Critical heritage
Sir: Bookbuyer is usually entertaining and sometimes surprising. He certainly surprised all of us here with his unofficial announcement about the 'Critical Heritage' Series (June 10): "Routledge are currently discovering what happens when a series goes stale on you." Apparently Bookbuyer has seen a couple of unfavourable reviews of recent volumes. In our files he can see sheafs of unfavourable reviews, many blistering, going back over three or four years, when the series began in 1968. We are not put off course by a cold breeze or two. Bookbuyer also thinks that we are scraping the barrel with recent volumes on Rochester, Ibsen and Ford Madox Ford and wonders whether we are planning future volumes on Thomas Otley, Richard le Gallienne and James Thomson. Since we are only a telephone call away he could have discovered for himself that our next titles will include Crabbe, Gissing, Ezra Pound, Southey, H. G. Wells, Defoe and a second volume on Milton. Bookbuyer can rate these authors major or minor, just as he pleases; and no doubt there will be reviews favourable and unfavourable for all these books. These are the facts of life in publishing and none of this touches the atmosphere around the Critical Heritage' Series at Carter Lane, however 'stale' it may smell to Bookbuyer in his offices at Gower Street. ,
Brian Southam
Editorial Director, Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane, London EC4
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