6 SEPTEMBER 1997, page 38

In The Library With A Pen

Alethea Hayter THE CHAPLET OF PEARLS by Harriet Waugh Bloomsbury, £14.99, pp. 217 T he conflict between historical truth and the biographer's preconceptions has been the central......

Not The History Man

Douglas Johnson SIMENON: A BIOGRAPHY by Pierre Assouline, translated by Jon Rothschild Chatto and Windus, £20.00, pp. 447 M aigret is writing his report. The case is concluded,......