“... the table in Vermeer’s painting of a Young Woman Reading a Letter at an Open Window. The letter may have no words on it, the lover is fictional, and the objects in the picture have been artfully positioned, but, Brook comments, ‘the world is real, and that is what we are in pursuit of.’ The door that opens from the china bowl in the Vermeer household ...”

“... to have been defeated. The gradual draw-down of troops implied in Medvedev’s announcement may have more to do with tightening budgets in Moscow than with conditions in the field: that same evening, Russian troops once again clashed with separatist fighters in the Shali region. Such battles take place on a more or less weekly basis, resulting in a ...”

“... proclaimed emperor before his father actually died, and that his mother, the Empress Eirene, may have preferred Anna’s husband to her own son. But no suggestion of a plot against John surfaces before the account of Niketas Choniates, who was born around the time Anna died. Choniates admits that, having poor sources, he relied on hearsay for the early ...”

“... endorse the accords and signal to Colombia that it must not let this opportunity slip away. Uribe may well try to spin things out while he gains political strength; if negotiations drag on, mid-level Farc commanders might lose faith in their leaders’ capacity to negotiate the deal, and in the government’s ability to guarantee its promises. The Farc could ...”

“... Dostoevsky went to inspect it: he was less persuaded that it was so humane. A prisoner may have had their own space, but that meant they lived in semi-solitary confinement. Pentonville was a holding pen: prisoners would soon be sent to other prisons or shipped to the other side of the world to see out their incarceration. I saw a form for a ...”

“... family, welfare state and mental-health services.Readers who are allergic to irony and archness may not be impressed – the book is so arch that you could drive a horse and carriage through it – but it provides a steady flow of good gags and is, in its way, satisfyingly resonant too. In its straightforward comic determination to please, The Adulterants ...”

“... the State of Israel, one of its institutions, or an area under its control, in such a way that may cause economic, cultural or academic harm’ (the first such lawsuit was filed in January against two activists in New Zealand who had written an open letter that persuaded the singer Lorde to cancel a concert in Tel Aviv). In their ruling the Supreme Court ...”

“... since the 1990s. It is one of the few sub-Saharan sites of exploration where valuable discoveries may still come to light. For European and North American curators, and their African protégés, the rewards are handsome. Sanlé Sory has turned out well in every sense. He reassures us that we can ascribe works in Africa to individuals, whether they’re ...”

“... ships into port; and even on the high and windswept Sheppey Crossing, where container lorries may struggle to reach the ‘reserve’ system proposed for the port of Sheerness. This is how the moral of Brenley Corner enters our time. It is a lot easier to rail against juggernauts and other inflated bogeys than to run a country properly, or even just a ...”

“... challenges. As his charisma balances his brother’s dutifulness, his departure from the firm may be a loss, perhaps even a danger, to the royal family.However, there is a question as to what sort of departure is viable, and what sort of freedom he can find. In renouncing the utilitarian contract between public funding and public service, Harry is also ...”

“... success – a good level of temporary protection – is higher than the chance of full success. It may well be that two doses of the vaccine are required for better protection, or that we will eventually prefer one of the hundreds of vaccines currently in earlier stages of development. I would be extremely surprised if we never develop an effective vaccine. A ...”

“... some advantages: he liked the different viewpoint. After a final stroke in King’s at the end of May 1970, Forster died on 7 June. Nick wrote to me about his final days and funeral: He was worried and miserable during those last days in King’s, after his stroke, but not from fear of death, which he often said didn’t frighten him at all: I’m sure ...”

“... of the American activist Angela Davis than with what happened in Notting Hill the same year. This may be the reason McQueen, who developed the series over many years, wanted it to be shown on the BBC. Small Axe has a Reithian spirit. The two best episodes, however, ‘Lovers Rock’ and ‘Education’ (written with Courttia Newland and Alastair Siddons ...”

“... splatters half-hides the evanescent drapery of her dress, as if to suggest that while such fabric may advertise an artist’s skill with colour, it’s less suited to practical work. Personified ‘Painting’ and the real female artist overlap in the essentials, but stubborn details prevent them from mapping precisely onto one another.On the table below the ...”

“... the floor, she tells the doctor on the phone that if there’s no chance the boy will live, she may as well just hop in a cab to the clinic and save him the ambulance; when the paramedics get there and Levy says she might vomit, one of them asks if she’s drunk (‘No, I’m upset,’ she explains); on a stretcher at the clinic, hooked up to various ...”