See If She Ever Gets a Commencement Invite

The British Library acquired all of Anthony Powell's typescripts for 420,000 pounds, because Eton, to which the loyal alum had donated his papers, couldn't afford to pay that much in inheritance tax. But wait, it gets better: apparently, the deal was that the government would take possession of the papers in lieu of the tax payment and would then decide where the papers should actually be kept. The culture secretary's advisers, the Guardian reports, were all for honoring Powell's dying wish that the papers should go to Eton, but apparently the secretary doesn't think the college is up to the task of making them sufficiently accessible to the national interest.

All of this comes out as a new biography of Powell by Michael Barber is about to arrive in American bookstores. I'll do my best to get a copy...and maybe I'll even finally start reading A Dance...