65 Newman Street, London W1T 3EG

www.theoldie.co.uk

Editor Richard Ingrams Assistant editor Sonali Chapman

Sub-editor Deborah Asher

Art editor Joe Buckley Commissioning editor Jeremy Lewis

Editorial assistant Claire Daly Advertising sales manager Lisa Martin Senior sales executive Azmi Elkholy

Sales executive Jack Watts Publisher James Pembroke

At large Richard Beatty Our quiet American David Kowitz

Sir Alan John Brown

EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7436 8801 Fax: 020 7436 8804 e-mail: editorial@theoldie.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS & L I TERARY

LUNCH BOOKINGS Subscriptions tel: 01795 592 893 e-mail: subscriptions@theoldie.co.uk All subscription queries please write to:

Oldie Subs, c/o Dovetail Services 800 Guillat Ave, Kent Science Park,

Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8GU Lunch bookings tel: 01795 592 892 e-mail: oldielunches@servicehelpline.co.uk

PUBLISHER e-mail: publisher@theoldie.co.uk

ADVERTISING For display contact Lisa Martin or

Azmi Elkholy on Tel: 020 7487 8405 or 020 7487 8407

e-mail: advertising@theoldie.co.uk

For classified contact Jack Watts on

020 7487 8406 e-mail: advertising@theoldie.co.uk

OLDIE BOOKSHOP Tel: 08452 419 971

Ed’s letter…

AS WE GO to press the countdown has begun for the Soho Literary Festival to be held at the Soho Theatre in London’s Dean Street on the weekend of September 23rd to 25th.

We offer a non-stop programme of talks, interviews and performances starring Oldie contributors Marcus

I S S U E 2 7 5 • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1

Berkmann, Virginia Ironside, Paul Bailey and Valerie Grove and a host of well known names including P D James, A N Wilson, Ruth Rendell and Ken Loach. To book tickets on our 2 for 1 offer, call 020 7478 0100 and quote ‘publisher’.

RICHARD INGRAMS

FREE! The Oldie Review of Books Our quarterly literary supplement contains features, comment and objective summaries of reviews of nearly 50 of the most-talked about books

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

Whatthecriticssaid

OVER 50

OVER 50 OF THE BEST BOOKS COVERED INCLUDING A N Wilson

Janine di Giovanni Alan Bennett Alistair Darling Martin Sixsmith Jennifer Egan Robert Hughes Rachel Campbell

Johnston Chris Mullin Judy Golding Evelyn Juers Virginia Nicholson Iain Sinclair Emma Rothschild Kingsley Amis Asa Briggs Kate Colquhoun Graham Swift

Jenni Murray Leo McKinstry …and many more

The lure of war: Patrick Mercer on the literature of conflict

A dog’s life: the best dog books Francis King remembered Murder and mayhem

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

12

1412 PARTNERS IN CRIME Duncan Campbell on the golden age of corruption

22 PER ARDUA… Anne Howells brushes up on her Latin

ABC Primary Figure: 40,402 Subscription rates for 12 issues: UK £37.50; Europe £42; USA £43; Rest of World £52.50

The Oldie is published by Oldie Publications Ltd, 65 Newman Street, London W1T 3EG ISSN 0965-2507. Printed in England by Wyndeham Group

Distributed by COMAG, Tavistock Road,

West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE

Tel: 01895 433600

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 through the Talking Newspaper Association. Tel: 01435 866 102 or visit:

www.tnauk.org.uk for further details.

Cover illustration by: Martin Honeysett

62TALES FROM A BALLY Stanley Price on the conversational charms of East Cork

32

38 PEARLS OF WISDOM Melanie McFadyean talks to 105-year-old Hetty Bower

19 DEDICATED SERVICE Philip Purser reports on one man’s mission to commemorate the 1944 B-17 disaster to commemorate the 1944 B-17 disaster

48 I ONCE MET Joseph Hone’s deathbed encounter with Erich von Stroheim

THE QUEEN AND I How Charles Elliott got close to

34 THE QUEEN AND I How Charles Elliott got close to Her Majesty

45 STILL WITH US John Amis on the opera producer John Copley

2 FOR 1 OFFER AT THE SOHO LITERARY

FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 23–25

See page 57

55 VOICES FROM SILENCE

55 VOICES FROM SILENCE

Mary Craig reports

Mary Craig reports on a revolutionary method of communication for on a revolutionary method of communication for the brain-damaged the brain-damaged

Deluded? see page 32

Deluded? see page 32