Like many a young person, I dreamed of being an actor in my youth. I loved the rush I felt on stage in school plays. However, I don’t think I was much good.

Now Hollywood Beckons
I was just preparing the supper last night when the call came in from Warner Brothers. An acting part? Sadly not. They want to use my edition of Bernard de Fontenelle’s Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds as set dressing for a forthcoming film. Still, it’s a big-name production. I do hope the book will be clearly visible - it could boost sales considerably. Better still, I have an associated book, An Apology for the Life of Major General Gunning, coming out later this year. The Major General in question, an absolute rotter who fought at Bunker Hill, was the father of the translator of Conversations, the lovely Elizabeth who was not all she seemed. Perhaps if I sell enough copies, I could take acting classes like my niece Caroline...