FROM THE MAGAZINE

December 2020

‘In any democratic system the perception of fairness matters nearly as much as the real thing. And if Trump’s voters are mistaken in thinking their candidate was robbed, they are correct to think that America’s voting system is in dire need of reform.’

Art

Charles Brown’s Christmas

’Tis the season for collectible vinyl

By Jacob Heilbrunn

From the Magazine

Books

Mrs Badgery

A short story

By Wilkie Collins

From the Magazine

Art

It’s good for your elf

A history both naughty and nice

By Emily Ferguson

From the Magazine

Art

The great lost Beatles album

It’s a real shame the Christmas flexis have not had a proper, all-on-one album release

By Luke Haines

From the Magazine

Art

Has politics turned Netflix viewers off?

If you want to understand the spectacular implosion of liberalism over the past five years, all you need is a Netflix subscription

By Will Lloyd

From the Magazine

Books

Feline intelligence: the complicated world of Mary Gaitskill

In a simplifying age, Mary Gaitskill writes about complex relationships — as well as fashion, fiction, sex and cats

By Sam Leith

From the Magazine

Books

The Spectator’s Books of the Year 2020

The Spectator’s writers and friends recommend the best books, richest reads and most pandemical page-turners of 2020

By The Spectator

From the Magazine

Art

Mostly ghostly: Henry James haunts Bly Manor

If you’re hoping for a show that requires your blanket be used to cover your eyes, skip this one

By Amber Duke

From the Magazine

Books

The Ryan Gattis guide to Lynwood

A virtual visit in the author’s beloved Los Angeles

By Jamie Collinson

From the Magazine

Books

A tinpot Caesar

Mussolini’s War: Fascist Italy from Triumph to Collapse, 1935-1943 by John Gooch reviewed

By Ian Thomson

From the Magazine

Art

Night at the museum

Is the Baltimore Museum of Art exploiting the COVID-19 crisis to sell off major modern paintings?

By Andrew L. Shea

From the Magazine

Art

Look east, old man

To the Lake is the right kind of Russian interference

By James Delingpole

From the Magazine