I am reading a novel called The Enchanted April, as literal an act of wish fulfillment as one could ask for in the spring of 2021. Written by Elizabeth von Arnim and published 99 years ago, this story of four Englishwomen who rent a dilapidated castle on the Italian Riviera for a month and are transfigured by it (to borrow an operative word from E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View) opens on a dreary February day in London and ends—one hopes; I’m not there yet—in Mediterranean sunshine. It was an instant best seller in 1922, which is perhaps not surprising given the post-pandemic parallels between that decade and ours. If the 1920s roared—if our ’20s roar—surely it was a riposte to the deprivation that came before. I have not read much fiction this past year. It has been hard to escape into imagined worlds when the demands of the immediate one were so dark and pressing. I hope this book will unlock some inner visions, as perhaps it did for its readers a century ago—a vicarious journey, a break in the clouds, castles on the sea and in the air.
To guide us into spring in our own pages and look forward to a time when we’re all getting dressed up to go out in the sun, we’ve enlisted the delightful Anya Taylor-Joy as our cover star. Fresh off her win for her lead performance in The Queen’s Gambit at the Golden Globes—where she dazzled (even by remote screen!) in a Dior haute couture gown and Tiffany & Co. jewelry—and a year out from her definitive turn as Jane Austen’s Emma in Autumn de Wilde’s exquisitely directed film (if you missed it in the early days of lockdown, do yourself a favor and stream it as soon as possible), Taylor-Joy is on the cusp of an even bigger moment. Her upcoming projects include an unnamed David O. Russell film, a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road (in which she’ll play the younger version of Charlize Theron’s character), and an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Laughter in the Dark, among others. As the novelist Hermione Hoby learns in their conversations, Taylor-Joy is still absorbing the accolades and recognition her work received during these surreal circumstances. “I think I’ll probably understand this year in about five years. I think that’s when it will probably hit,” Taylor-Joy says—a sentiment that makes her both wise and relatable.
Our spring style special goes from A(nya) to Z(iwe), the Nigerian American comedian who has also had a breakout year, with a book of essays and a late-night Showtime series both forthcoming. And along the way, we check in with the NBA, whose players took fashion to new heights this past season, drawing attention to social justice issues and independent designers in the process. Their pregame tunnel walks—from arena arrival to courtside, within the COVID-safe bubbles that enabled them to keep working—are giving us all the looks we need to get us to the other side.
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— The New, Sad Irony of the Rift Between Prince William and Prince Harry
— Caroline Rose Giuliani’s Unicorn Tale: Three-Way Sex Has Made Me a Better Person
— A Brief History of Piers Morgan’s One-Sided TV Feud With Meghan Markle
— 20 Women-Owned Fashion Brands for Celebrating Women’s History Month
— From the Archive: Meghan Markle, an American Princess
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