It is a powerful act of make-believe to put all your foes together in a building and set fire to them; it has also happened in history. At many points throughout The Intruder fantasy and reality come together in this way. In the preface, Gillian Tindall states that she is not writing about identifiable people or places, yet what she relates is firmly based on actual events, including the final tragedy; it is also the stuff of nightmares. 'History couldn't possibly be true because it was too awful,' Jane, the heroine, used to think as a child. This book is the story of her enlightenment.

LRB 8 November 1979 | PDF Download