Search by contributor
Browse our cover archive
Literature & Criticism
Philosophy & Law
Psychology & Anthropology
UK or Worldwide subscribers
Your 10-digit customer number is above your name on the address slip.
USA subscribers
Your customer number is the 18-digit number, starting with 20801, between the '#' marks, and is located above your name on the address label.
Canada subscribers
If you subscribed via the website, you can enter the order number from your subscription confirmation email in place of your customer number.
These terms and conditions of use refer to the London Review of Books and the London Review Bookshop website (www.lrb.co.uk — hereafter 'LRB Website'). These terms and conditions apply to all users of the LRB Website ("you"), including individual subscribers to the print edition of the LRB who wish to take advantage of our free 'subscriber only' access to archived material ("individual users") and users who are authorised to access the LRB Website by subscribing institutions ("institutional users").
Each time you use the LRB Website you signify your acceptance of these terms and conditions. If you do not agree, or are not comfortable with any part of this document, your only remedy is not to use the LRB Website.
By registering for access to the LRB Website and/or entering the LRB Website by whatever route of access, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions currently prevailing.
The London Review of Books ("LRB") reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time and you should check for any alterations regularly. Continued usage of the LRB Website subsequent to a change in the terms and conditions constitutes acceptance of the current terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions of any subscription agreements which educational and other institutions have entered into with the LRB apply in addition to these terms and conditions.
You undertake to indemnify the LRB fully for all losses damages and costs incurred as a result of your breaching these terms and conditions.
The information you supply on registration to the LRB Website shall be accurate and complete. You will notify the LRB promptly of any changes of relevant details by emailing the registrar. You will not assist a non-registered person to gain access to the LRB Website by supplying them with your password. In the event that the LRB considers that you have breached the requirements governing registration, that you are in breach of these terms and conditions or that your or your institution's subscription to the LRB lapses, your registration to the LRB Website will be terminated.
Each individual subscriber to the LRB (whether a person or organisation) is entitled to the registration of one person to use the 'subscriber only' content on the web site. This user is an 'individual user'.
The London Review of Books operates a 'no questions asked' cancellation policy in accordance with UK legislation. Please contact us to cancel your subscription and receive a full refund for the cost of all unposted issues.
Use of the 'subscriber only' content on the LRB Website is strictly for the personal use of each individual user who may read the content on the screen, download, store or print single copies for their own personal private non-commercial use only, and is not to be made available to or used by any other person for any purpose.
Each institution which subscribes to the LRB is entitled to grant access to persons to register on and use the 'subscriber only' content on the web site under the terms and conditions of its subscription agreement with the LRB. These users are 'institutional users'.
Each institutional user of the LRB may access and search the LRB database and view its entire contents, and may also reproduce insubstantial extracts from individual articles or other works in the database to which their institution's subscription provides access, including in academic assignments and theses, online and/or in print. All quotations must be credited to the author and the LRB. Institutional users are not permitted to reproduce any entire article or other work, or to make any commercial use of any LRB material (including sale, licensing or publication) without the LRB's prior written permission. Institutions may notify institutional users of any additional or different conditions of use which they have agreed with the LRB.
Users may use any one computer to access the LRB web site 'subscriber only' content at any time, so long as that connection does not allow any other computer, networked or otherwise connected, to access 'subscriber only' content.
The LRB Website and its contents are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. You acknowledge that all intellectual property rights including copyright in the LRB Website and its contents belong to or have been licensed to the LRB or are otherwise used by the LRB as permitted by applicable law.
All intellectual property rights in articles, reviews and essays originally published in the print edition of the LRB and subsequently included on the LRB Website belong to or have been licensed to the LRB. This material is made available to you for use as set out in paragraph 8 (if you are an individual user) or paragraph 10 (if you are an institutional user) only. Save for such permitted use, you may not download, store, disseminate, republish, post, reproduce, translate or adapt such material in whole or in part in any form without the prior written permission of the LRB. To obtain such permission and the terms and conditions applying, contact the Rights and Permissions department.
All intellectual property rights in images on the LRB Website are owned by the LRB except where another copyright holder is specifically attributed or credited. Save for such material taken for permitted use set out above, you may not download, store, disseminate, republish, post, reproduce, translate or adapt LRB's images in whole or in part in any form without the prior written permission of the LRB. To obtain such permission and the terms and conditions applying, contact the Rights and Permissions department. Where another copyright holder is specifically attributed or credited you may not download, store, disseminate, republish, reproduce or translate such images in whole or in part in any form without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. The LRB will not undertake to supply contact details of any attributed or credited copyright holder.
The LRB Website is provided on an 'as is' basis and the LRB gives no warranty that the LRB Website will be accessible by any particular browser, operating system or device.
The LRB makes no express or implied representation and gives no warranty of any kind in relation to any content available on the LRB Website including as to the accuracy or reliability of any information either in its articles, essays and reviews or in the letters printed in its letter page or material supplied by third parties. The LRB excludes to the fullest extent permitted by law all liability of any kind (including liability for any losses, damages or costs) arising from the publication of any materials on the LRB Website or incurred as a consequence of using or relying on such materials.
The LRB excludes to the fullest extent permitted by law all liability of any kind (including liability for any losses, damages or costs) for any legal or other consequences (including infringement of third party rights) of any links made to the LRB Website.
The LRB is not responsible for the content of any material you encounter after leaving the LRB Website site via a link in it or otherwise. The LRB gives no warranty as to the accuracy or reliability of any such material and to the fullest extent permitted by law excludes all liability that may arise in respect of or as a consequence of using or relying on such material.
This site may be used only for lawful purposes and in a manner which does not infringe the rights of, or restrict the use and enjoyment of the site by, any third party. In the event of a chat room, message board, forum and/or news group being set up on the LRB Website, the LRB will not undertake to monitor any material supplied and will give no warranty as to its accuracy, reliability, originality or decency. By posting any material you agree that you are solely responsible for ensuring that it is accurate and not obscene, defamatory, plagiarised or in breach of copyright, confidentiality or any other right of any person, and you undertake to indemnify the LRB against all claims, losses, damages and costs incurred in consequence of your posting of such material. The LRB will reserve the right to remove any such material posted at any time and without notice or explanation. The LRB will reserve the right to disclose the provenance of such material, republish it in any form it deems fit or edit or censor it. The LRB will reserve the right to terminate the registration of any person it considers to abuse access to any chat room, message board, forum or news group provided by the LRB.
Any e-mail services supplied via the LRB Website are subject to these terms and conditions.
You will not knowingly transmit any virus, malware, trojan or other harmful matter to the LRB Website. The LRB gives no warranty that the LRB Website is free from contaminating matter, viruses or other malicious software and to the fullest extent permitted by law disclaims all liability of any kind including liability for any damages, losses or costs resulting from damage to your computer or other property arising from access to the LRB Website, use of it or downloading material from it.
The LRB does not warrant that the use of the LRB Website will be uninterrupted, and disclaims all liability to the fullest extent permitted by law for any damages, losses or costs incurred as a result of access to the LRB Website being interrupted, modified or discontinued.
The LRB Website contains advertisements and promotional links to websites and other resources operated by third parties. While we would never knowingly link to a site which we believed to be trading in bad faith, the LRB makes no express or implied representations or warranties of any kind in respect of any third party websites or resources or their contents, and we take no responsibility for the content, privacy practices, goods or services offered by these websites and resources. The LRB excludes to the fullest extent permitted by law all liability for any damages or losses arising from access to such websites and resources. Any transaction effected with such a third party contacted via the LRB Website are subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the third party involved and the LRB accepts no responsibility or liability resulting from such transactions.
The LRB disclaims liability to the fullest extent permitted by law for any damages, losses or costs incurred for unauthorised access or alterations of transmissions or data by third parties as consequence of visit to the LRB Website.
While 'subscriber only' content on the LRB Website is currently provided free to subscribers to the print edition of the LRB, the LRB reserves the right to impose a charge for access to some or all areas of the LRB Website without notice.
These terms and conditions are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with English law and any disputes relating to these terms and conditions will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
The various provisions of these terms and conditions are severable and if any provision is held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction then such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the remaining provisions.
If these terms and conditions are not accepted in full, use of the LRB Website must be terminated immediately.
AcceptClose
About the LRB
LRB Store
Vol. 24 No. 24 · 12 December 2002
Search by issue:
Year202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319921991199019891988198719861985198419831982198119801979
The Great Education Disaster
It is an interesting paradox that while selection is being reintroduced to secondary education, as Ross McKibbin writes (LRB, 28 November), tertiary education is under pressure to become 'comprehensive'. Universities are enjoined to find ever more inventive ways of having 50 per cent of school-leavers (or is it now 'people between 18 and 30'?) gain a university degree (or is it now 'having some experience of a university'?). That 'target', actually a mere political wish stated by Tony Blair or his adviser Andrew Adonis, has no credible foundation: were it based on reasoned calculation, we might have a less symbolic figure. As a target, 50 per cent has no content, which is why it is so easy for the Government to shift its ground from school-leavers to 18-30-year-olds, from gaining degrees to having some tertiary experience – come for an Open Day. It is not clear what is being 'joined up' by Blair's advisers, but it is clear that it is neither 'education' as (at least) a tripartite whole nor 'rational thinking'.
One persuasive reason some secondary schools have gone along with the divisive 'specialist school' agenda is financial. The Government is unable or unwilling to fund all schools adequately, so it is incumbent on head teachers and governing bodies to grasp any 'initiative' from which money will follow. 'Arts school' status is as attractive as 'sports' or 'language', so long as it brings in the £100,000 that will help fill the £250,000 hole at the centre of a budget. That hole will, for many secondary schools, get bigger next year when the Government stops funding the 'threshold' pay deal (an extra £2000) for many teachers. Apart from the money, what else is there? A good drama department breaks up as teachers leave their 'arts school' for promotions elsewhere; my child might be a gifted linguist and footballer; a community with many children good at languages finds there is no 'language school' in their area; and so on. The 'specialist school' and associated 'initiatives' are designed to occlude the fact that the Government is no longer willing to do what is required to fund a national education service, and this affects not only secondary education, but the parts of the system that surround it.
In primary schools, divisions are made by the end of Key Stage One (seven-year-olds) and, in some instances, even before that. As Estelle Morris herself pointed out, divisions are sometimes being made within the first week of the child's entry into formal schooling. Assessment in the primary sector is there not to enable children to develop but in the first instance to allow the Government to claim that certain political targets have been met.
At the tertiary level, the Government's failure of nerve led it to introduce fees. it's now trying to gain legitimacy for the idea of 'top-up' fees (in other words, a significant hike) by propagating the idea that it is a 'fair' and 'equitable' way of funding higher education, when the truth is that 'fees' and 'graduate taxes' are a way of allowing the Government not to fund higher education. The only position (hardly an argument) advanced in favour of fees is that they are not fees but investments, based on a view of education as a way of enabling private gain. But there are other reasons for going to university besides financial greed. A doctor will enjoy a salary that is likely to be higher than the salary she would have had had she not gone to university, but she is not alone in benefiting from her education. The idea that she benefits 'disproportionately', as Charles Clarke suggests, is insulting to her and to her patients. The same is true of the other professional and academic disciplines taught in a university, from astronomy to zoology, from literature to sociology.
And what about business? As McKibbin points out, businessmen do not know what they want from universities, other than graduates who can do whatever it is that their business requires. But since business, of its nature, is constantly changing, so also the requirements of business change. It is therefore not possible to organise an education system on a business model. After three years or so a university produces a graduate with specific and highly advanced capabilities. Then the university gives its product away, free, to business and other spheres. Maybe it is time for those businesses, who will certainly benefit from the education that their employees have, to pay something back. The business community has been given the opportunity in the past to make significant contributions, to 'city academies', for instance; but in the absence of a PFI gain associated with these invitations, they have been rather slow to take them up.
Thomas Docherty
University of Kent, Canterbury
What Americans Really Think
F.S. Schwarzbach (Letters, 14 November) writes that, so far as support for an invasion of Iraq is concerned, the wishes of the electorate were not represented by the vote in Congress giving Bush a 'blank cheque'. Popular preferences bear only an occasional relationship to the distribution of seats in either house of Congress. The shift in the midterm elections was so fractional that a change of a mere 22,000 votes (in New Hampshire and Missouri) would have left the Democrats in charge of the Senate. it's true (or probable) that the reversal of the ordinary historical tendency for the Administration to lose a few seats in the mid-term elections represented a personal success for George W. Bush's brand of right-wing populism, but these are not ordinary times, and it seems to me that the election results concealed the fact that neither party enjoys the confidence of a genuine electoral majority. There is a substantial proportion of voters with no love for the Bush Administration, but no sense of affinity with the Democrats. After winning in 2000 by half a million votes, on a very low turnout, Gore remained silent and the Democrats have since failed to define themselves as an opposition party.
J.R. Pole
Free Norway
Joanna Griffiths's Diary (LRB, 31 October) presented a glum view of Tromsø. Her descriptions are filled with error and, at best, convey only part of the story. Tromsø was considered the Paris of the North not because of some deluded civic sense of physical similarity, as Griffiths implies, but because at the end of the 19th century the city was wealthy enough, from trade and fishing, for women frequently to import the 'latest' Paris fashions. In her final paragraph, Griffiths describes herself looking across the fjord to the lights of Tromsø, but this is impossible from the airport. The city centre is on the other side of the hill: she was most probably seeing the lights of the island of Kvaloya, a growing suburb across the sound from Tromsø island. More important, she failed to mention that Tromsø is the regional centre for the northern part of Norway, home to one of four national universities and a very large medical centre, with one of the highest densities of PhDs and MDs in Europe.
Griffiths clearly travelled to Tromsø when the light was fading in late autumn or just returning in the late winter, seasons of very changeable weather. Her descriptions of the 'battened down houses' do not tally with my experience of houses with beautiful, open interiors and spectacular views. Sometimes Tromsø is 'wind-lashed'; sometimes during the summer you might have weeks of round-the-clock sunshine and temperatures of 25°C. During the admittedly long winter, the Gulf Stream ensures that the temperature rarely strays much beyond a few degrees above or below zero. The -10ºC she claims as hardly exceptional, is, in fact, exceptional. I spent almost four years in Tromsø, and I, too, have 'issues' with the city, but it is also one of the most enchantingly beautiful and unpredictable places I have known.
Robert Lipton
Fossilised Underwear
Katha Pollitt's essay about corsets (LRB, 14 November) reminded me of an item on my boarding school's clothing list in the 1950s. Among the underwear, in addition to the brown knickers (to match our uniform) and the six pairs of white linings (to wear under the knickers), we were required to bring four vests and 'two liberty bodices, or brassieres if worn'. The assumption was that any of us too young to need a bra would wear over her vest a garment that looked like a filleted corset. There were no bones, but reinforcing tapes ran vertically the length of the bodice every six inches or so. I believe that before our time these tapes had continued beneath the edge of the garment in the shape of suspenders. We wore knee-length socks, so had no need for suspenders, but I suppose we were wearing a fossil of the garment young girls had once worn. 'Liberty', I imagine, reflected the freedom from bones and stays.
Elizabeth Danson
Is deference still with us?
A footnote to Frank Kermode's review of Humphrey Carpenter's The Angry Young Men (LRB, 28 November): around 1960 I was returning from abroad but was stopped by an immigration official who demanded further proof of my status. I had little on me, but in one pocket chanced on my membership card for the Establishment Club. 'Well, I am a member of the Establishment,' I said, to which he replied, without twitching a muscle, so that to this day I don't know whether the old deference was still with us or we were sharing a private joke: 'Oh well sir, if you are a member of the Establishment, that's fine,' and waved me through.
Rex Winsbury
London WC1
Book history does exist
There are problems in Leah Price's characterisation of book history and the difficulties it currently faces (LRB, 31 October). It is true, as she says, that textual editors share certain questions with poststructuralists: the origins and instability of the text, the authority of the author and so on. But the difficulty, or impossibility, of recuperating meaning and intention is, for most of them, a matter of regret. Textual reconstruction remains the goal, even when the effort is understood as doomed, an attempt to recover what cannot be recovered. This Romantic inflection is entirely absent from, for example, Roland Barthes's critique of authorship.
The role that 'Readers' and kindred forms of academic publishing are playing in defining and reshaping disciplines demands careful scrutiny, and is arguably far more significant than Price supposes. Readers do indeed use 'voices' to sell themselves, packaging collections of original texts, abridged or not. Yet it would be a mistake to conclude that there is 'no free indirect discourse here'. Quite apart from the unavoidable fact of selectivity, the whole apparatus of the Reader – the often extensive commentaries in general and sectional introductions, the titling and ordering of sections, the indexing strategy – strongly proposes ways of reading and valuing those voices.
Price sees a difficulty in thinking and working with the book as both commodity and artefact, but this has not been an intractable problem in the study of film, television or fine art. Are books so very different? One problem, which Price herself points to, is that book history tends to privilege empirical inquiry. Film studies, in contrast, don't deal only with particular texts and genres and periods, but work towards a theoretical understanding of the processes of production and dissemination of the cinematic institution as a whole. Why not a similar attempt to theorise the processes and practices of the book? Why not Publishing Studies?
Rachel Malik
Where have all the books gone?
Jeffrey Frankland (Letters, 28 November) is incorrect in stating that the British Library holds neither the Hesperus Press edition of Heart of Darkness nor Elisabeth Jay's edition of The Autobiography of Margaret Oliphant. Both can be found in our automated catalogue – go to http://blpc.bl.uk/ and click on 'search'.
Anne Summers
British Library, London NW1
send letters to
28 Little Russell Street
London, WC1A 2HN
letters@lrb.co.uk
Please include name, address and a telephone number
London Review Bookshop
Square Haunting: Francesca Wade & Alexandra Harris
The Shapeless Unease: Samantha Harvey & Tessa Hadley
Nietzsche and the Burbs: Lars Iyer & Jon Day
Don't miss out on future events
Download the LRB app
Read anywhere with the London Review of Books app, available now from the App Store for Apple devices, Google Play for Android devices and Amazon for your Kindle Fire.
For highlights from the latest issue, our archive and the blog, as well as news, events and exclusive promotions.
This site requires the use of Javascript to provide the best possible experience. Please change your browser settings to allow Javascript content to run.
The LRB App
© LRB (London) Ltd 1980 - 2020. All rights reserved.
ISSN 02­60-­95­92