Reading the Faber Book of English History in Verse in East London was like trying to hold Radio 3 on the FM band.[*] The wavelength was under fire from all sides, and its measured strains kept giving way to the outlandish rapping and toasting of the local pirate stations. Closing the minister's volume in dismay, I noticed an image of Nelson dying at Trafalgar on the cover and set off in search of a place where I might try again.

LRB 24 November 1988 | PDF Download