Paul Brown

1 month ago | quillette.com | Jonathan Kay |Brian Stewart |Charlotte Allen |Paul Brown

Tsar Nicholas II, being the last reigning Emperor of Russia, ranks as a major historical figure. Yet in many histories of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Tsar is treated almost as a secondary character—more a passive symbol of old-world aristocracy than a major protagonist in his own right. This is why I was uncertain about launching myself into historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa’s newly published book, The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs.

1 month ago | quillette.com | Brian Stewart |Jonathan Kay |Charlotte Allen |Paul Brown

Anyone wanting to take the pulse of progressive America can consult the opinion pages of the New York Times. That‚Äôs where, earlier this year, I found Ezekiel Kweku, one of the paper‚Äôs editors, complaining bitterly about Hamilton. A decade after the musical about America‚Äôs neglected founding father became a Broadway sensation, Kweku wants his readers to know that it has not aged well.

1 month ago | quillette.com | Charlotte Allen |Paul Brown |Gerfried Ambrosch |Evan Morris

NOTE: This essay contains spoilers. The rise and fall of Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language movie musical Emilia Pérezmust be one of the swiftest turns of the wheel of cinematic fortune ever recorded. On 23 January 2025, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that the Netflix-distributed film had been nominated for thirteen Oscars—the second-highest number of nominations in the Academy’s history.