Was the premature death of Shakespeare’s only son really the inspiration for Hamlet?
Books + Ideas – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 276 - 300 of 1658 articles
Bri Lee’s Seed and Rose Michael’s Else approach our uncertain future from opposite directions – one considers refusing care, while the other is guided by it.
The tension between the novelistic attention to psychology and detail and the epic tendency to breadth of scale and form makes – and unmakes – this book.
The decision to silence a Palestinian Australian author goes well beyond the standards of the Racial Discrimination Act and ordinary standards of free speech.
In World of War, Geoffrey Robertson calls for more law and better justice, but his arguments are less than compelling.
In The Hiding Place, the hollow ethics of Kate Mildenhall’s characters are exposed as exploitative and mercenary.
Most stories of the Vikings and their gods focus on men. It’s time for the women to take centre stage: from giantesses to bad-arse shieldmaidens.
In That Book is Dangerous! author Adam Szetela argues we exist in a ‘Sensitivity Era’ and publishing is paying the price. Is he right?
The oldest known writing dates to around 5000 BCE. It origins are mysterious.
New year’s reading resolutions are a fun way to take your reading seriously. Here are some ideas – from no phones before bed, to deep diving into one author’s work.
Summer reading can mean anything you want it to – from a crime or romance novel to a fat classic you didn’t have time for during the year. What will you read?
Celia Paul’s extraordinary, art-focused life is captured in two brilliant autobiographies. Stella longlisted Stephanie Radok makes the ordinary special in her art.
A surprising number of people say they are open to the existence of angels. Their Old Testament identities are very different, however, to how they are seen today.
Teens – like most of us – are influenced by each other when it comes to reading. They share their favourite books read in 2025, ranging from manga to crime to romance.
The Nutcracker is a beloved Christmas tale, but the original version is no innocent sugarcoated fantasy.
Chris Wallace-Crabbe was one of Australia’s best-known poets. Generations of students and colleagues benefited from his wisdom and generosity.
The essay form is a response to minds, art, communities and culture, understood through a writer’s body, intellect and being.
Former journalist Olivia Nuzzi’s American Canto, about her ‘digital affair’ with politician RFK Jr, raises all kinds of ethical questions. Oh, and it’s a hot mess.
Recent studies have shown declining levels of trust in democratic systems. We asked experts to consider democracy’s strengths and weaknesses.
Social media communities on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have encouraged teens to read for fun. Now, Australian teens are banned from them until they turn 16.
Are we all political animals? Aristotle thought so. Politics, he believed, was the art of the possible, but extremes of wealth could harm democracies.
It became clear that “Team Dutton” was running on little more than bloke-energy, an unaffordable nuclear policy and, crazily, higher taxes.
Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is one of the world’s most widely celebrated Jewish festivals. The Bondi attacks’ timing on its first day is significant – and heartbreaking.
In the 1930s, many foreign correspondents refused to cover Germany. Instead, George Ward Price got close to Hitler – and was rebuked by Churchill.
Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book, 1929, takes us inside the Wall Street crash that led to the Depression. It asks: does history repeat itself? And what can we learn from it?