Posted by Dave Thewlis on August 05, 2009 at 19:20:21 user dthewlis.
In Reply to: Richard Morrison in The Times posted by Mike Dennis on August 05, 2009 at 18:03:44:
The actual title of the book is (or at least was, pre-publication) "The Last Englishman". I read a proof draft. I don't recall seeing anything odd. The 'double life' subtitle refers I presume to Ransome's time in Russia and the Soviet Union (was he/wasn't he a spy, and so forth) and I guess that would be any 'darker motive' that Ransome might have had.
The closest thing that I can think of is that Chambers makes a good case that Ransome had the sort of fixated, "selfish" (not quite the right word perhaps) orientation that a lot of people doing serious creative work tend to have. But if so that's hardly odd, and in any case I don't see a connection between that and "darker motives" for writing S&A.
The oddest thing I can think of is Morrison's hints.