The structure and growth rate of the radiative instability in a sheared magnetic fieldBhave been calculated analytically using the Braginskii fluid equations. In a shear layer, temperature and density perturbations are linked by the propagation of sound waves parallel to the local magnetic field. As a consequence, density clumping or condensation plays an important role in driving the instability. Parallel thermal conduction localizes the mode to a narrow layer wherek∥=k⋅B/‖B‖ is small and stabilizes short wavelengthsk>kc, wherekcdepends on the local radiation and conduction rates. Thermal coupling to ions also limits the width of the unstable spectrum. It is shown that a broad spectrum of modes is typically unstable in tokamak edge plasmas and it is argued that this instability is sufficiently robust to drive the large‐amplitude density fluctuations often measured there.