Trilby, the Novel That Gave Us ‘Svengali’
George du Maurier’s Trilby, published in 1894, became one of the most popular novels of its time. The story introduced us to a young heroine, Trilby, and a memorable villain, Svengali, whose names have since taken on lives of their own.
Don’t Call My Daughter Princess. Call Her Madam President.
Having taken feminist progress for granted, Sarah Stankorb must now reconcile her slow support of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential race with assuring her 4-year-old daughter she can be president someday.
This Was How Things Ended
An essay about breakups.
Writing Our America
“This is our America. It’s our America to write in, and our America to write.” Korb’s essay is adapted from a talk he presented at Pacific University’s MFA in Writing Program. It includes advice from writers of “YA fiction, writers for television and stage, of novels and essays, investigative journalism, and criticism” on how we might produce meaningful work in the next four years.
A Shot in the Arm
Why would a tenure-track professor find himself selling his plasma to make rent? A story about debt in the academic world.
What It’s Like to Lose Your Short-Term Memory
Longreads is proud to feature an exclusive excerpt from Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life, the forthcoming memoir by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee. Lee’s story was first featured on Longreads in 2014, for her BuzzFeed essay, “I Had a Stroke at 33.”
Trump Revives a Shameful Tradition: Targeting a Minority Group with Crime Reports
The president’s executive orders and inflammatory rhetoric follow a predictable path.
Making Sense of Our Compulsions
Sharon Begley explores the behaviors we engage in to cope with unbearable anxiety.
The 2017 National Magazine Award Winners: A Reading List
While the big titles, like New York, ESPN the Magazine, and the New York Times Magazine, held sway in several categories, there were some stunners among the honors, including Huffington Post Highline, Pacific Standard, California Sunday Magazine, and Eater. Mother Jones won the Ellie for “Magazine of the Year.”
Xenu’s Paradox: The Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard and the Making of Scientology
Author Alec Nevala-Lee surveys the fiction of L. Ron Hubbard, gaining new insights into the life of the founder of dianetics and the origins and nature of Scientology itself.