3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
John Banville: The year in London that changed my life
After more desultory talk and a few more generous splashes of gin, we took ourselves off to lunch at Au Jardin des Gourmets in Greek Street. First off we had a Pimm's, for refreshment, and David related more of his adventures in and out of the publishing trade. He was cheerfully non-intellectual, but he had a sharp eye for a winner — he liked a flutter on the horses, too — and at the time he was betting on a novel due out in October, The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury, a writer I had never heard of. When we were done and the bill arrived I managed to get a look at it, bleared though I was from the gin, the Pimm's and the subsequent bottle of Château Margaux; the total made my eyes water. 'David,' I slurred, 'next time could I just have the money?' He twinkled at me. 'Ah but then, dear boy, I wouldn't get my lunch, would I?'
