Unexpected Trevor

I was pleased to find, in the catalogue of a library to which I have access, a copy of William Trevor's first novel, A Standard of Behaviour. I've never read this, and never seen it for sale, since it seems to have been suppressed by the author, and no longer appears on the list of his other works at the front of his books.

So then I found the book in the stacks, and was delighted to see the cover (you really need to click on it for the full effect)...



I have no idea who did the artwork, but this was the last edition of this novel to see print. It is literal interpretation of a scene in the book.

A Standard of Behaviour is by no means a great book, but it's very enjoyable in the way of lot of books from its time and place (1950s England) turn out to be: amusing, observant, with an atmosphere of post-War shabbiness and somewhat dated "daring" subject matter: a thoroughly pleasant way to pass the time, and ultimately a little forgettable. You would have been unlikely to guess, based on this first outing, that Trevor would go on to be a novelist and, most especially, short story writer of fearsome talent.