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Bookbuyer
There is, as Richard Crossman pointed out last week, a dearth of good political novels in the Disraeli tradition. So Maurice Edel man's excellent Disraeli in Love is particularly welcome, especially as it has the distinction of glowing praise from Dizzy's biographer Lord Blake. Bookbuyer is sorry to report that another of the few novels of this calibre has been less for tunate. No Love for Johnny, the controversial ' fifties ' classic by the late Labour MP for Islington North, Wilfrid Feinburgh, is unaccountably out of print. The novel's early success, as well as its
high ranking in the political tradition ought to have ensured it a longer life. But the publicity department at Hutchinson — who published it — cannot remember anything about it.
The distinguished American critic Edmund Wilson was given to praising Kingsley Amis among modern British novelists. One wonders what Wilson would have made of Kingsley's new job as booze reviewer for Penthouse. Bookbuyer feels that any free booze forthcoming is rather more attractive than the free birds in Penthouse's colour features — and commends King sley's wisdom. Amis — who has an important book On Drink coming out shortly from Cape — says "I can't see Wilson ob jecting. Drink is a perfectly genuine interest of mine, like jazz, science fiction, politics, education and films, all of which I've written about in the past. Jolly good luck to me, I say."
Bookbuyer is confused as to whether British publishers find authors first published in America more attractive than American publishers find authors first published in this country. Certainly one of two British authors seem to find it more lucrative to come out in the States first. Derek Robin son, author of Goshawk Assault and runner-up for the Booker Prize, was first published over here by Heinemann. But his massive film deal is in American dollars, and his next book Rotten with Honour is being published by Viking in the US. There seems to be no British publisher for it at the moment — was Bookbuyer only imagining embarrassment in Heinnemann's statement that they were unable to say anything definite? Wallace Reyburn, suc cessful over here with Rugby books and a biography of David Frost, has taken a tip from his illustrious subject, and exported his talents. The American publishers Prentice Hall are bringing out his new book, described as "a serious spoof" The Inferior Sex, and English publishers are still bidding for it.
Mike Storey's new thriller, Soft in the Middle is, in the same way, being pub lished first in the States by Knopf, and only then by Cape over here. But on the other hand some British publishers seem keen to get rights on non-British titles — Long man's for example has commisioned a book in German from Werner Maser, who recently published an extremely authoritative biography of Hitler. The new book is to be on the Nuremberg Trials, and Longman's have bought world rights.
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