One of Beethoven's many musical legacies is a superstition about the symphonic number 9. Today, Mahlerman looks at some  composers who might be said to have fallen at the ninth hurdle... It is now almost universally accepted that the standard set by Beethoven early in the 19th Century with his cycle of ... Read More...

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post on the subject of primeval style and the new Dark Ages. The design world seems to have picked up on this trend. For those wishing to kit out a cave, or adopt a primordial lifestyle, product designers have come up with ... Read More...

Elberry enjoys an "unnervingly lucid" mix of horror and comedy... This is an extremely funny book about booze, bars, violence, and horrible sex. Not new subjects but then how many could there be, in the 21st Century? In any case, deWitt's manner is so peculiar, so arresting, he seems to exist ... Read More...

It's about time we had a caption competition in Key's Cupboard, so here is a caption competition... with a difference! The twist is that you are actually given the caption, and the challenge is to attribute it correctly, and to devise a suitable rejoinder. The photograph above shows a Spanish conquistador in ... Read More...

Jonathon Green introduces a hero of New York slang, once a bestselling author churning out smash hit after smash hit, now all but forgotten... To the five hundred and seventy-five thousands friends who have made this series of John Henry books a success beyond all dreaming, my deepest gratitude. To the Good ... Read More...

This seasonal gem from Jassy was so popular last year that we thought we'd better repeat it for Dabbler newbies. And next week we've got her extraordinary recipe that makes sprouts actually edible... The Christmas tree is up, half the Advent calendar doors stand gaping and the presents are a mess ... Read More...

The shops are full of rubbish and anyway you already own everything, so nobody knows what to buy you for Christmas. Here's the solution. Get them to buy you a subscription to the League of Dabblers. It's a mere £30, but the rewards are priceless and infinite... For the trifling sum ... Read More...

Rita finds that the vicious polarisation of American politics infects even the season of goodwill... Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, sated with turkey and family togetherness, Americans abandon their homes to participate in an ancient ritual known as Black Friday. It is a bit like Pamplona’s running of the ... Read More...

  Brit the Elder has been busy again, fashioning a mind-bending new quiz for you whizzes, which we're calling a Cryptic Hypergram (well why not?). Comments are off, but send your answer to editorial@thedabbler.co.uk by this time next week and we'll sort you out with a prize if your name is drawn...Good ... Read More...

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for the bibliophile in your life, you can't go wrong with a subscription to Slightly Foxed, the real readers' quarterly. But Slightly Foxed also publish beautiful limited editions of carefully-selected literary gems that have been allowed to slip out of print. You can buy them ... Read More...