18 SEPTEMBER 1982, page 20

Old Rope

Jeffrey Bernard The Pornbrokers Martin Tomkinson (Virgin Books £1.95) E ver since this book was published a few L/ weeks ago the joke in Soho has been that the author is now in......

Hallo To All This

Eric Christiansen A Charterhouse Miscellany ed. R. L. Arrowsmith (Gentry Books £9.95) O ne of the difficulties of late summer is finding a good long novel with a plot and a host......

Grub Street

Terence de Vere White T he name Gissing has a warning sound, suggestive of complaint and noxious fumes. It could have been invented to define the joyless quality of Gissing's......