2 JANUARY 1982, page 22

Short Stories

Lewis Jones T wish I were a 13-year-old girl; if I were I I should not be sickened by Sylvia Towns- end Warner (or, even better, a 13-year-old boy; then I should not feel guilty......

Two Old Queens

Christopher Hawtree E dith Sitwell ended her bad-tempered autobiography with a macabre image: 'Then all will be over, bar the shouting and the worms.' Much shouting has indeed......