Sarah Hall
The Critic Books Podcast: Burntcoat
Burntcoat was one of the first “pandemic novels” to be published in the wake of Covid-19
The coronavirus variations
Here are three of our most praised writers with new offerings written during one or more lockdowns and that also take in the pandemic in their subject matter
A life of indulgence
Jacob Rees-Mogg has a major persona and a minor career
History unmakers
Our national treasures are morbid symptoms of a country in decline
An excess of Fauré
Gabriel Fauré: Violin concerto (Naxos), Complete piano works (Calliope)
Busoni’s legacy
The best of him is found in the piano concerto
Don’t marry your cousin
And don’t knock culture wars — they can save lives
The decline of industry
English towns faced unique new challenges following deindustrialisation
Feminist rehab for mean girl Mahler
You’d have thought the Head Muse of old Vienna had enough on her plate
An Oxford arriviste
Shades of Brideshead and Saltburn at an unconvincing “classy” Oxford restaurant