The Foxes go Gothic …

For the first couple of days of next week, we behave completely normally. Well – when I say ‘normally’, I mean normally for US, and that could cover any number of possibilities, up to and including running around like headless chickens (especially if last week is anything to go by …), but in this [...]

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Interview with J.A. Henderson

Jan-Andrew Henderson has just won the Royal Mail Award for his novel Bunker 10.  This award is the largest children’s book prize in the UK and more importantly is voted for by children themselves.  Since I am such a such a huge fan of his books (see my reviews of both Bunker 10 and [...]

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Portrait of a Fox: Jackie

In the latest of our series of interviews with the foxes themselves, self-confessed “Arty Fox” Jackie talks to RosyB about wildlife painting,  a certain “piglet” and THAT book. (I wonder which one it could be…)

RosyB: You are famous on Vulpes for your reviews of books about artists and you always have something to say about [...]

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Sorry… sorry… very sorry…

For anyone tuning in today, hoping to find an alcohol fuelled hijack… I’d like to apologise.  Yes, it was all meticulously planned (as always) and yes we did factor in all the possible scenarios (as we usually do) but when foxes and alcohol get together it’s always a bit of a gamble.  And this time [...]

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Damp Squid by Jeremy Butterfield

There is nothing – and I mean absolutely NOTHING – more guaranteed to generate sturm und drang amongst readers, writers and indeed listeners than the thorny question of English usage.  If you doubt that statement, gentle reader, I would refer you to the revealing comments on Rosy’s recent, and splendid, rant on Grammar Freaks.
Whatever your [...]

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Communism and the Family, by Alexandra Kollontai

In the popular conception of Soviet culture, Kollontai equals sex.  This is hardly surprising, because in her own lifetime this remarkable and complex woman – a Commissar and later a diplomat – was arguably most famous for the ways people understood, and misunderstood, her views on sexuality.  As the historian Sheila Fitzpatrick demonstrates in her [...]

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Metro Stop Paris by Gregor Dallas

The title is misleading, as there is hardly any mention of subways or train tracks. Instead, the locations of the metro stations are used as a jumping off point to the history and personalities that were prominent in various parts of Paris. It’s a unique approach, but disappointing to anyone hoping for articles on [...]

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Next week on Vulpes.

Confusion reigns in the den at the moment. We have a full week coming up, but the precise details are refusing to stay still long enough to be nailed down.  The following, therefore, is to be looked upon as something of a “Rough Guide to Vulpine Behaviour”.
Monday: Jackie journeys to the City of Light [...]

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Eggs by Jerry Spinelli

A book I practically insisted my daughter read is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.  I don’t usually make my kids read at all, ever…the choice is always up to them.  But with Stargirl I just knew it was an exceptional book that my daughter would love – and I was right.
It was therefore with joy [...]

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Are You Somebody? by Nuala O’Faolain

Before Are You Somebody? was published, Nuala O’Faolain was a minor Irish celebrity, a opinion columnist with The Irish Times commenting with clarity and perception on the various aspects of Irish society and culture that caught her attention. She had also achieved a certain notoriety as the long-term partner of Nell McCafferty, an outspoken political [...]

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