SOURCE: "Lovers on a Train," in London Review of Books, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 10, 1991, p. 19.

In the following positive review of Carol, which was originally published as The Price of Salt under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, Clapp discusses the plot of the novel, focusing on Highsmith's depiction of landscape and homosexuality.

'Beautifully written' is novel-reviewer's shorthand for 'written by a woman'. So is 'slim'. And 'slender'. I began to note these casual condescensions when I was helping to judge last year's Booker Prize. But then, prizes bring out prickliness. 'Do you think,' asked one contributor to the London Review of Books, 'that the Booker panel is as distinguished as it should be?' The question was delivered with a speculative air, worthy of the academic who spoke. 'After all,' he mused on, 'there are probably dons who would be prepared to act as judges.'

So it...