Braine's last Christmas
From Janet Bather Sir Your correspondent Mr Wilfred De'Ath (Letters, 26 October), commenting on John Mortimer's review of The Angry Young Men (Books, 12 October), correctly challenges Mr Mortimer's comment that John Braine 'ended up happy with his fine car and house in the stockbroker belt'. John had already left this lifestyle behind for a couple of years before coming to London in 1982.
Mr De'Ath, however, is incorrect in saying that John 'ended up alone in a humble bedsit just off Haverstock Hill in north London and ate his last Christmas lunch in a community centre for elderly folk.
John, who died 16 years ago, was in his last years living in a comfortable, wellappointed flat he rented in Gayton Crescent, Hampstead, and, although he lived alone, he was not alone by any means.
This is where he had his last Christmas dinner in 1985. How do I know this? Because I was there. I prepared and cooked it and shared it with him.
Janet Barber
London N6
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