“... contemporary society out of their books. The critic pointing at this with cries of justification may still be guilty of spotting the 1 per cent and letting the 99 go by. Is Science Fiction, then, always a metaphoric reflection of (or on) society? And what in this context might ‘metaphoric’ mean? There can be no doubt, at least initially, about George ...”

“... Girl, and Mrs Aitken Kidd’s plaudits could be seen merely as examples of filial piety. But they may illustrate – as may the accounts of John Osborne’s little domestic difficulties – the triumph of charm over bad ...”

“... sheepishly accepted received ideas. There was, he thinks, a coterie spirit in Sur: Ocampo may have been Madame Victoria for Robbe-Grillet, but for John King she was Madame Verdurin.. It isn’t clear, however, that King himself isn’t speaking to a coterie, though a different and very much larger one. He certainly drops sufficient hints as to where ...”

“... diary-writing has its effect on the life of the person who keeps one, and the function of a diary may not be the same as the rational justification. Beatrice Webb, for example, used her diary for deep introspection. Hugh Dalton used his sometimes as a private seminar, for working out new ideas, on other occasions as a kind of mirror, in order to practise a ...”

“... make it a rule not to go out of the house at mid-day, because they fancy that by doing so a man may lose the shadow of his soul.’ That at least we might have guessed, and how did the Master miss it? (Gassy? Chassis? Ecstacy? Or racy?) Not, of course, that there was anything of the clipped staccato of the Entre Deux Guerres about Frazer’s cadences and ...”

“... words ‘whimsical’ and ‘primitive’ be removed from the publisher’s catalogue: ‘There may be echoes in her work of past poets – Lear, Poe, Byron, the gothic romantics and Hymns Ancient and Modern – but these are deceitful echoes, as her thoughts may also seem deceitful, at first simple, almost ...”

“... of female self-discovery with male self-indulgence, however different in purpose the two drives may be. Not for nothing did D.H. Lawrence begin Women in Love with that uniquely memorable conversation between Ursula and Gudrun, although it is of course orientated to their feeling about men. Significantly, Lawrence does not ‘dream’ about women, but wishes ...”

“... frost still lay.’ There’s a feeling of optimism on the last pages, a feeling that the spring may imply rebirth, new ways of living, a freedom from personal or political repression. But with her characteristic cool integrity, Penelope Fitzgerald refuses to commit herself, and she leaves us with a whole series of questions, about Frank’s marriage, about ...”

“... Darcourt provides a sort of artistic mediation, and if any character other than Cornish himself may be said to possess the action of the trilogy, it is Darcourt. He is in many ways worthy of the role, although he suffers, I think, from an affliction which is shared by some of Davies’s other characters: he often does not quite measure up to his ...”

“... laureate as a man lagging well behind the work. Readers who have drunk deeply from the novels may recognise in the letters the same irritable, restless intelligence and charming vulgarity, but there is scant compassion, less pity and precious little visionary wisdom. ‘I don’t know why one would ever expect more than simplicity from the great,’ he ...”

“... with humans gave way to the world described in the Book of Genesis. Evolutionists and creationists may argue over the origins of life, but they agree on the salient point that animals came first, whether concocted in primordial slime or fully formed by their creator on the fifth day and sixth morning. From the Biblical point of view, however, they barely ...”

“... certainly does not apply to the former estates, and the Oder-Neisse line is fixed. Leningrad may have become St Petersburg again, but Wroclaw will not revert to Breslau. Meanwhile, the Hohenzollerns have much less chance of staging a comeback than several Ruritanian dynasties with an equally grubby record. Lord Vansittart and A.J.P. Taylor can rest ...”

“... happen if they find out about us?’ I ask him. ‘I think they will fine us,’ he says. ‘They may also want to talk to you.’ The Chevy cruises – promenades – at 50 kilometres an hour. She returns relatively uncompetitive fuel economy numbers of eight km to the litre. L. cranes over the bench-seat and asks me what sort of dishes we Britons enjoy. As ...”

“... could he have argued that he was doing his country much of a favour. A third consideration may obtain. What if, as is generally the case, your country has its repulsive and attractive sides, and so do your friends, but there is something wrong with you? Some crucial bit of the moral or the rational animal that is, in your own case, simply ...”

“... Rainbow Theatre, the Ramones at New York’s CBGB, the Sex Pistols tramping around London, Derrik May in Detroit and Nirvana on the road to Tijuana. The collection is a massive improvement on the comparable Penguin Book of Rock and Roll Writing, sparkier by far, and closer to the lived experience of fans and bands. It ignores cultural theorists with their ...”