John Sutherland
Embargo Shmembargo
Anyone known to review novels (even, I suspect, the third-string reviewer on the Methodist Recorder) will receive unsolicited pre-publication copies of what their publisher fondly expects will be ‘the next big fiction event’. With the freebie will also come a threat. This book is strictly embargoed, the recipient will be informed. Write anything about it, or mention it in any broadcast, and we will sue. If you dream about this book, wake up and consult your lawyer. You are not holding a book in your hand, you are holding a literary grenade.
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'Thirkell was a product of her time and her class. For her there are no sacred cows, barring those that win ribbons at the Barchester Agricultural.'
The novelist Angela Thirkell is due a revival, says Patricia T O'Conner (£).
https://literaryreview.co.uk/good-gad
'Only in Britain, perhaps, could spy chiefs – conventionally viewed as masters of subterfuge – be so highly regarded as ethical guides.'
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-spy-who-taught-me
In this month's Bookends, @AdamCSDouglas looks at the curious life of Henry Labouchere: a friend of Bram Stoker, 'loose cannon', and architect of the law that outlawed homosexual activity in Britain.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/a-gross-indecency