Henry James writes of a very grand lady that she had 'an air of keeping, at every moment, every advantage'. Paradoxically, the same would be true of the literary personality of Elias Canetti. Behind its approachable modesty, its avoidance of every publicity and image-making process, there is a loftiness, an assurance, a stance of absolute superiority. Indeed the modesty and the dignity make the same point: why make a fuss about your greatness?

LRB 17 December 1981 | PDF Download