Spectator competition winners: Camus on Camus

The germ of the latest challenge, to submit a school essay written by a well-known author about one of their works, was the revelation that the novelist Ian McEwan helped his son to write an A-level essay about one of his books (Enduring Love), only to be awarded a less than stellar ‘C+’. Strong performers among the runners-up included Douglas G. Brown’s Mario Puzo, who clearly thinks that only fools pursue a good grade by bothering to engage with the text: ‘I expect an “A” on this report,’ he writes. ‘We wouldn’t want a fire here in St. Vitus’ School, would we?’ Commendations also go to John Morrison and Frank Upton but the winners, below, shoot straight to the top of the class, scooping £25 each. Teacher’s pet Alison Zucker’s ennui-stricken Camus earns her a well-done sticker and the bonus fiver.

Alison Zucker I read The Outsider today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I can’t remember.