The Underground
The retro grandeur of Soviet-era metro stations
First Impressions
A new book remembers more than a decade spent in the orbit of Beckett and de Beauvoir. Here, its author describes her early encounters with the literary stars
Prima Time
Francesca Hayward arrives in Cats, Coppélia, and Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words
Master and Commander
The U.S.S. Lincoln projects American sea power on a small speck off the coast of Newfoundland
Donald Trump’s Completely Unverified London Diary*
The “stable genius” becomes a laughingstock
Once More unto the Holidays
Reliably spirited tracks from David Bowie, Prince, Dire Straits, XTC, Talking Heads, Ice Cube, Buzzcocks, the Clash, and more
America’s Next Top Model
Now in its 23rd year, this American city is ready for its close-up—as is its surprise builder!
Sometimes, Bigger Is Better
Never-before-seen Avedon, a Trump-free Palm Beach, Helmut’s nudes: everyone loves a beautiful coffee-table book, and this year options abound
First Love
Little-known correspondence from Elizabeth Bishop offers a glimpse into the poet’s romantic life
EPISODE IV: “The Clue Lay in the Outsider Art!”
Still more correspondence from Lansy Everett, formerly of the New York Herald Tribune, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Vogue, Worth, and Harper’s Bazaar
B. J. Novak
So much more than a children’s book: on metafiction for kids
Deborah Levy
Recommends the books whose authors were as fascinating as their work
Behind the Scenes
A new book pulls back the curtain on London’s
most beautiful theaters
It’s Murphy’s Law, Live!
Mischief Theatre, the comedy group that gave us The Play That Goes Wrong, gets a new series
Bomb Cyclone
All systems go, weather and otherwise: tracks from Tom Petty, Beth Orton, James & Bobby Purify, Fiona Apple, the Staple Singers, ? & the Mysterians, et al.
