Culture | New fiction

Zadie Smith’s new novel revives a 150-year-old court case

What is the populist appeal of elite men who delude the masses?

Portrait of Zadie Smith.
Image: Alex Cameron

Zadie Smith, who has just written a historical novel, never planned to. She saw the genre as “by nature a conservative form”, guided by nostalgia for a time rather unlike the multicultural world of her life and books.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “A novelist’s novelty”

From the September 9th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Culture

Packages of tofu move along conveyors on the production line

Tofu: never judge a food by its political reputation

Think outside the white plastic box. Here is a carnivore’s guide to tofu

An illustration of two hands holding pencils and writing on each other's sleeves, which resemble books.

Sex, drugs or chastity?

Pope Francis has written the first memoir by a sitting pope. God help us


An illustration of a blue backpack under a bright spotlight.

Backpacks are, surprisingly, in vogue

They are following in sneakers’ path and becoming more fashionable


Spotify’s playlists have altered the music industry in unexpected ways

A critical assessment of the Swedish streaming giant’s musical legacy

Henri Bergson was once the world’s most famous philosopher

He sought to reconcile science and metaphysics

Witty and wise, “A Real Pain” is a masterpiece in a minor key

Jesse Eisenberg’s deceptively slight film asks big moral questions