I S S U E 2 7 7 • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1

d’s letter…

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www.theoldie.co.uk Editor Richard Ingrams Assistant editor Sonali Chapman ub-editor Deborah Asher Art editor Joe Buckley Commissioning editor Jeremy Lewis Editorial assistant Charlotte Fairbairn Advertising sales manager Lisa Martin

Describing life on a cruise to Radio 4 listeners (see page 82), a couple of cruisers spoke ecstatically of ‘luxury, absolute luxury. You have to wear a long dress in the evening and there’s ballroom dancing.’

To my intense relief there will be nothing of the kind on the cruise on which, at the time of going to press, I am about to embark with a select group of friends. We shall be cruising down the Nile without a ball gown in sight, courtesy of Noble Caledonia – the firm which has generously sponsored our Literary Lunches for eighteen months.

hope to provide an account of our travels in the next issue which will contain an exciting – and completely FRE – travel supplement.

ichard Ingrams enior sales executive Azmi Elkholy ales executive Jack Watts Publisher James Pembroke

At large Richard Beatty Our quiet American David Kowitz ir Alan John Brown

DITORIAL Tel: 020 7436 8801 Fax: 020 7436 8804 e-mail: editorial@theoldie.co.uk Subscriptions & LI TERARY

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 50 and 51

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 18 WINTER 2011

Whatthecriticssaid

OVER 50

OVER 50 OF THE BEST BOOKS COVERED INCLUDING Craig Brown Claire Tomalin Richard Holmes Pam Ayres Richard Dawkins Alexander Masters Mark Kermode Heather Brooke

Jeremy Paxman Alastair Hignell Eamon Duffy Anne Sebba Christopher Lloyd A N Wilson Kwasi Kwarteng Alexandra Fuller Peter Ackroyd

Janice Galloway Wade Davis Ronald Blythe Molly Keane …and many more

Fiction special: Sam Leith on the Man Booker Paperback round-up

PLUS Wallis Simpson Leonora Carrington A Tale of Two Dickens

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14

through the Talking Newspaper Association. Tel: 01435 866 102 or visit: www.tnauk.org.uk for further details. CONTENTS

12 PEARLS of wisdom Dorothy Bohm talks to Melanie McFadyean

22 MY CONFESSION John McEntee reveals the surprising truth

Distributed by COMAG, Tavistock Road,

West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE

Tel: 01895 433600

hakespeare in poland Simon Rae’s one-man Scottish play goes east 32

prince twins seven-seven Dick France provides this month’s ‘I Once Met…’ 18

All rights of reproduction are reserved in respect of all articles, drawings, sketches etc. published in TheOldie in all parts of the world. Reproduction or imitation of any of these without the express prior written consent of the publisher is forbidden.

TheOldieis available in audio format for the benefit of blind and partially sighted readers

42 going straight How Trader Faulkner went the extra mile for John Gielgud 52 AFGHAn archaeology Robert Fox looks at the rebuilding of Afghanistan’s past 60 be a part of it Bill Hagerty explores Sinatra’s New York

Come to A TASTE OF ANDALUCIA WITH

HE OLDIE See page 63

Cover illustration by: Arthur Robins

A graceful exit with Virginia Ironside: page 30