Books to look forward to in 2024
There are a couple of examples of major authors returning this year, even from beyond the grave
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman is an author and the US books editor of The Spectator.
Wednesday
Saturday
Was 2023 Meghan and Harry’s annus horribilis?
From our UK edition
If ever Prince Harry writes another volume of memoir, he may choose to look back on 2023 as his annus horribilis. The year began in high-profile fashion, with the publication of his autobiography Spare. This book swiftly became the fastest-selling non-fiction work of all time; he marked its appearance with promotional interviews that alternated between
Monday
The King’s speech was more Christian than his mother had dared
From our UK edition
King Charles has been a victim of his own success. His first Christmas broadcast last year, which was both affecting and socially conscious, attracted 10.6 million viewers, making it not only the most-watched monarch’s seasonal address since viewing records began, but also the most popular single programme to air over the festive period last year. The
Friday
Hogmanay in Edinburgh is a marvelous experience
The city is a seductive place to visit, any time of year
Wednesday
The bold new vision for Edinburgh’s National Galleries of Scotland
The galleries are not only an aesthetic pleasure to visit but a fine and salutary reminder of the greatness of Scottish art
Monday
In praise of Wonka
Its director Paul King should be added to the list of sacred-cow directors who can do no wrong
Friday
Prince Harry claims another victory in his war on the tabloids
From our UK edition
Well, send him victorious-ish. In what amounts to an early Christmas present for Prince Harry, Mr Justice Fancourt has ruled today at the High Court that there was, in his stern description, ‘extensive’ phone hacking that took place at the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) between 2006 to 2011, and even, hilariously, that this continued to
Thursday
The Crown is going out in a blaze of camp glory
From our UK edition
Say what you like about Netflix and Peter Morgan, the producers and creator of The Crown respectively, but they’ve certainly gone out in a blaze of either glory or outrage. The final six episodes of the sixth season were released separately to the first four, and it isn’t hard to see why. Taken cumulatively, their
Tuesday
The convenient timing of Meghan and Harry’s Christmas video
From our UK edition
There’s that well-known saying of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’. In what can only be an attempt to upstage the official Royal Family’s latest offering, this seems to be the credo of Harry and Meghan as they release a new, wholly vainglorious video showing the ‘impact’ of the Archewell foundation in 2023.
Monday
The Golden Globe nominations are serious-minded and impressive
Barbie , Oppenheimer and Succession dominate
Wednesday
Of course Taylor Swift deserves to be TIME’s Person of the Year
If it carries on like this, she’ll be the Person of the Decade — and who knows what after that
Sex and the Famous Five
From our UK edition
Generations of readers of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series have enjoyed the books without having to contemplate the erotic properties of the canine member of the quintet. After reading Nicholas Royle’s one-of-a-kind fantasia on Blyton and David Bowie, they may never be able to do so again. Royle writes confidently that ‘the most obvious route
Monday
Can The Crown redeem itself in its final hours?
We could be looking at the worst-received finale to a major television show since Game of Thrones
Wednesday
Harry, Meghan and the mystery of the ‘royal racist’
From our UK edition
Ever since 2021’s absurd Oprah Winfrey interview, in which the Duchess of Sussex coyly suggested that a member of the Royal Family had speculated about what colour her then-unborn first child’s skin would be, there has been an egregious fascination with the identity of the notorious figure known only as ‘the royal racist’. Speculation has
Tuesday
When you Wish upon a star: is the Disney shine fading?
It’s yet another example of focus-grouped, play-it-safe un-adventurousness by the House of Mouse
The knives are out for Prince William and Kate
From our UK edition
Omid Scobie’s Endgame is now available from a bookshop near you, and no doubt republicans and admirers of Harry and Meghan alike will be flocking to buy it on the day of release, gleeful to soak up the revelations about the Royal Family. For the rest of us, the appeal is less clear. The book’s
Monday
Is the war of the Windsors about to blow up again?
From our UK edition
The name ‘Omid Scobie’ must be one of the least popular ever uttered in Buckingham and St James Palaces. Not only was the royal reporter’s bestselling 2020 book Finding Freedom a firmly partisan account of Harry and Meghan’s quasi-abdication – and, it later transpired in court, assisted by someone close to the Duchess, so that
Tuesday
Sir Ridley Scott and the subtle art of not giving a damn
There is a refreshing new emphasis in his films on black comedy and absurdism
Friday
In defence of The Crown
From our UK edition
Since 2016, we have cultivated a new national pastime: moaning about the latest series of The Crown. Every time Netflix’s royal soap opera appears on our screens, we become united in our determination to spot errors of fact and taste in Peter Morgan’s show, ranging from the trivial to the major. No wonder that Morgan,
Thursday
Could Prince Harry be brought in from the cold?
From our UK edition
For those of us who believed that hell would freeze over before the Duke of Sussex was welcomed back into the bosom of his family, it will have come as a surprise when it was revealed that Prince Harry would be telephoning King Charles on his 75th birthday this week. It has been reported that
