Arts & Books

A new book by Jo Bartosch and Robert Jessel exposes the scale, cruelty, and moral consequences of pornography, and raises uncomfortable questions about freedom, consent, and human dignity

n Stanley Spencer’s Sarah Tubb and the Heavenly Visitors, the visionary painter brings the divine to everyday village life, writes Melanie McDonagh

A fair number of Catholic churches have been dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury since the Second Catholic Relief Act which allowed Catholic churches to be detached buildings

Two Oxford women saw the ghost of Marie Antoinette... or did they?

The remarkable story of Britain’s Catholic converts, from Wilde and Newman to Waugh and Greene.

The prior of the Dominican Community in Oxford discusses how the new Centre for Theology and the Arts aims to restore dialogue between art and faith at a time when beauty has been politicised, thinned or misunderstood

Tucked away on St Aldates, this is one of Oxford’s hidden treasures and is more than a bookstore. It serves as a warm hearth of Catholic intellectual life, where the love of books and the love of God share the same shelf

What might be strikingly different about 'Vanishing Landscapes: The Story of Plants and How We Lost Them' to any reader of the writings of other nature writers, is the ready celebration of the tie between the history of agriculture in this particular land and Christian metaphysics

Judy Montagu’s The Greyhound Diary captures post-war America through the eyes of a sharp, witty young Englishwoman travelling alone across the country by bus in 1949. It is a vivid record of character, kindness and curiosity on the open road

London's National Gallery is marking the 150th anniversary of Jean-François Millet's death with an exhibition celebrating his portrayal of rural workers in northern France; this writer finds the works infused with theological themes

Fra Angelico’s luminous genius returns to his native Florence in a landmark exhibition spanning the Museo di San Marco and Palazzo Strozzi, uniting faith, colour and imagination in a celebration of one of the Renaissance’s most transcendent artists.

Fr Paul Mariani’s China’s Church Divided traces the lives of two Shanghai bishops whose choices — one loyal to Rome, the other to Beijing — expose the deep moral and political fractures faced by China’s Catholics under Communist rule.

Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, reviews Emma Warren’s Up the Youth Club — a compelling exploration of the history, purpose and future of Britain’s youth clubs, and a passionate call to renew investment in spaces where young people can grow and belong

A haunting account of a Devon farming family’s tragic downfall, John Cornwell’s Earth to Earth combines true crime with social history in a gripping investigation that exposes the pressures, pride, and isolation of rural life.

Churches everywhere are a testament not just to the durability of brick and stone, but to belief itself. Faith isn’t going away – it just might have a very different physical presence

Thomas Edwards on the first major biography of Pope Leo, based on interviews with Elise Allen.

A church arrayed with the painstaking handiwork of parishioners is intensely moving for those who have ever tried to keep a piece of cross-stitch square

A handsome table clock made for the first King of Great Britain and of Ireland had on its sides images of the four Evangelists, but hidden on its base an engraving of James and his sons holding the Pope’s nose to a grindstone

Reading novels like this one can be an exercise in spiritual development

A portrait of Mgr Alfred Gilbey in all his charm, wit, and unapologetic singularity.