Literature Network » George Gissing

Great but unwashed

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From: Evening Standard - London
Date: 20000626
Author:

AN UNPLEASANT odour is threatening the peace at the British Library.

The problem, apparently, lies with a somewhat lax approach to personal hygiene amongst some of the famous Reading Room's more unworldly patrons.

"It's a nest of moth-eaten academics," Gillian Tindall, authoress and biographer of George Gissing, tells me. "I'm afraid the whiff of dirty, unwashed clothes is all too common. Something needs to be done. It's inconceivable that someone who uses the British Library in this day and age cannot get their hands on some old-fashioned soap and water."

Reading room regulars include ...

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