|
|
Article: A spyhole for leering at life
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 8, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Be honest! Clear those biographies out of your bookcase and get
yourself some True Romances! That's what you're really after - a
good old pry into the lurid details of someone else's life - but
you won't admit it. The dictum that "by their bookshelves shall ye
know their social class" keeps the biography industry rolling in
Britain. Biographies are for readers who would be ashamed to have a
row of Catherine Gaskin or Mills and Boon on their shelves. But by
comparison with biography, Mills and Boon are a much more
respectable form of pulp.
The British middle classes are the most anti-intellectual of any
educated group in Europe. This is probably because they regard a
university education as ...