24 SEPTEMBER 2005, Page 22

When author turns critic

From Barbara Hooper

Sir: I can match Graham Lord’s experience at the hands of Trevor Grove (Letters, 17 September). When my book about Laurie Lee appeared (not authorised, but accepted by his executors, and well received by distinguished critics such as P.J. Kavanagh and Alan Ross) the late Auberon Waugh’s Literary Review carried a disparaging review by Valerie Grove, author of a then unpublished biography of Lee. Incidentally, I had met socially and interviewed Laurie Lee before he died; she had not. I wrote to Auberon Waugh suggesting that I should, quid pro quo, review her book. He did not reply.

Barbara Hooper Bisley, Gloucestershire