25 JANUARY 1992, page 27

Never Judge A Spy By His Cover

Harriet Waugh NEVER JUDGE A MAN BY HIS UMBRELLA by Nicholas Elliott Michael Russell, f14.95, pp.201 N ever Judge a Man by his Umbrella must be one of the rummest autobiographies......

Dung In A Silk Stocking

Piers Paul Read THE LIVES OF ELSA TRIOLET by Lachlan Mackinnon Chatto & Windus, £18, pp.216 E lsa Triolet was the first woman to be awarded the Prix Goncourt. Her novels are now......