In the title story of Edward Upward's new collection, a forgotten Marxist author of the Thirties dreams that he is approached by a present-day admirer, a 'lecturer at a Yorkshire polytechnic'. At first Stephen Highwood is suspicious. He doesn't expect people to know who he is. His books have long been out of print and are not to be found in public libraries. In surveys of modern literature, his name barely rates a mention. 'Are you some kind of highclass tout?' he asks. 'Which books of mine have you read?'

LRB 26 January 1995 | PDF Download