D.J. Taylor

A book trade romp: Sour Grapes, by Dan Rhodes, reviewed

There are some good jokes in Rhodes’s satire on the publishing world, but the thesaurus-ingesting Wilberforce Selfram is too soft a target

Dan Rhodes. [Alamy] 
issue 11 December 2021

Dan Rhodes’s career might be regarded as an object lesson in How Not to Get Ahead in Publishing. Our man was chosen as one of the Best of Young British Novelists in 2003, but his recent exploits include a spectacular falling out with his one-time sponsors, Messrs Canongate, and the writing of a lampoon about Richard Dawkins which so alarmed the lawyers that it had to be issued privately.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in