Sir: In Lloyd Evans's review of Soul of the Age by Jonathan Bate (Arts, 1 November) he declares that 'all dons' are potentially bores because they 'know too much about too little'. In other words, there is 'too little' of interest in the life of the actor from Stratfordon-Avon and anything one says about him is 'too much'. I ...

THE FOLIO BOOK OF HISTORICAL MYSTERIES edited by Ian Pindar £24.95 (plus £3.95 p&p), pp. 396, available through the Folio Society, 44 Eagle Street, London WC1R 4FS. Contact the Membership Department (tel: 0207 400 4200), quoting The Spectator review This book, which is a collection of 20 essays on events and people from history, first seriously ...