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Contents COLUMNS Letters 8 Helen Joyce Happy to be a heretic 6 Law Yuan Yi Zhu: On international law 9 Woman about Town Lisa Hilton: Brought to book 10 Nova’s diary Dave lords it 11 Serious business Ned: “Reputational risk” is rot 12 Everyday Lies Theodore Dalrymple: No choice 27 Sounding Board Marcus Walker: The baddies who don’t know they are ... 32 Arty Types D.J. Taylor on The Committee of the Edwin Savage Society 39 Economics Tim Congdon: Boom and bust redux 44 My Woke World Titania McGrath: Saving Gaza with a Queer intifada 51 Romeo Coates Wanted: dead or alive? 84 Adam Dant on … The Political Year 56 FEATUR E S Whitehall in the thick of it David Scullion recalls the Civil Service’s determination to do nothing the government asks of it 14 There is still no pandemic plan Benjamin Lewis says the Covid inquiry is not asking the right questions 17 Planning to fail Johnny Leavesley asks why we are opposed to new housing when the population is rapidly growing 20 Kenya’s history rewritten David Elstein argues that Mau Mau death figures based on incorrect reasoning are now accepted as fact 22 Sweden’s failed liberal project Håkan Boström on why a country once hailed as a model of moderation now faces gun violence and bombings 28 A radical right-wing trio Gavin Mortimer compares three up-and-coming French politicians 33 France’s philosopher king Laurent Lemasson reflects on Michel Houellebecq’s critiques of sexual liberation and his dissolute lifestyle 36 Burning effigies for the Man Esmé Partridge believes the 1973 film The Wicker Man is an ironic masterpiece exposing the paradox of paganism 40 The humanity of Horace Llewelyn Morgan hymns the timeless work of the great Latin poet 42 How to deface a national treasure David Butterfield laments the wrecking of Cambridge’s historic cityscape 45 How does anything ever get built? Robert Adam asks how we can solve the housing shortage when faced with the huge increase in building regulations 49 STUDIO Helen Barrett : The Crystal Palace Subway 58 BOOKS George Woudhuysen: Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint by Peter Sarris 58 Samuel Rubinstein: What Was Shakespeare Really Like? by Sir Stanley Wells 61 Christopher Bray: The Secret Life of John Le Carré by Adam Sisman; Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare 62 Sebastian Milbank: Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy by Robin Waterfield; The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic by Jean-Manuel Roubineau 64 John Adamson: Oxfordshire: Oxford and the South-East by Simon Bradley, Nikolaus Pevsner and Jennifer Sherwood 66 Patrick Mercer: Victory to Defeat : The British Army 1918-40 by Richard Dannatt and Robert Lyman; Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966-1975 by Huw Bennett 68 Nina Power: The Two-Parent Privilege by Melissa S. Kearney 69 James Orr: Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like? by Daniel Chandler 70 Robert Hutton: The Plot : The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson by Nadine Dorries 73 Christopher Montgomery: The Right to Rule: Thirteen Years, Five Prime Ministers and the Implosion of the Tories by Ben Riley-Smith; Covenant : The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation by Danny Kruger; The Case for the Centre Right edited by David Gauke; The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life by Theresa May 74 Inaya Folarin Iman: The Psychosis of Whiteness: Surviving the Insanity of a Racist World by Kehinde Andrews 76 Victoria Smith: Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties by Sarah Ditum 78 Daniel Johnson: The best non-fiction books of the year 79 John Self : The year’s best fiction 81 THE SECRET AUTHOR The bad old days ... 83 the critic 4 Dec 23 | JAN 24
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/ H E A R T F O R D J A S O N F O X B Y I C I T ; C R M U R R A Y B Y R O B C A R T O O N Dec 2023/Jan 2024 | I s s u e 4 3 c SAVE 86% TER WINTER SALE GET 3 MONTHS OF THE CR ITIC FOR JUST £3 “What do you want to be if you grow up?” THE CR ITICS MUSIC Norman Lebrecht Bruckner: Anton ... and on 86 OPERA Robert Thicknesse The geopolitical prescience of Handel 87 POP Sarah Ditum Retro Rodrigo is primo 88 ART Michael Prodger Behind the scenes at the museums 89 THEATRE Anne McElvoy When Irish eyes aren’t smiling 90 CINEMA Robert Hutton Napoleon sold short 91 TELEVISION Adam LeBor Taking on ISIS and Eichmann 93 RADIO Michael Henderson Spare me the Great Canadian Warbler 94 ARCHITECTURE Charles Saumarez Smith Weekends à la mode 95 TABLE TALK Eating Out Lisa Hilton enjoys a visit to Britain’s original gastro-pub 97 Eati ng In Felipe Fernández-Armesto avoids festive horror by feasting on Christmas Eve 98 Country Notes Patrick Galbraith says shooting more ducks will save the natural world 100 Deluxe Christopher Pincher enjoys a magical meal in an enchanted glen 100 Drink Henry Jeffreys on the subtle harmony of multi-variety wines 102 Turf Account Stephen Pollard believes “affordability checks” will be the death of racing 103 Style Hannah Betts goes casually glam 104 Hot House Claudia Savage-Gore wishes it was Christmas Past already 105 IN PRAISE OF The Pan Book of Horror Stories: top-drawer gore by Neil Armstrong 106 THIS SPORTING LIFE Patrick Kidd: Sport’s spoilsports 108 Nick Timothy: Backing horses 109 Boris Starling: Team players 110 For just £3 you will receive a 3-month subscription to Brita in’s wonderful monthly current a ffa irs and culture magazine. Subscribe today and get:  3 issues of The Critic magazine  Access to digital editions  Save 86% on the shop price  Rigourous content  Free delivery to your door To subscribe, simply visit: thecritic.imbmsubscriptions. com/JAN24 OR CALL 01293 312250 quoting JAN24 T&C’S: CLOSING DATE FOR ORDERS IS 25TH FEB 2024. THE PRICE SHOWN IS A UK DIRECT DEBIT OFFER. YOUR SUBSCRIPTION WILL BEGIN WITH THE NEXT AVAILABLE ISSUE. IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL AT THE END OF THE SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD, THE SUBSCRIPTION WILL AUTO RENEW BY DIRECT DEBIT AT £20 FOR 5 MONTHS. ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE NONREFUNDABLE. THIS IS A LIMITED OFFER AND MAY BE WITHDRAWN AT ANY TIME. PLEASE NOTE: BY SUBSCRIBING WE WILL CONTACT YOU ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION FROM TIME TO TIME. THE CRITIC IS PUBLISHED 10 TIMES A YEAR, WITH 2 DOUBLE ISSUES. the critic 5 Dec 23 | JAN 24

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Contents COLUMNS Letters 8 Helen Joyce Happy to be a heretic 6 Law Yuan Yi Zhu: On international law 9 Woman about Town Lisa Hilton: Brought to book 10 Nova’s diary Dave lords it 11 Serious business Ned: “Reputational risk” is rot 12 Everyday Lies Theodore Dalrymple: No choice 27 Sounding Board Marcus Walker: The baddies who don’t know they are ... 32 Arty Types D.J. Taylor on The Committee of the Edwin Savage Society 39 Economics Tim Congdon: Boom and bust redux 44 My Woke World Titania McGrath: Saving Gaza with a Queer intifada 51 Romeo Coates Wanted: dead or alive? 84

Adam Dant on … The Political Year

56

FEATUR E S Whitehall in the thick of it David Scullion recalls the Civil Service’s determination to do nothing the government asks of it 14 There is still no pandemic plan Benjamin Lewis says the Covid inquiry is not asking the right questions 17 Planning to fail Johnny Leavesley asks why we are opposed to new housing when the population is rapidly growing 20

Kenya’s history rewritten David Elstein argues that Mau Mau death figures based on incorrect reasoning are now accepted as fact 22 Sweden’s failed liberal project Håkan Boström on why a country once hailed as a model of moderation now faces gun violence and bombings 28 A radical right-wing trio Gavin Mortimer compares three up-and-coming French politicians 33 France’s philosopher king Laurent Lemasson reflects on Michel Houellebecq’s critiques of sexual liberation and his dissolute lifestyle 36 Burning effigies for the Man Esmé Partridge believes the 1973 film The Wicker Man is an ironic masterpiece exposing the paradox of paganism 40 The humanity of Horace Llewelyn Morgan hymns the timeless work of the great Latin poet 42 How to deface a national treasure David Butterfield laments the wrecking of Cambridge’s historic cityscape 45 How does anything ever get built? Robert Adam asks how we can solve the housing shortage when faced with the huge increase in building regulations 49 STUDIO Helen Barrett : The Crystal Palace Subway 58

BOOKS George Woudhuysen: Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint by Peter Sarris 58 Samuel Rubinstein: What Was Shakespeare Really Like? by Sir Stanley Wells 61 Christopher Bray: The Secret Life of John Le Carré by Adam Sisman; Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare 62 Sebastian Milbank: Plato of Athens: A Life in Philosophy by Robin Waterfield; The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic by Jean-Manuel Roubineau 64 John Adamson: Oxfordshire: Oxford and the South-East by Simon Bradley, Nikolaus Pevsner and Jennifer Sherwood 66 Patrick Mercer: Victory to Defeat : The British Army 1918-40 by Richard Dannatt and Robert Lyman; Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966-1975 by Huw Bennett 68 Nina Power: The Two-Parent Privilege by Melissa S. Kearney 69 James Orr: Free and Equal: What Would a Fair Society Look Like? by Daniel Chandler 70 Robert Hutton: The Plot : The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson by Nadine Dorries 73 Christopher Montgomery: The Right to Rule: Thirteen Years, Five Prime Ministers and the Implosion of the Tories by Ben Riley-Smith; Covenant : The New Politics of Home, Neighbourhood and Nation by Danny Kruger; The Case for the Centre Right edited by David Gauke; The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life by Theresa May 74 Inaya Folarin Iman: The Psychosis of Whiteness: Surviving the Insanity of a Racist World by Kehinde Andrews 76 Victoria Smith: Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties by Sarah Ditum 78 Daniel Johnson: The best non-fiction books of the year 79 John Self : The year’s best fiction 81 THE SECRET AUTHOR The bad old days ... 83

the critic 4 Dec 23 | JAN 24

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