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The Playboy Philosopher

Lucky No. 9

Hilary Mantel

The author of the Cromwell trilogy recommends her favorite books on her favorite theme: royals

Meeting the Alien

In which the author is thrilled when he hears director Tim Burton wants him for a big part in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Sour Grapes

John Steinbeck’s biographer reveals the story of a friendship gone wrong when Joseph Campbell fell for Steinbeck’s wife Carol

Divorcing, Revisited

Susan Taubes’s semi-autobiographical novel was published in 1969 to little acclaim. Its reissuing offers a chance to discover the cutting, long-forgotten gem

Good Sport

Go for the game, stay for the crumpets: a new book surveys the storied, bucolic world of cricket

One for the Books

Heywood Hill, among the world’s most revered bookshops, is launching a somewhat unique literary prize

Hollywood Heartbreak

In which the star of My Best Friend’s Wedding forgets a dinner with Joan Collins and loses a “giant” role, all while trying to revive his career

Avedon’s Eye

Bruce Wagner’s Woke Universe

After his publisher balked at his use of a certain word, Hollywood’s master of satire posts his new novel online for free

Daddies’ Girls

Dark Words

Why did Eleanor Roosevelt stand by the offensive term she used in her long-celebrated autobiography?

Seeing Things

Seamus Heaney’s biographer looks at what makes a poet essential

Life Writing

Still Funny

Bringing Up Cary

The actor’s early years—he was born Archie Leach in Bristol, U.K.—stayed with him long after he became Cary Grant

Jane After Jann

25 years after the split of Jane and Jann Wenner, a close friend reflects on Jane’s stoic second act

The Home Front

To guide her through some of the world’s most dangerous places, the veteran war correspondent drew from a lifetime of her mom’s advice

Murder, They Wrote

Tainted Love

Squaring the Circle

A photographer chronicles the curious phenomenon of crop circles and the dreamers they attract

Where Have All the Thinkers Gone?

Editors at Bloomberg and The Economist make the case for a 21st-century Hobbes to solve our coronavirus woes

In Search of Lost Morals

Transactionalism has been a part of our politics since our founding. And, even during World War, it’s coexisted with decency. Not anymore