18 APRIL 1981, page 23

Fiction

Worldly-wise in childhood Paul Ableman The Magic Glass Anne Smith (Michael Joseph pp. 174, £6.50) What is a novel? The word covers a multitude of literary productions. The book......

Spaced-out

Bel Mooney The Sirian Experiments Doris Lessing ( Cape pp. 288, £6.95) the preface to her latest 'archive' Davis Lessing seems amused, not irritated, at the Confusion caused by......

Thrillers

Harriet Waugh 'OD Len Deighton (Hutchinson pp. 397, £6.95). Off Duty Andrew Coburn (Seeker & Warburg pp. 255, £6.95). More Deadly than the Male James Hadley Chase (Robert Hale......