Rebecca Mead
Rebecca Mead joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 1997. She has profiled many subjects, among them Lin-Manuel Miranda, Margaret Atwood, Ivo van Hove, Joanna Hogg, and Mary Beard. She is the author of several books, including “My Life in Middlemarch,” a New York Times best-seller, and “Home/Land.” She has served as a McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University and was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, in 2020. She lives in London and is a frequent contributor to the Letter from the U.K. column at newyorker.com.
Hearing the Voices of Grenfell Tower
The survivors of the deadly 2017 London fire speak in a theatre piece opening at St. Ann’s Warehouse.
The Truth Behind the Slouching Epidemic
From the onset of the twentieth century, poor posture has been associated with poverty, bad health, and even civilizational decadence. But does the real problem lie elsewhere?
The Salacious Glossiness of Netflix’s Prince Andrew Drama, “Scoop”
Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson star in a re-creation of an infamous BBC interview that feels like a hallucinated episode of “The Crown.”
Lucy Prebble’s Dramas of High Anxiety
In plays such as “The Effect” and TV shows such as “I Hate Suzie” and “Succession,” the writer has become an expert at getting deep inside worried characters’ heads.
A Gen Z Comedian Strafes His Elders—and Himself
Leo Reich, the star of a new HBO standup special, offers wicked indictments alongside “a brutal character assassination of myself.”
Isabelle Huppert Lives from Scene to Scene
Throughout her career, the celebrated French actor has worked with auteurs ranging from Jean-Luc Godard to Hong Sangsoo—and maintained a matter-of-fact approach to her craft.
How Sandra Hüller Approached Playing a Nazi
The German actress probes characters with unusual depth. But to portray a Fascist wife, in “The Zone of Interest,” she reversed her usual approach—and withheld her empathy.
“The Crown” Presents the Last Days of Princess Diana
The people’s princess remains irresistible in both fiction and memory.
Why We Need to Talk About Marriage
It’s an institution that informs the tax code and the disposition of wealth—while also shaping the idiosyncratic goings on within households. What could it be, at its best?
“Beckham” Shows Us How David and Victoria Beckham See Themselves
A new four-part documentary on Netflix offers viewers a fascinating if flatteringly partial look inside a British celebrity match made in heaven.
The Bloomsbury Group Is Back in Vogue
The bohemian English circle that included Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell revolted against Victorian formality—and their casually ornamental style is inspiring designers today.
Ridding the National Portrait Gallery of Its Gentlemen’s-Club Vibe
Among the changes that the director, Nicholas Cullinan, has overseen: a higher ratio of females on the walls, Zadie Smith in pastel, and non-polyester staff uniforms.
A Private Garden as an Antidote to Isolation
The photographer Siân Davey said, of her family’s plot in the South of England, “It felt like the potential for the whole world was held in that garden.”
The Self-Justifying Philosophy of King Charles
In books and speeches, his arguments about everything from the environment to architecture are infused with an implicit defense of his monarchical position.
Nida Manzoor’s Complicated Muslim Women
In the British sitcom “We Are Lady Parts” and the feature film “Polite Society,” Manzoor presents characters that are joyful, liberated, glamorous, and confused.
On “Succession,” Everything Is Up in the Air
The heart of “Connor’s Wedding,” as the most recent episode is titled, is a protracted phone call from airplane to yacht lounge.
The End of “Succession” Is Near
The show’s creator, Jesse Armstrong, explains why he has chosen to conclude the drama of the Roy family in its fourth season.
The Ultimate Vermeer Collection
A bravura show at the Rijksmuseum displays more of the Dutch Master’s work at once than he himself ever saw.
Oldest Living Aristocratic Widow Tells All
Now ninety, Lady Glenconner—a trusted friend of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret—has become a cheeky chronicler of the British élite.
The Haunting of Prince Harry
Electrified by outrage—and elevated by a gifted ghostwriter—the blockbuster memoir “Spare” exposes more than Harry’s enemies.
Hearing the Voices of Grenfell Tower
The survivors of the deadly 2017 London fire speak in a theatre piece opening at St. Ann’s Warehouse.
The Truth Behind the Slouching Epidemic
From the onset of the twentieth century, poor posture has been associated with poverty, bad health, and even civilizational decadence. But does the real problem lie elsewhere?
The Salacious Glossiness of Netflix’s Prince Andrew Drama, “Scoop”
Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson star in a re-creation of an infamous BBC interview that feels like a hallucinated episode of “The Crown.”
Lucy Prebble’s Dramas of High Anxiety
In plays such as “The Effect” and TV shows such as “I Hate Suzie” and “Succession,” the writer has become an expert at getting deep inside worried characters’ heads.
A Gen Z Comedian Strafes His Elders—and Himself
Leo Reich, the star of a new HBO standup special, offers wicked indictments alongside “a brutal character assassination of myself.”
Isabelle Huppert Lives from Scene to Scene
Throughout her career, the celebrated French actor has worked with auteurs ranging from Jean-Luc Godard to Hong Sangsoo—and maintained a matter-of-fact approach to her craft.
How Sandra Hüller Approached Playing a Nazi
The German actress probes characters with unusual depth. But to portray a Fascist wife, in “The Zone of Interest,” she reversed her usual approach—and withheld her empathy.
“The Crown” Presents the Last Days of Princess Diana
The people’s princess remains irresistible in both fiction and memory.
Why We Need to Talk About Marriage
It’s an institution that informs the tax code and the disposition of wealth—while also shaping the idiosyncratic goings on within households. What could it be, at its best?
“Beckham” Shows Us How David and Victoria Beckham See Themselves
A new four-part documentary on Netflix offers viewers a fascinating if flatteringly partial look inside a British celebrity match made in heaven.
The Bloomsbury Group Is Back in Vogue
The bohemian English circle that included Virginia Woolf, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell revolted against Victorian formality—and their casually ornamental style is inspiring designers today.
Ridding the National Portrait Gallery of Its Gentlemen’s-Club Vibe
Among the changes that the director, Nicholas Cullinan, has overseen: a higher ratio of females on the walls, Zadie Smith in pastel, and non-polyester staff uniforms.
A Private Garden as an Antidote to Isolation
The photographer Siân Davey said, of her family’s plot in the South of England, “It felt like the potential for the whole world was held in that garden.”
The Self-Justifying Philosophy of King Charles
In books and speeches, his arguments about everything from the environment to architecture are infused with an implicit defense of his monarchical position.
Nida Manzoor’s Complicated Muslim Women
In the British sitcom “We Are Lady Parts” and the feature film “Polite Society,” Manzoor presents characters that are joyful, liberated, glamorous, and confused.
On “Succession,” Everything Is Up in the Air
The heart of “Connor’s Wedding,” as the most recent episode is titled, is a protracted phone call from airplane to yacht lounge.
The End of “Succession” Is Near
The show’s creator, Jesse Armstrong, explains why he has chosen to conclude the drama of the Roy family in its fourth season.
The Ultimate Vermeer Collection
A bravura show at the Rijksmuseum displays more of the Dutch Master’s work at once than he himself ever saw.
Oldest Living Aristocratic Widow Tells All
Now ninety, Lady Glenconner—a trusted friend of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret—has become a cheeky chronicler of the British élite.
The Haunting of Prince Harry
Electrified by outrage—and elevated by a gifted ghostwriter—the blockbuster memoir “Spare” exposes more than Harry’s enemies.