The Critic Magazine

26 June 2025

In the July issue of The Critic, Fred Sculthorp reports from Birmingham — is Britain’s second city the symbol of national decline its disparagers depict or is it about to prove them spectacularly wrong? Also, Christopher Snowdon scrutinises the arguments made by defenders of the convicted ex-nurse Lucy Letby, Marie Kawthar Daouda looks for method in the madness of Paris protests, the low calibre of candidates for Chancellor of Cambridge University offers more grounds for British institutional despair, and Peter Caddick-Adams examines the daring of Ukraine’s special ops inside Russia. Lisa Hilton visits the Venice Architecture Biennale, Michael Collins profiles Absolute Beginners author Colin MacInnes, Norman Lebrecht asks why lieder has largely disappeared from the classical repertoire, Pierre d’Alancaisez reviews Ed Atkins at Tate Britain, Henry Jeffreys raises a glass to Essex wine, and The Critic’s books special edition reviews the best fiction and non-fiction for summer.