Always stylish, Carol Smith celebrated her first million-dollar publishing deal in the 1970s by buying herself a large diamond ringAlways stylish, Carol Smith celebrated her first million-dollar publishing deal in the 1970s by buying herself a large diamond ringOther livesBooksObituaryCarol Smith obituaryMy cousin Carol Smith, who has died aged 84, was a literary agent and author best known for her thrillers Kensington Court (1996) and Unfinished Business (2000).
Born in London to Winifred (nee Mapleston), a teacher, and David Smith, a businessman, Carol attended the North London Collegiate, after which she could not wait to get straight to work so took a shorthand course and flew to New York at the height of the Mad Men advertising era. Read More...
An elephant carrying timber in Burma, circa 1920. Photograph: Niday Picture Library/Alamy Stock PhotoAn elephant carrying timber in Burma, circa 1920. Photograph: Niday Picture Library/Alamy Stock PhotoElephant conservationEnvironmentDid George Orwell shoot an elephant? His 1936 'confession' – and what it might meanGeorge Orwell wrote a shocking account of a colonial policeman who kills an elephant and is filled with self-loathing. But was this fiction – or a confession? An Orwell expert introduces the original story Read More...
Culture This article is more than 20 years oldIn at the deep endThis article is more than 20 years oldGareth McLeanAs displayed in The Real Dirk Diggler (Five), John Holmes was a giant of the porn industry. Famous for his 14in penis, and immortalised in Boogie Nights, the boy from rural Ohio made 2,500 films and claimed to have bedded 14,000 women.
At the height of his fame, he became a drug addict, with a particular penchant for crack cocaine. Read More...