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I S S U E 2 8 1 • A P R I L 2 0 1 2

Ed’s letter…

Ever aware of the danger of overdoing things, we had a small and informal cake and champagne party in our offices on 21st February to celebrate twenty years of The Oldie (see the photograph in the Old Un’s Diary, page 11). I am most grateful for the loyalty of our readers who now account for sales of over 40,000. I am even more grateful for the loyalty of our contributors. Sadly many are no longer with us but three survive who were in Oldie No 1: Candida Lycett Green, Valerie Grove and Richard Osborne. To them and all newcomers, my thanks. Richard Ingrams

FREE! The Oldie Review of Books Our quarterly literary supplement provides objective summaries of reviews of the fifty best (or most talked-about) books, together with features and comment. Find it stapled in between pages 46 and 47

C O N T E N T S

Review of Books

R E V I E W O F T H E R E V I E W S Review of Books

ISSUE 19 SPRING 2012

Whatthecriticssaid

OVER 50

OVER 50 OF THE BEST BOOKS COVERED INCLUDING Sandy Gall Anne Somerset Robert Service Diane Keaton Nicholas Rankin

PD James Walter Isaacson Marcus Berkmann William Boyd Roger Scruton Condoleezza Rice Craig Taylor Penelope Lively Alain de Botton Piers Paul Read

John Sutherland Anthony Horowitz Martin Vander Weyer Adam Nicolson Ken Livingstone …and many more

What a howler! Jeremy Lewis bemoans the many mistakes in books

The literary lives of Hemingway, Beckett, Didion and Winterson

A R O U N D - U P O F R E V I E W S • N O T J U S T T H E B E S T S E L L E R S

14

44 THE OLDIE OF THE YEAR in pictures Hello!magazine, eat your heart out…

mrs cooper and me John McEntee’s scoop that never was 38

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Cover illustration by: Martin Honeysett

30 H m BATEMAN as artist Lucy Willis reveals the cartoonist’s other talents still with us: MICHAEL SHERARD Sarah Shannon on the distinguished advocate 12

18 PEARLS of wisdom Melanie McFadyean interviews the Revd Canon Kate Tristram 49 BRIEF ENCOUNTERS Nigel Fountain looks at the lives of others 56 the joys of gib John Torode in Gibraltar

60 oh, do come on! Christian Wolmar’s University Challenge special

Come to a taste of salzburg See page 69

Edward Enfield rants on page 33