The autobiography of an editor at a literary publishing house which was created soon after World War II.The book is divided into two halves, the first being an account of the rise and fall of the publishing house, and Athill's role in it (much of it focusing around the bullying of the publisher himself - presumably a very engaging man when he's not being a bully). The second half of the book is made up of short accounts of Athill's relationship with, and opinion of, various authors she edited.A thoroughly interesting book, which some very unsparing opinions of various authors, and a nice insight into the oddities of the relationship between editor and authors.Note: this is the only time I have ever read a book after hearing it mentioned on Australia's "First Tuesday Book Club" (which is firmly aimed at 'literature' and only occasionally wanders even vaguely into the territory of 'books I can imagine wanting to read').
