Jodi Picoult is not an author to shy away from controversial topics. Her novels cover issues such as rape, suicide pacts and genetically…

Review of Amazing Grace in the light of whether religion is a force for good or for bad.

In one poll, J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Lord of the Rings was voted the British public's best loved book. Jerram Barrs delves into Tolkien's…

Why does crime fiction fascinate so many people? What might this show us about people's concerns today.

At one time, every parent and child knew all about Nativity plays. Many will have memories and photographs of tea-towel-adorned shepherds,…

How do you begin to tell stories about a war which claimed more than fifteen million lives? For children's author Michael Morpurgo, the…

A review of the recent Sherlock Holmes films and BBC TV series.

In The Writing on the Wall, Maggi Dawn sets about doing what John Stott called "double listening" – "it means that we’re called…

I'm not sure exactly what makes someone a phenomenon, but anyone who has managed to win 62 music awards in two years and has produced a…