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Heed the omens, Mandy — above all, fear Caesar

29.09.09

Coinciding with the Labour Party conference is the publication of Robert Harris’s Roman thriller Lustrum, which is dedicated to his friend Peter Mandelson. The blurb on the book jacket says: “Blinded by Ambition. Seduced by Power”. Or as Mandelson prefers to describe himself these days, “a rounded and relaxed person”... more

It’s much too late to call Roman Polanski to account

29.09.09

There's nothing artistic about drugging, raping or sodomising a young girl. The details vary depending which version of Roman Polanski's 1977 seduction of a 13-year-old actress you read... more

Polanski’s wife calls on Hollywood to back his fight against extradition

28.09.09

Roman Polanski’s wife said today she was 'outraged' by his arrest and vowed to fight American attempts to extradite him... more

Mandy's mates: The Peter Mandelson diaspora

11.08.09

The country rests safe in the neatly manicured hands of Peter Mandelson: Gordon Brown's best frenemy and the man who exercises such a magnetic pull for protesters that an eco-suffragette promptly chained herself to his Regent's Park railings as he returned home to mind No 10's business for the week... more

The lessons we should be learning from Cicero

06.08.09

peter Mandelson doesn’t tend to lay his ideals open to public scrutiny. Cicero, by contrast, never kept his mouth shut... more

Lord Mandelson, in the image of Roman orator

05.08.09

Standard learns that best-selling author Robert Harris has dedicated 2nd volume of Cicero trilogy to Lord Mandelson... more

Harriet Harman is right to focus on rape law

05.08.09

Harriet Harman deserves congratulation for raising the issue of rape to proper prominence... more

Michael Jackson factor hits right note to boost HMV turnaround

30.06.09

HMV sold more than 40,000 Michael Jackson albums in the three days after his death - far outstripping the sales leap it experienced after the deaths of Elvis Presley and John Lennon... more

Clan Kinnock and their Euro jackpot

12.06.09

After losing two general elections, the Kinnocks moved to Europe and prospered. Now they’re back — but will they save or sink Labour?... more

Trudie Styler speaks out to revive the lost art of oratory

03.04.09

The art of oratory is being killed off by computers, according to Trudie Styler... more

Black cabs, red buses and minis: it must be ... Berlin

12.02.09

Street scenes of London have been recreated in Berlin for the filming of Roman Polanski's new film because the director cannot enter Britain... more

Sex charges against me a travesty, says Polanski

03.12.08

Three decades after fleeing the United States over a sex case involving a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski has asked a Los Angeles court to dismiss the charges ... more

The extraordinary life of London's leading agent

22.10.08

As the literary world mourns the sudden death of Pat Kavanagh, a portrait is emerging of a steely operator and a woman who inspired awe and fear in equal measure... more

Tributes pour in for legendary literary agent Pat Kavanagh

21.10.08

Tributes poured in for Pat Kavanagh, the legendary literary agent and wife of novelist Julian Barnes, who has died from a brain tumour... more

And the winners are not...

15.10.08

The Man Booker judges have determined that Aravind Adiga's debut novel about the seamier side of Indian life is the best fiction of the year. How do they do that?... more

Booker judge criticises 'highbrow' male panels

14.10.08

One of this year's Man Booker Prize judges has criticised male academics who sit on literary panels, claiming they pick "highbrow" novels over readable ones... more

Literary Life

08.10.08

Celebrity sells at an astonishing rate, yet at its heart the UK still loves a book for itself and London is a great champion of literature. These are the people who keep us reading. ... more

Two scorpions are back in same bottle

03.10.08

From the moment he backed Tony Blair for Labour leader 18 long years ago, Peter Mandelson was never again going to be a close friend of Gordon Brown... more

Prince of Darkness back from the wilderness ... again

03.10.08

Peter Mandelson's return to the Government confirms his reputation as the "comeback king" of British politics... more

From soaps to the Booker

18.08.08

When Tom Rob Smith's first novel made the longlist for our most prestigious literary prize it caused a publishing storm. Here he hits back at his critics ... more

Mick Jagger turns 65 next week. So what will he do with his bus pass?

19.07.08

He's a collision of contradictions. The most outrageous, sexually ambiguous, tantalising rock singer ever who has spent 45 years pursuing legions of beautiful, rich girls.... more

Andrew Neil pays Ł4m for top literary agency split by feud

18.06.08

Andrew Neil, the broadcaster and former editor of The Sunday Times, today bought one of Britain's leading literary and talent agencies for £4 million... more

Who needs the Royal Academy, eh Damien?

06.06.08

Damien Hirst is more interested in turning his stately home into a world-class gallery than joining the Royal Academy... more

Breakneck books are sometimes the best

18.03.08

Sebastian Faulks has revealed that he wrote his new James Bond novel, Devil May Care, in just six weeks... more

'The River Café's location is unique'

04.12.06

As a legal battle that threatened one of London's most iconic restaurants is resolved Ruth Rogers tells Lucy Cavendish why she can't imagine cooking anywhere else.... more