Vogue February 2012 - Evelyn Crowley

PE()PLE \HE
TATJKlN(;
ABOUT
"
TH ELAST
I
I 222 • LId
SEDUCTION
TALES OF LOST LOVE AND
ROMANTIC ROMPS DEFINE THE
MONTH'S BEST FICTION,
spellbinding
saga of
subverted
identity and
an i rrepressible
love, Adam Johnson's
breakout novel, The Orphan
Master's Son (Random
House). ven tures inside the
Orwellian realm of North Korea,
where a man with the a udacity
to pursue the regime's
premier actress becomes the
rival of "Dear Leader" himself
A classic tale of obsession
and war inspired Madeline
Miller's forthcoming debut,
The Song of Achilles
(Ecco), a psychologically
astute J/iad prelude featuring
the heady, star-crossed
adolescence of future heroes
Patroclus and Achilles. An
alluring stranger liberates a
wealthy Dutch family's libido
in Richard Mason's Belle Epogue
valentine History of a
162 V('GUC: FEEIRU/,R Y 2012
Pleasure Seeker (Knopf),
while the Jazz Age affair of
Tamara de Lempicka and
her American muse is at the
frothy heart of Ellis Avery's
The Last Nude (Riverhead).
a n erotic pas de deux between
the artist and a comely
na'if bewildered to discover
that her bcauty no longer
belongs to her.
Moving from Manhattan
to M umbai. the stories
in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's
A LOl'esong for India
(Counterpoint) play out in
a series of emotional chess
moves, as in the tale of a
young woman seduced by
her husband's father, a Bol-
Iywood legend who resides
in a replica of the fifteenthcentury
palaces in his films,
while Lauren Fox's Friends
Like Us (K nopf) captures.
with delicacy and humor,
the ambiguities of attraction
in an ironic age. And no
one does romantic repartee
quite like the dazzlingly
acerbic antihero
of Edward St. Aubyn 's
At Last (FSG), tbe final
installment in the Patrick
rv!elrose series: "You
couldn't be reading tbat
book unless you were
having an affair with
the author," Patrick says
to his wife, who replies
without missing a beat:
"Believe me, it's vi rtually
impossible even tben ."
- MEGAl'! O'GRADY
UP NEXT FAIR GAME
With a rock-royalty pedigree (her dad is Phil Collins).
a childhood spent in the company of Prince Charles
and "Uncle" Elton John, and a Chanel couture-clad
debut at the Crillon ball, actress Lily Collins has
lived a fairy-tale life. Now, fittingly. she is starring in one.
Directed by Tarsem Singh, the film Mirror Mirror reimagines
"Snow White" as a lighthearted adventure with swashbuckling
dwarfs, a wisecracking Evil Queen (Julia Roberts), a strapping
prince (Armie Hammer, page 210). and a heroine (Collins)
with a penchant for swordplay. "This Snow White ends up
taking control of her own destiny and fighting for herself."
says Collins. who trained in fencing on-set in Montreal.
Tile 22-year-old actress is a dead ringer for the princess with
tile fateful yen for a Red Delicious. But it took more than skin
as "white as snow" and hair as "black as night" to win the role.
"The character starts off innocent and sweet and becomes
heroic. yet maintains an elegance throughout." says producer
Bernie Goldmann. "Lily captured all those elements."
Off-screen, Collins's English-rose good looks belie a sunny,
girl-next-door disposition; she calls her mother her best fr'iend
and is prone to starting sentences with "Oh, my gosh!" Growing
up predominantly in L.A .. she caught the acting bug early but
kept her ambitions largely at bay until after high school. "I
wanted to be comfortable as me first," says the actress. who
eventually landed her breakout role in 2009's The Blind Side.
Having just finished shooting the indie dark comedy The
English Teacheropposite Julianne Moore, Collins is enjoying so
well-deserved downtime before filming The Martallnstruments.
an adaptation of the young-adult series, also starring Jamie
Campbell Bower. As for future proJects. she'd like to try her hand
at a musical role. "I used to love writing songs with my dad."
Collins explains. "Music is definitely a part of me."-EVELYNCROI'/LEY