Declining readers
Sir: If your correspondent from Bishop's Stortford has not read an English or American novel for many years, the fault is his: and his attitude must contribute to any decline in fiction, alleged or other- wise.
Murdoch and Bates. Snow and Spark, Hanford Johnson and O'Brien: we can all make our own lists. As for pornography I would suggest that it is usually in the eye of the beholder. One should not be misinformed by looking at the covers of paperbacks: in order to catch the eye of the purchaser they may all appear to be full of full- frontal nudes, but inside the FFN IS mostly notable for its absence.
It is always fashionable to decry the modern writer, and the last generation's furtive behind-locked- doors reading material will find itself twenty years later required reading on examination syllabuses. There is no decline in 'fiction, though there is an ar?uable case that there is a decline in readers.
Martin Folkard 67 Beaulieu Avenue, Sydenham S126
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