22 FEBRUARY 1986, page 30

No Simple Heroine

Sara Maitland IMMODEST ACTS by Judith C. Brown OUP, £12.50 T here is an extraordinary power in the image of the Lesbian Nun. Ears prick up at her approach — from hard porn to......

Giving Up Smoking

There's not a Shakespeare sonnet Or a Beethoven quartet That's easier to like than you Or harder to forget. You think that sounds extravagant? I haven't finished yet - I like......

A Selection Of Recent Thrillers

Harriet Waugh THE GHOSTWAY by Tony Hillerman Gollancz, f8.95 DEAD GIVEAWAY by Simon Brett Gollancz, f7.95 THE CRIMINAL COMEDY OF THE CONTENTED COUPLE by Julian Symons Macmillan,......

Triolet

I used to think all poets were Byronic Mad, bad and dangerous to know. And then I met a few. Yes it's ironic — I used to think all poets were Byronic. They're mostly wicked as a......