Spark of Genius
Muriel Spark, one of the most admired British novelists of the 20th century, led a mystically charged life that uncannily melded fact and fiction
The Bard of Britain
At 77, Ian McEwan hopes to be remembered for more than Atonement
Mrs. Dalloway at 100
A century on, Virginia Woolf’s breakthrough novel remains modern
The Pride and Prejudice That Almost Was
Duets on horseback, Philadelphia nightlife … Inside an unmade Hollywood-musical version of the Austen classic, starring Judy Garland and Peter Lawford
Mick Herron’s Horse Sense
The Slow Horses author on the inspiration for Jackson Lamb, taking a page out of Stephen King’s book, and what his third act would look like
London Confidential
Boodle’s, Blacks, Buck’s, Brooks’s … A new coffee-table book takes readers on a tour of the city’s private members’ clubs
The Carat Confessions
The longtime jewelry editor at British Vogue recalls some of the dicier moments in her career—including when a stalker made off with a haul of precious gems
The Hippie Mafia
Fifteen years after the publication of my book on the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, here’s how I infiltrated the infamous Laguna Beach LSD cartel that supplied everyone from John Lennon to Steve Jobs
Don’t Believe Everything You Read About Amelia Earhart
Silk slippers, a fake license, and the branding of an American icon
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
A new book traces the tumultuous history of man and wolf—and debunks the myth of the “alpha” once and for all
Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch
A tartan noir for our times, and an excellent new British heist drama
Inspired by a Double Bagel
How the most one-sided defeat of Carlos Alcaraz’s life paved the way for his ascent to the top of the tennis world—and his moneymaking drop shot
Picture This
A new coffee-table book collects Martyn Goddard’s photographs of Blondie, capturing the pop-punk band at their peak in the hot New York summer of 1978
R. F. Kuang
At 29 years old, the Chinese-American author of the best-selling novel Yellowface is getting ready to publish her sixth book—and complete her fourth degree
The Designer Who Set Women Free
In contrast to Dior’s waist-cinching “New Look,” Claire McCardell’s “American Look” brought comfort to women’s fashion
Face Time
From Whitney Houston to Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Louise Bourgeois to Kate Moss, a new coffee-table book collects a lifetime of portraits by the photographer Bruce Weber
Grandmother Courage
The little-known story of the Argentinean women who fought to reclaim their stolen grandchildren—and helped topple a dictatorship
