7 OCTOBER 1972, page 16

Ambiguous Sort Of Clay

Beverley Nichols Escape from the Shadows Robin Maugham (Hodder & Stoughton, £3.50) "All of us," observes Somerset Maugham "have crossed thesholds of which we do not boast."......

The Case Of A Gifted Novice

Rayner Heppenstall The Case of Mary Bell Gitta Sereny (Eyre Methuen £2.75) In December 1968, at Newcastle assizes, Mary Flora Bell, then aged eleven, was found guilty of the......

Playing The Devil's Advocate

Patrick Reilly The Memoirs of Lord Gladwyn (VVeidenfeld and Nicolson £4.50) Lord Gladwyn, biding his time before publishing the memoirs of a brilliant diplomatic career, has......