28 OCTOBER 2006, Page 30

Elusive titles

From Gerard Sproston

Sir: Allan Massie (Books, 21 October) cannot lay his hands on a copy of Maugham’s Christmas Holiday. As a librarian (retired) I despair. There is a copy waiting for him on the shelves of the London Library at this moment. If he chooses not to be a member of that indispensable institution, he has only to inquire at the nearest branch of his own public library, which will obtain that or any other copy of the elusive title for him swiftly and for a minimum outlay.

Gerard Sproston

London EC1