14 MARCH 1992, Page 27

Deliberate error

Sir: One of the few constants in a changing world is the eerie capacity of the British press to Get It Wrong. What I take to be a woman journalist, Colin Welch, repeats (Books, 7 December 1991) the truly hilari- ous story of how W. Buckley sent me a book in which he had put his greetings beside my name in the index. Ms Welch has, of course, Got It Wrong. The book was sent not to me but to Norman Mailer. But then what difference does the same make as long as the story is giggly?

Gore Vidal

1201 Alta Loma Rd, Los Angeles, 90069