November 11, 2023

London Feels

Our special issue is devoted to that ever changing constant that always punches above its weight …

It Brits

Our list of the 25 young Londoners reshaping the city in their image …

See You Next Tuesday

Only one word separates the U.S. from the U.K., explains Hannah Betts …

SIGHT SEER

The literary icon Will Self takes us on a hike across his hometown …

Gods and Monsters

Eton survivor James Fox explains the school’s outsize influence …

PALACE INTRIGUE

Break bread (if not the ice) with royalty in Aatish Taseer’s tantalizing new roman à clef …

SAY ANYTHING

Stuart Jeffries visits the new intellectual salon where no subject is verboten …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Meet the new tribes of London … Biba abides … Ruthie Rogers and the River Cafe diaspora … Nicky Haslam’s uncommon tea towels … Peter Cook, Lenny Bruce, and the Establishment Club …. every generation re-discovers Camden … the only female British Pop artist … Jacques Testard: king of Nobels … Tom Stoppard’s mind-altering dramas … Bacchanalia is the most bonkers restaurant in town!

Issue No. 226

The View from Here It was the worst of times, it was the best of times

Read On

School for Scoundrels Eton College has long played an outsize role in Great Britain’s public life. It’s where some of the country’s most prominent figures were schooled in the art of dissembling

By James Fox

Read On

The London Nobody Knows And there’s only one way to explore it—on foot

By Will Self

Read On

The C-Spot Nothing validates the dictum that the U.S. and the U.K. are “two nations divided by a common language” quite like this single, four-letter word

By Hannah Betts

Read On

Sexy Feast There’s a new Richard Caring restaurant in town. But the gods are not smiling down on Bacchanalia

By Hilary Rose

Read On

All the Young, Noisy People A brief history of Camden Town, from Withnail to Amy Winehouse

By Dorian Lynskey

Read On

Joining “the Firm” An aspiring journalist from New Delhi gets a private tour of Kensington Palace—his new girlfriend’s childhood home

By Aatish Taseer

Illustrations by Paul Cox

Read On

Far from the Madding Hive Mind Inside the UnHerd Club, London’s liveliest—and most controversial—new literary salon

By Stuart Jeffries

Read On

And God Created Biba In 1964, a little shop appeared on the most bourgeois street in Kensington. Somehow, it became a happening, and fashion has never quite recovered

By Alexandra Shulman

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

“We have ways of making you talk funny.”

The Uncommon Man There are many who believe Nicky Haslam is the last bastion of good taste. His tea towels can help you elevate yours

By Stuart Heritage

Read On

Now and Then

In honor of the Beatles’ new single, AIR SUPPLY pays tribute to the Fab Four with a collection of British luxuries, Swinging 60s souvenirs, and tailor-made staples for today’s sartorialist

Shop

Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma/Getty Images (John Lennon and Julian Lennon)

Tuscany on the Thames Started as a lunch canteen for the architects upstairs, Ruthie Rogers’s River Cafe has shaped The Way We Eat Now—and launched the careers of countless chefs

By Mark Rozzo

Read On

Stash Anya Hindmarch Any Londoner knows that weekend getaways to somewhere—anywhere—warm and sunny is basically prescribed by the N.H.S.…

Eat Crisp Pizza W6 Until recently, the frills-free Chancellors pub, in Hammersmith, was simply a reliable place to watch Rugby. But after Carl McCluskey…

Watch Rye Lane A great romantic comedy should make you fall in love with not just the characters but the world they inhabit. If first-time director…

Eat Norman’s Cafe Fish finger sandwiches, chip butties, full English breakfasts. You can find the same menu at countless greasy spoons across the capital…

Procure Design by Nature In a city with no shortage of creative fresh-flower studios—Lys and Untitled are two of the best recent additions—Emily Ayres’s Design by Nature…

Spin Idle Moments Analog hi-fi? Check. Japan-pressed vinyl? Check. Natural wine? As with anywhere in East London—check. Idle Moments, on Columbia Road…

Stash Anya Hindmarch Any Londoner knows that weekend getaways to somewhere—anywhere—warm and sunny is basically prescribed by the N.H.S.…

Eat Crisp Pizza W6 Until recently, the frills-free Chancellors pub, in Hammersmith, was simply a reliable place to watch Rugby. But after Carl McCluskey…

Watch Rye Lane A great romantic comedy should make you fall in love with not just the characters but the world they inhabit. If first-time director…

Eat Norman’s Cafe Fish finger sandwiches, chip butties, full English breakfasts. You can find the same menu at countless greasy spoons across the capital…

Procure Design by Nature In a city with no shortage of creative fresh-flower studios—Lys and Untitled are two of the best recent additions—Emily Ayres’s Design by Nature…

Spin Idle Moments Analog hi-fi? Check. Japan-pressed vinyl? Check. Natural wine? As with anywhere in East London—check. Idle Moments, on Columbia Road…

The Riling Class Before the British Invasion, there was the satire boom. Its ground zero was a grotty strip joint turned nightclub in Soho that Peter Cook re-christened “the Establishment”

By Sam Kashner

Read On

From Tree to Tree The hidden history of London’s most interesting—and complicated—family

By Ivana Lowell and Jonathan Moffat

Read On

My Favorite Things Rosh Mahtani, the London-based jewelry designer behind Alighieri’s handcrafted talismans, shares her must-haves for her workspace, wardrobe, and beyond

By Rosh Mahtani

Shop

Photo: Amelia Karlsen (Mahtani)

“You should get that looked at, laddie.”

Nobels “R” Us By identifying a gap in the U.K. book market, Jacques Testard turned his kitchen-table publisher into a prizewinning literary powerhouse

By David Campbell

Read On

The New Tribes of London The traditional types—the Hampstead Intellectual, the Chelsea Hooray, the Shoreditch Hipster—have bitten the dust. Meet the new clichés populating the city’s streets

By Charlie Baker and The Fence

Illustrations by Eric Hanson

Read On

David Yaffe On

The Real Inspector Hound And Other Plays

by Tom Stoppard

Read On

David E. McCraw On

Buying Silence: How Oligarchs, Corporations and Plutocrats Use the Law to Gag Their Critics

by David Hooper

Read On

“Tell him I can still hear him chewing.”

Graydon Carter Talks About the London He Loves On this week’s podcast, AIR MAIL’s Co-Editor takes us inside the London Issue

Read On

Pauline Boty, Lost and Found A long-overlooked member of the British Pop-art movement, and one of its few women, gets her due in a new biography

By Marc Kristal

Read On

Wine of the Times London’s East End has gone from “proper old boozers” to natural-wine hubs

By Spike Carter

Read On

Whiz Syd A new documentary traces Syd Barrett’s enigmatic life, from co-founding Pink Floyd to dropping out of the music industry entirely

By David Yaffe

Read On

“Don’t you remember? You were the one who voted to cut railway funding.”

Harry Lambert

The British journalist resuscitating political writing at The New Statesman answers 33 of life’s most pressing questions

Read On

King Charles III, hanging in Scarfes Bar—my bar, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year—in the Rosewood London hotel.

Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editors

Elena Clavarino Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

The View from Here It was the worst of times, it was the best of times

Meet the 25 irrepressible young talents lighting up the scene

School for Scoundrels Eton College has long played an outsize role in Great Britain’s public life. It’s where some of the country’s most prominent figures were schooled in the art of dissembling

The London Nobody Knows And there’s only one way to explore it—on foot

The C-Spot Nothing validates the dictum that the U.S. and the U.K. are “two nations divided by a common language” quite like this single, four-letter word

Sexy Feast There’s a new Richard Caring restaurant in town. But the gods are not smiling down on Bacchanalia

All the Young, Noisy People A brief history of Camden Town, from Withnail to Amy Winehouse

Joining “the Firm” An aspiring journalist from New Delhi gets a private tour of Kensington Palace—his new girlfriend’s childhood home

Far from the Madding Hive Mind Inside the UnHerd Club, London’s liveliest—and most controversial—new literary salon

And God Created Biba In 1964, a little shop appeared on the most bourgeois street in Kensington. Somehow, it became a happening, and fashion has never quite recovered

The Uncommon Man There are many who believe Nicky Haslam is the last bastion of good taste. His tea towels can help you elevate yours

In honor of the Beatles’ new single, AIR SUPPLY pays tribute to the Fab Four with a collection of British luxuries, Swinging 60s souvenirs, and tailor-made staples for today’s sartorialist

Tuscany on the Thames Started as a lunch canteen for the architects upstairs, Ruthie Rogers’s River Cafe has shaped The Way We Eat Now—and launched the careers of countless chefs

The Riling Class Before the British Invasion, there was the satire boom. Its ground zero was a grotty strip joint turned nightclub in Soho that Peter Cook re-christened “the Establishment”

From Tree to Tree The hidden history of London’s most interesting—and complicated—family

My Favorite Things Rosh Mahtani, the London-based jewelry designer behind Alighieri’s handcrafted talismans, shares her must-haves for her workspace, wardrobe, and beyond

Nobels “R” Us By identifying a gap in the U.K. book market, Jacques Testard turned his kitchen-table publisher into a prizewinning literary powerhouse

The New Tribes of London The traditional types—the Hampstead Intellectual, the Chelsea Hooray, the Shoreditch Hipster—have bitten the dust. Meet the new clichés populating the city’s streets

Graydon Carter Talks About the London He Loves On this week’s podcast, AIR MAIL’s Co-Editor takes us inside the London Issue

Pauline Boty, Lost and Found A long-overlooked member of the British Pop-art movement, and one of its few women, gets her due in a new biography

Wine of the Times London’s East End has gone from “proper old boozers” to natural-wine hubs

Whiz Syd A new documentary traces Syd Barrett’s enigmatic life, from co-founding Pink Floyd to dropping out of the music industry entirely

The British journalist resuscitating political writing at The New Statesman answers 33 of life’s most pressing questions

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editors

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Designer

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Social Media Manager

Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Technology

Intern

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-commerce Associate

In Memoriam