Andy Lloyd James

Andy Lloyd James reviews 'The Noise of Time' by Julian Barnes

May 2016, no. 381 • 27 April 2016

While reading Julian Barnes's latest novel, I recalled the day forty years ago when Philippe Petit spent an hour on a cable slung between the tops of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. The image of that minuscule figure dancing back and forth between those massive buildings was a perfect metaphor for the life of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–75), who was forever torn between ... (read more)

Andy Lloyd James reviews 'This New Noise' by Charlotte Higgins

December 2015, no. 377 • 27 November 2015

In 1922 John Reith was appointed general manager of the British Broadcasting Company. Reith was the son of a Glasgow Free Presbyterian Minister. Trained not at university but as an engineer and badly wounded during World War I, Reith was a virtual unknown, with no media experience. By his own admission he didn't even know what broadcasting was, but that was no problem: nobody else knew what it was ... (read more)

Andy Lloyd James reviews 'Unsuitable for Publication: Editing Queen Victoria' by Yvonne M. Ward

March 2014, no. 359 • 28 February 2014

When Queen Victoria died she had ruled the British Empire for sixty-three years. In the same year as her ascent to the throne, the capital of the colony of Victoria was christened Melbourne, after her first prime minister. She died in 1901, soon after Federation. After her death, her real character remained largely unknown for decades (Lytton Strachey’s seminal biography was still twenty years h ... (read more)

Andy Lloyd James reviews '26 Views of the Starburst World: William Dawes at Sydney Cove 1788–91' by Ross Gibson

February 2013, no. 348 • 29 January 2013

Words matter, and there can be few more misleading ones in Australian history than ‘settlement’, as used to describe the period immediately following the arrival of the First Fleet. It connotes understanding and agreement. In Sydney Cove, by contrast, five distinct groups were present: Governor Phillip and his immediate entourage; naval vessels and their crews; a detachment of Royal Marines; a ... (read more)

Andy Lloyd James reviews 'A Point of View' by Clive James

October 2012, no. 345 • 26 September 2012

A Point of View is a weekly BBC Radio series in which invited speakers deliver ten-minute talks about ‘anything that has captured their imagination’ that week. Clive James contributed from 2007 to the end of 2009. This book is a collection of his talks. It is fascinating to read, both because of the immense range of subjects he covered and because it gives you some insights into the author him ... (read more)