The Scotsman has come up trumps, including Amateurs in a Books of the Year roundup by Lesley McDowell who wrote:

‘Literary biographies tend to fare less well in the “shocks” category, perhaps a good thing. Joanne Hodgkin started the year with a lovely exploration of her mother’s marriage to Lawrence Durrell in Amateurs in Eden: The Story of a Bohemian Marriage (Virago, £20). With all its difficulty and betrayal, this was still a remarkable relationship and will hopefully have renewed people’s interest in Durrell’s work.’

And hopefully a renewed interest in Amateurs, which of course makes the perfect Christmas present for the discerning reader. Plug, plug. Nudge nudge. Hint hint.