Sir, – Thank you for your generous coverage of the death of Aidan Higgins, my late husband ("Experimental writer championed by Beckett and Banville", January 16th).
Unfortunately there was an error of fact in the formal obituary. Aidan's novel Balcony of Europe was not officially shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1972, even though it says so on many of his book covers.
The chairman of the judges, Cyril Connolly, was said to favour it, but could not convince the other judges – Elizabeth Bowen and George Steiner – of its merit, so there were only four names on the shortlist: John Berger (the eventual winner for G), David Storey, Susan Hill and Thomas Kenneally.
The error originated in a note on the dust jacket of Aidan's next novel, Scenes from a Receding Past, saying that Balcony "was the runner-up for the Booker Prize". Subsequent blurb-writers interpreted this as being shortlisted, so there are numerous editions of Higgins's works in print repeating this "fact".
Some years ago Aidan, who had little interest in the matter, received an officious letter from the Booker Prize people asking him to desist from making this false claim, and threatening legal action if he did not.
Understandably perhaps, it appears again in his obituary, which will be a source of reference for years to come. I hope you can allow this letter to stand as a correction. – Yours, etc,
ALANNAH
HOPKIN HIGGINS,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.