
Following Jan Morris’s wishes, publication of this entertaining collection of essays had to wait until after her death. I’m not sure why she felt the need for the delay: to allow her time to keep adding new material is my best guess; and, perhaps, to reward her long-term fans with a posthumous treat.
This is a lovely, eclectic collection. Eclectic, yet somehow possessing what Morris, in her ‘pre-mortem’, describes as ‘a sort of crepuscular unity’. It’s very much a late-life book, although never morbid.
These essays cover, among many other topics: falling over; train journeys; sneezing; Tenzing Norgay; wanting to marry one’s cat; cruise-liners; Bloomsday; Provence; and whistling.
Like I say, eclectic. And lovely.
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