Latest features and reviews

the list

The best historical fiction of 2024, from Robert Harris to Colm Tóibín

Transport yourself back to a bygone era with Katie Rosseinsky’s guide to the best historical fiction releases of the year

<p>Must-reads: our guide to the best fiction of 2024 </p>

the list

The best fiction of 2024: from Sally Rooney to Percival Everett

<p>November’s biggest releases include a new novel from Jonathan Coe and a history of Hollywood told through box office flops </p>

books

The best new books to read this November

<p>‘If you’re not making someone money, they sure as f*** don’t look after you’</p>

interview

Vanessa Feltz: ‘My ex of 16 years was an utter publicity fiend’

The Reading List

How dead authors’ characters became the hottest property in publishing

<p>Compelling: Dalrymple highlights India’s ‘often forgotten position’ as a motor of global trade in ancient and early medieval times </p>

The history book that will transform your view of early civilisation

<p>‘I began to question the very essence of what I was doing and why I was doing it’: Al Pacino in 1974</p>

In Focus

How Al Pacino overcame addiction to become our greatest living actor

<p>The author poses for a photograph ahead of the Venice Literary Festival in 2015 </p>

Robert McCrum on Books

A letter to my friend Hanif Kureishi after his devastating accident

<p>John le Carré’s son Nick Harkaway will revive George Smiley in a new novel</p>

Interview

John le Carré’s son on resurrecting George Smiley after father’s death

writers on reading

Leave the World Behind author Rumaan Alam on his life in reading

<p>‘I’m not picking a fight with the plays themselves, but I am taking on the myth of a man who has been canonised into a religion’ </p>

interview

Was Shakespeare a woman? Novelist Jodi Picoult thinks so

<p>‘X is just videos of people being maimed or killed, and lies’ </p>

interview

Jon Ronson: ‘Elon Musk epitomises despicability’

Reviews

<p>Soulful: the new novel from Rooney deals with grief and age-gap relationships </p>

Sally Rooney ditches style that made her ‘voice of a generation’

<p>Tom Bower’s new book fails to shed much new light on the power couple </p>

Tom Bower’s Posh and Becks exposé won’t spice up your life

<p>Alba Arikha’s 2017 memoir, ‘Major/Minor’, was widely acclaimed</p>

Two Hours by Alba Arikha is a lesson in forging a life without regret

<p>Salman Rushdie pictured in 2023</p>

Salman Rushdie’s Knife is moving, sardonic and not for the squeamish

Lists

<p>Thriller: Meghann Fahy is part of ‘The Perfect Couple’s starry cast </p>

Love The Perfect Couple? These are the books and TV shows to try next

<p>With the rise of Instagram and BookTok, the importance of aesthetics in literature is on the rise </p>

Don’t judge a book by its cover: 15 of the most iconic book covers

<p>Fiction highlights for the year ahead including Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘lost’ novel and new titles from Stephen King and Emily Henry </p>

The best fiction to read in 2024

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