By public demand
Sir: In his review of our The Lost Theatres of London (13 December), George Rowell, to point his personal opinion, to which he is quite entitled, that the book is indigestible and sopo- rific, charges us with 'unwisely' quoting Harold Hobson and repeats the remark. But Mr-Rowell has 'wisely' used only the first half of the quota- tion completely out of the context in which it was used by us. In fairness to Mr Hobson (with whose full knowledge and permission it was originally used) may we claim the courtesy of your columns to add the second half of the 'remark'?
The reason given for the disadvantage of The Oxford Companion to the Theatre as a bedside book which kept you awake laughing was not with pleasure as implied but because: 'You can dip into it at any page with a fair confidence of finding some hilarious piece of misinforma- tion. . .
This custom of part quotation reminds one of the excesses seen outside theatres, contorted to the management's benefit, often much to the amazement of the critic himself.
Previous page
