Guardian Angel
In the 19th century, Caroline Norton campaigned for mothers to have legal rights to their own children. She secured them for others—but not for herself
Staff Picks
Don’t miss the history behind the Kentucky Derby anthem; a biography of the philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville; and a dazzling look at Renaissance altarpieces
When Marilyn Went British
In a 1956 trip to England, Marilyn Monroe sowed the seeds of divorce with Arthur Miller, battled with Laurence Olivier on set, and snagged an audience with the Queen
Meet You at Mortimer’s
A new book revisits the mid-70s heyday of Mortimer’s restaurant, which played host to everyone from Jackie O and Nancy Reagan to Liz Smith and Mick Jagger
Diary of a Somebody
When Anne Frank’s father published her diaries, they inspired awe, criticism, and lawsuits. Seventy-five years later, they’re still the center of controversy
Talking in Riddles
A collection of 95 medieval riddles has left scholars scratching their heads—and clutching their pearls
Staff Picks
Don’t miss the epic story of a search for a missing canoer; an insider’s look at Italian life; and a re-assessment of 20th-century classical music
Herbie Fully Loaded
In an excerpt from his new book, the author remembers unleashing his father, a well-known negotiator, on a professor he hated
Once upon a Time in Hollywood
In the course of their brief, intense marriage, Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward lit the match for a cultural explosion in 1960s Los Angeles
Practice Makos Perfect
Christopher Makos showed Andy Warhol how to use his first camera. He also cemented Warhol’s existence as the personification of the “American brand”
Touching Base
The effect of Jackie Robinson on the lives of average Americans of color is well documented. But he was instrumental for other baseball players of color, too
Staff Picks
Don’t miss a biography of the American painter Winslow Homer; a little-told story about Benjamin Franklin; and a memoir turned meditation on books
Murder, They Wrote
Tragic beauties dominate this month’s best mystery novels—as well as a 1946 noir classic
Spires, Squires, and Liars
A contemporary of Boris Johnson’s and Dominic Cummings’s traces Brexit, and the state of politics in Britain today, back to 1980s Oxford
Breathing Fire
Gary Indiana has a new collection of essays, Fire Season. In an interview, the outspoken critic lets loose on young writers, politicians, and just about everyone else
