15 OCTOBER 1965, Page 13

Croesus in a Crumpled Suit

Sts,L-Mr. Christopher Booker's critical judgments may be beyond cure but you might get him to verify his references. He says of Russell Braddon's biography, Roy Thomson of Fleet Street, extracts from which have lately appeared in the Sunday Times: 'Certainly no other newspaper would have

serialised it.'

As Russell Braddon's literary agent, I can assure you that the statement is as untrue as it is damaging. When Braddon undertook to write the biography, he was given—as one would expect with an author of his high reputation—complete freedom to say what he liked and to dispose of the literary rights in any way he wished. That was two and a half years ago. It was only this summer, after two other newspapers in the UK had begun to negotiate for serial rights, that the Sunday Times entered the bidding and acquired these rights on a competitive basis.

Canadian serial rights have just been sold to a non-Thomson paper for what is believed to be a record sum and Australian serial rights are being keenly contested by three of the largest newspaper groups in that country. Thus a dozen major news- papers have tried to pay good money to serialise the Roy Thomson biography. 'No other newspaper,' Mr. Booker?

GEORGE GREENFIELD

15 Red Lion Square, WCI