30 MAY 1981, Page 20

Two's company

Sir: I think James Hughes-Onslow in his summary of recent paperbacks (2 MaY) ought to know that the 'French' girl who accompanied Peter Fleming on his journey described in News from Tartury was a highly respected Swiss traveller, Ella Maillart, who lives in Switzerland but has been honoured by the Royal Geographical Society and other British institutions. She wrote her own account of their joint travels in Forbidden Journey (Heinemann). It is a pity that this book has not been reissued, too, since it completes the account of their joint adventure. Pamela Guy Jones Esterella Seillans, France