7 DECEMBER 1996, page 52

Camping At A High Altitude

Thomas Blaikie THE FREDDIE MERCURY STORY by David Bret Robson, £16.95, pp. 207 I n a small way Freddie Mercury added to the gaiety of nations. Alive, he was a fairly delightful......

Variations On A Theme Of Death

Michael Scott TCHAIKOVSKY'S LAST DAYS by Alexander Poznansky OUP, £20, pp. 254 W hen a famous personality dies sud- denly from natural causes before his time, there are always......