A new novel by Frank Swinnerton published in his 92nd year. I make no apology for referring to the author's age. It is utterly relevant. And what do we see opposite the title-page? No less than forty fiction titles listed, followed by fifteen other titles. What an achievement. It makes another man blush for shame.

Only yesterday I received a card from a celebrated woman author, intellectual and sometime contributor to b&b … saying: 'What, I ask myself, is a bookman? Have I ever met one?'. Now, I can answer her: Frank Swinnerton.

Before discussing [Some Achieve Greatness], I should declare an interest, then claim disinterest—in the correct sense of that word, on which Mr Swinnerton, particularly, would insist: the need to take an objective view, which is every author's right to expect. The interest is twofold. In the first place, Frank Swinnerton is a respected...