A fair amount of what the world knows of 17th century London was captured by one man. For 10 years, Samuel Pepys made daily entries in a shorthand common to scholars of the day. He was a keen observer ...

A man comes up to me while I’m having breakfast in a bar. He tells me he’s seen “Bad Education” three times. I thank him, as I normally do. The first time I fell asleep, the stranger explains. Did it ...