MARIA DUARTE defends a solid, late-career Spielberg conspiracy flick that calls for empathy in a hostile world
Latest editorial
A classic, in every sense of the word
GORDON PARSONS recommends a revelatory account of how Latin and ancient Greek culture has influenced working-class consciousness in Britain
MARIA DUARTE, SCOTT ALSWORTH, ANDY HEDGECOCK and ANGUS REID review The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford, Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway, Time and Water, and Strictly Ballroom
STEVE JOHNSON recommends a beautiful album of songs that celebrate summer, from May Day onwards
New releases from Joe Wilkes, Honey and the Bear, and Hannah James and Toby Kuhn
Given the power of the live experience, MIK SABIERS recommends Jon Spencer’s new album
Reviews of T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, Tamikrest, and Dub Colossus
A People’s History of Classics
by Edith Hall and Henry Stead
(Routledge, £29.99)
IF POTENTIAL readers of this splendid book are daunted by its subtitle — Class and Greco-Roman Antiquities in Britain and Ireland 1689 to 1939 — they would sadly be missing out not only on a mine of information but also a riveting and entertaining read.
With 66 pages of references, this is the first detailed study of the use and influence of the ancient Greek and Latin languages and mythic histories on the British working classes from the 18th century onwards and its authors Edith Hall and Henry Stead have avoided a style that might alienate readers other than professional academics.
Similar stories
JULIA THOMAS unpicks the mental processes that explain why book-to-film adaptations so often disappoint
JOHN GREEN welcomes a remarkable study of Mozambique’s most renowned contemporary artist
Gin Lane by William Hogarth is a critique of 18th-century London’s growing funeral trade, posits DAN O’BRIEN
From hunting rare pamphlets at book sales to online panels and courses on trade unionism and class politics, the MML continues connecting archive treasures with the movements fighting for a better world, writes director MEIRIAN JUMP