Biographical overkill
Sir: As an admirer of Rebecca West I was honoured that Miss Ethel Sands and Her Circle inspired what Christopher Booker (Notebook, 7 May) gleefully applauded as her 'little gem of an essay on the present craze for biographical overkill'. But I cannot help feeling slightly abashed by this undeserved distinction. If Mr Booker had paused to read the book for himself before launching into print on the subject, he might have agreed that Dame Rebecca's admirable polemic would _have fitted so much better into a review of a biography. As I explained in the preface, the main subject of my book is Miss Sands's archives — ranging from letters written by Lord Charles Beresford to Mrs Sands in the 1870s, to letters written by L. P. Hartley to Miss Sands in the 1950s. The narrative of Miss Sands's life, and of her correspondents' lives when relevant to their letters, was designed to act as an editorial framework to this documentary content. Thus Logan Pearsall Smith, whose letters Miss Sands preserved, appears (to Dame Rebecca's dismay) in bulk, whereas Ruth Lowinsky, whose letters were not preserved, is mentioned (again to Dame Rebecca's dismay) but briefly. If a true biography of Miss Sands were ever to be written I am sure this balance would be redressed.
(Dr) Wendy Baron London NW8
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