Novels
Should we take Kingsley Amis more seriously as a poet?
The acclaimed novelist harboured dreams of writing verse
Do we really need so many stage adaptations of novels?
There’s much that can go wrong when the drama of a book is transferred to the stage
TB or not TB: the literature of consumption
No infectious disease has left its scars on the body of literature like tuberculosis
Tales of helping and helplessness
This selection of new fiction is marked by both novelty and tradition
Male authors: the sun also sets
Give up writing, men – the world will be a happier place when you do
The Critic Books Podcast: Learwife
The first episode of The Critic Books Podcast: in conversation with J. R. Thorp.
The fundamental truths of fiction
Kit Wilson says the slow atrophy of the English novel is contributing to a decline in empathy and the rise of tribalism, trolling and “stay in your lane” identity politics
Satire needs to find new targets
There are still plenty of institutions worth mocking
Brought to Book: James Marriott
Larman on the Editor hounded off Twitter for saying male novelists are being excluded
Criminally good writing
Jeremy Black reviews The Man Who Didn’t Fly, by Margot Bennett
Why was I the only reporter?
On the sentencing of the Rotherham grooming gang
Total eclipse of the art?
Activistic artists and curators are making art a niche political endeavour
We can’t even give them away
Let’s not pretend we have sovereignty over the Chagos Islands
The reality of assisted dying, an open letter
A plea to MPs to vote against this dangerous law
Debunking the decline deniers
Armed police at Christmas markets are a bad sign however you look at it
Plane English
On pyjamas and private jets
Procedural Man
The Process is good, the Process is correct, no matter what, trust the Process
Kemi Badenoch won’t save the Conservatives
Her radical credentials are based on pure PR
Imaginary friends
The idea of a synthetic companion that knows everything about you goes well beyond friendship
Scruton and the roots of modern conservatism
Roger Scruton’s path from sophisticated soirées to a squalid Fleet Street pub
America will be fine
The American system is far more resilient than it looks
