Alexander Larman is an author and books editor of Spectator World, our US-based edition
When the actress Claire Foy – still best known for her deservedly award-winning performance in The Crown – was interviewed recently by Harper’s Bazaar to promote her new film H is for Hawk, an adaptation of the Helen MacDonald memoir, she must have expected an easy ride. Estimable title though Harper’s Bazaar undoubtedly is, few
Did you know we’re living in a dictatorship?
When the novelist Richard Yates, who was born in February 1926, was interviewed by the magazine Ploughshares in 1972, the conversation turned to the neglected writers of his generation. Yates, a man of remarkable acuity and taste, was typically incisive about the likes of Evan S. Connell, Brian Moore and Edward Lewis Wallant – and,
The year just gone has hardly been a banner year for either the Duke or Duchess of Sussex, culminating in the humiliation of yet another publicist departing from their employment at its end. However, all of us hope that 2026 will be an improvement. Last weekend brought the potentially good news for Harry – although, perhaps, less so for the
Lucky subscribers to “As Ever,” Meghan Markle’s Pravda-esque newsletter, were given an exclusive insight this festive season into how the Duchess of Sussex would be spending the Christmas period. She wrote that “Last night, I was nibbling the remnants of our Christmas Eve feast (dim sum this year), wrapping a few last-minute gifts, and tiptoeing
Steven Spielberg might be the most beloved and popular American director of the 20th century, but it is also unavoidably the case that, since 2005’s Munich, he has been on something of a disappointing run. While many of his films, not least The Fabelmans and West Side Story, have been critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated, there
Amid the many disappointments and commercial flops the music industry saw this year, perhaps the most egregious was the complete failure of Arcade Fire’s album Pink Elephant. The failure represents not merely the probable end of the band, but also the death of Obama-era rock. Pink Elephant received dismal reviews and didn’t even chart on the Billboard
Remember him for his great works, not his horrific end
Give him no second chances
Hollywood might be in trouble, but the director isn’t
The sale would create a monopoly the likes of which has never been seen before in the film industry
His solo trip to the UK in September demonstrated that he’s capable of conducting a quasi-royal visit by himself
We should hope so
The fifth season is full of self-referential excess, but it’s also an example of great homage
Anthology 4 makes the extraordinary band seem ordinary
Jacob Elordi might well be about to capture Heathcliff’s mixture of brutality and magnetism
He skillfully suggests what a fascinatingly complex character Herman Göring was
Apple’s new paean to the man certainly suggests as much
Villa Treville retains the director’s sense of chutzpah and style
Glen Powell is great, but this movie feels distinctly dated
