The Beginning of the Beginning

There is a new character to whom you need to be introduced. This will be confusing because his name is David Roberts. He is Professor David Roberts and he is supervising this academic project, more at David Roberts Profile. Henceforth he will appear as DR.

DR made a nice suggestion that I consider the use of the gossip writers as narrative glue. He then makes an even more intriguing proposal that they should both become war correspondents at the end of the story. But what to do with Balcairn's suicide? Tomorrow's problem. For today have actually started writing a scene (at the Archie Schwert party) in which the two writers converse (see Vile Bodies p42 et seq) but I have added Adam to the conversation with a view to alluding to his extant troubles ie the loss of his manuscript, the onerous publishing contract and his rejection by Nina. These troubles might be expected to form the centre of the drama but, of course, they do not. They are just things that happen while life spins on around the vile bodies. By the end of the night the party will have cartwheeled its way to a denouement in Downing Street via a death at Shepheard's Hotel. A young girl is unimportantly dead, an unimportant Prime Minister will be removed from office and Agatha Runcible will pronounce the events 'all too bogus' (Vile Bodies p49).