25 OCTOBER 1997, page 57

A Proustian Hitman

Main de Botton THE KEY OF THE TOWER by Gilbert Adair Secker, £12.99, pp. 176 I t is tempting to argue that Gilbert Adair is a very underrated novelist but it is proba- bly......

Democracy Without Elections

Nigel Ryan PERSONA GRANADA by Denis Forman Andre Deutsch, £17.99, pp. 333 W hen Sidney Bernstein was nearing 90 the staff at Granada's London head- quarters would greet him,......