Tepid Dalton
Sir: I was proud to find my life of Hugh Dalton in a list of four which, according to Mr Worsthorne, have received the critics' approval (Diary, 20 April). But I was puzzled by the suggestion that the review- ers were mainly responding to the close attention which we biographers allegedly paid to the sexual activities of our subjects. Puzzled, and a bit wistful, because (as a writer of more than average prurience) I would have loved to have given a steamy account of Dalton. Faute de mieux, I speculated about his tepid marriage and romantic, unconsummated friendships. But, despite my most earnest endeavours,
and to my great professional regret, I was unable to find evidence of any sexual adventure whatsoever.
Ben Pimlott
Department of Politics & Sociology, Birbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1
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