20 SEPTEMBER 1975, page 20

Upstaged

Peter Holland Sublime and Grotesque W. D. Howarth (Harrap £12.75) The English have always been parochial over drama. Brought up to believe in the supreme excellence of......

Fiction

Food for thought Peter Ackroyd The Sly Servant Caroline Dilke (Chatto and Windus £3.50). This first novel, which ought to be followed by many more, opens on a fragile note.......