5 SEPTEMBER 1981, Page 17

Commissioned

Sir: Mr Richard West kindly suggests (22 August) that in 1960 I was able to commission V. S. Naipaul to travel round the Caribbean and write his Middle Passage which I published in 1962.

The truth is that the late Dr Eric Williams, Prime Minister of Trinidad who was a great admirer of V. S. Naipaul, thought of the idea of the book and gave him a government grant which enabled him to undertake his travels. So with his help and Mr Naipaul's great talents I received the finished manuscript and published it quickly.

Andre Deutsch 105 Great Russell Street, London WC1