Whilst on the subject of spy thriller authors the book also contains a glowing review of the then newly published SS-GB by Len Deighton. I mention Greene because by page twenty of the book Greene fans are treated to ‘A Greene Trilogy’ including an interview with Greene by Burgess and reviews of The Human Factor and Monsieur Quixote, both of which are favourable and, dare I say, fan based. He may have a point to an extent but one wonders how many fellow authors of the time unable to flee the English winter for the South of France shared his sense of literary injustice? It may be safe to assume that Graham Greene did, himself a resident of Antibes who lived relatively modestly in a one-bedroom apartment above a port-side bar called Le Yacht. So long as I produce novels with a more complex content than, say, The Carpetbaggers, I shall have to produce also fodder for the up-market press’. His income from writing serious fiction is, he writes, shamefully meagre, unlike his neighbour and much wealthier author, Harold Robbins who ‘gives the public what it wants-sex and violence under the guise of a lesson in morality.

Burgess was a man who loved languages and the written word so it is fitting that the book should be named after the top row of his IBM word processor keyboard and not, Wikipedia take note, of a Hungarian of the same name! This collection, Burgess tells us, is approximately one third of his total journalistic output, most of which was written during his stay on the Côte d’ Azur and written, so he tells us, as a means of financing his life on the French Riviera. So first up is this collection of essays from 1978 until 1985. Three fine books with eye-catching covers and the prospect of hours of enjoyment from the man who brought ‘me’ The Malayan Trilogy. For me, £6 bought three books by Anthony Burgess this week Devil of a State, The Right to Answer and this, Homage to Qwert Yuiop.

Whilst Amazon, Ebay, Waterstones and the like all have their place and uses, there is still nothing quite like the joy which a small, independent bookshop brings. Followers of my Twitter and Instagram feeds may recall my occasional call to arms in supporting one’s local secondhand bookshop.

Monsieur quixote