Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Still Read
A while back, I mentioned as a forgotten giant of English letters Hugh Walpole - now, I assumed, one of the great unreads. Picture my surprise then (no, don't - it was early in the morning and I was not at my best) when on the train I noticed that the damned thick square book the woman opposite me was reading was The Fortress by Hugh Walpole, the second of the Herries Chronicles. The reader, in her 30s I'd say, seemed thoroughly engrossed - and it wasn't a dusty old edition from a charity shop but a very recent reprint. Walpole, it seems, is still read.
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Dear Nige,
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful when one encounters another with a profound interest in books that are not the most-up-to-date. I've attended a book fair here in Dublin and picked up a few volumes that match the description of Walpole and it is truly a pleasure.
shalom,
Steven
Get your coat, you pulled. Couldn't the woman 'in her 30's' be 'Susan', one of your many lady fans - after all, it is possible that blondes prefer gentlemen, no? She recently thanked you for providing her with a reading list for the year. Was there a coded message in there somewhere? We want the truth.
ReplyDeleteBut, Nige, you looked resplendent in your elegant silk cravat. What joy to share a common love of long forgotten literary greats. You didn't find my handkerchief beneath your seat? Excuse me now, I fear I'm going to faint...
ReplyDeleteAh Susan, a gentleman never lets on...
ReplyDeleteCurious to know who did find my handkerchief - some sort of (book) worm perhaps?
ReplyDeleteSo perhaps there's hope for McEwan, Barnes etc after all...
ReplyDelete