UP on the Omnimeter: Charabancs
With new volumes of T.S. Eliot’s letters set to appear every other year till the end of time, the was-he-or-wasn’t-he-a-massive-racist debate (‘He ate duck à l’orange with French fascists’… ‘But “Jewboy” was a term of affection back then!’) is in danger of getting a bit tired. The most indefensible revelation in the latest 900-page doorstop is the Pooterish letter Eliot wrote to the Daily Express on traffic policy: ‘Would it not be a good thing if charabancs were forbidden to follow each other except at such a distance as would allow a motorist behind to cut in past one of them at a time?’ Vivienne was lucky to be packed off to a sanatorium.
____________________________________________________________________
Want to know what the critics made of the latest book, film or play? The Omnivore rounds up newspaper reviews, bringing you a cross section of critical opinion. Sign up to our newsletter.
