Sam Kitchener
Guilt Trip
The Greek island of Hydra has long been a favoured bolthole for the louche and bohemian. ‘Aesthetically,’ wrote Henry Miller, ‘it is perfect.’ In 1960 Leonard Cohen marvelled at the way ‘life has been going on here exactly the same for hundreds of years.’ The novelist Lawrence Osborne is well acquainted with Hydra’s history as a sun-blushed haven from the ugliness of modern life, having written about the island wearing his other Panama hat as a travel journalist for the New York Times.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'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