deeds, by Gary Dexter 38 Paul Johnson Palmerston,

by David Brown 41 susan Hill The English Ghost,

by Peter Ackroyd 42 Juliet Gardiner Surviving Hitler’s

War, by Hester Vaizey 43 Andro Linklater The Blitz, by Juliet Gardiner 44 Margaret Drabble The Lost City of Stoke-on-Trent, by Matthew Rice 47 Gilbert Adair The Sixties,

by Christopher Isherwood 49 Lewis Jones Nemesis, by Philip Roth Beata Duncan ‘The Swimsuit’: a poem 49 Christian House Bookends 51 A selection from the writings of G.K. Chesterton

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Bernie, Michael Heath, Castro, Robert Thompson, Nick Downes, Royston, Paul Wood, Rob Murray, Nick Newman, Kipper Williams and Geoff Thompson. www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 68 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@pressholdings.com Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road,West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 314; no 9502 © 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 | 9 October 2010 | www.spectator.co.uk ,2010

dacs,london is,and

©adagp,par

Picasso goes to the ballet, p54

The Blitz from both sides, p42

Chesterton’s finest, p51

Arts 52 Hollywood’s gloss on reality

Olivia Glazebrook 54 Exhibitions Diaghilev and the

Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909–29 Andrew Lambirth 57 Cinema Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Deborah Ross 58 Arts Debate Lloyd Evans 59 Theatre House of Games; Birdsong

Lloyd Evans 60 Culture notes George Hull Opera Tristan und Isolde;

Niobe, Regina di Tebe Michael Tanner 63 Pop Marcus Berkmann 63 Dance Onegin;Afterlight:

Russell   Maliphant Giannandrea Poesio 64 Television Simon Hoggart 65Radio Kate Chisholm

LIFE

Lif e 71 High life Taki Low life Jeremy Clarke 72 Real life Melissa Kite 73 Motoring Alan Judd 75 Bridge Janet de Botton

Mini-bar Simon Hoggart An d fin al y . . . 76 Chess Raymond Keene 77 Competition; Crossword 78Status anxiety Toby Young Dave Michael Heath 79 TheWiki Man Rory Sutherland Yourproblemssolved Mary Killen

Is there not something irksome about bright youths who suck at the state’s teat and never leave it? Quentin Letts, p15

We were playing cards when there was the sound of the front door opening. ‘There’s Fred, the ghost,’ said my grandmother Susan Hill, p41

In the past, television was staffed by   people who desperately wanted to improve it. Now it’s run by people who want to make it worse Simon Hoggart, p65

Contributors

Quentin Letts (‘A perfect spad’, p15) is a journalist who writes for the Daily Mail. R achel Johnson (‘How to spend it’, p16) is editor of the Lady. She won the Literary

Review’s 2008 Bad Sex in Fiction award.

John Laughland (‘Revenge tragedy’, p24) lives in Paris. He is author of A History of Political Trials from Charles I to Saddam Hussein. S usan Hill’s latest ghost story is The Small Hand. She reviews Peter Ackroyd’s collection of English ghost tales on p41.

Margaret Drabble (Books, p44) has written a life of Arnold Bennett.

the spectator | 9 October 2010 | www.spectator.co.uk

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