AIR MAIL’s 12 Best Books of 2023
David Grann’s shipwreck tale, Sam Wasson’s Hollywood history, Mona Simpson’s latest novel, Tim Alberta’s foray inside the Evangelical Right: holiday reading for every type
Guess What Melania Trump Is Up To
Bet-makers weigh in on how the elusive former First Lady has been whiling away the hours since leaving the White House
Get Out of Your Head!
Novelist Laura Zigman is using lessons learned from her own struggles in publishing to provide talk therapy to other writers
Where the Wild Things Are
A new book of images by more than 90 wildlife photographers raises awareness of the dangers faced by leopards right now
A Feminist Frankenstein
Director Yorgos Lanthimos and screenwriter Tony McNamara discuss their new film, Poor Things, starring Emma Stone as a child-woman like no other
The Best Renaissance Artist You’ve Never Heard Of
At London’s National Gallery, the first-ever exhibition devoted to Francesco Pesellino’s work goes on view
His Last Bow
Much to his annoyance, Basil Rathbone became inseparable from his on-screen Sherlock Holmes. Now he’s back, reimagined as the debonair protagonist of a new novel
Life Lessons from an Italian Countess
On this week’s podcast, Bob Colacello shares what he learned from Marina Cicogna
Valhalla Karaoke
Das Rheingold according to Romeo Castellucci
Yesterday Once More
Forty years after Karen Carpenter’s death, a biography of the 1970s superstar explores the singer’s grit and tenacity
When Life Gives You Lemons …
Produced by Pauline Chalamet and directed by Rachel Walden, the short film Lemon Tree is inspired by a true story from Walden’s grandfather’s childhood
Absolutely Normal Chaos
Is Ridley Scott the bluntest man in the movie business? On the press tour for Napoleon, the director swears, shouts, and says whatever comes to mind
If These Walls Could Talk …
On this week’s podcast, Christopher Mason explains why a confidante to New York’s elite hid her true identity
In Lichtenstein’s Shadow
In honor of the Pop artist’s 100th birthday, the Parrish Art Museum is restoring a pair of his kinetic sculptures
Paul Henkel
Raised in the art world, the young curator is spotlighting new talent at his Manhattan art gallery
Sight Unseen
Alice Mason was a celebrated hostess and New York’s real-estate agent to the elite, but while she was showing lavish apartments to clients like Marilyn Monroe, she was hiding a family secret
Doomsday Goals
A pessimist prepares for a job interview
The Kingmaker
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis sealed Colonel Tom Parker’s reputation as greedy and conniving. In truth, Presley’s manager was the opposite—someone who would do anything for his client and friend