Dog Days in Soho

Nigel Richardson first met Josh Avery when he was a boy, but it was only much later that he got to know him well. Richardson was fascinated by the rich fund of anecdotes of Avery's life in and around the post-war Soho demi-monde that included Daniel Farson, William Empson, George Barker, Henrietta Moraes, John Minton - and, most notably, Francis Bacon. Richardson was never quite sure if the stories were true or not - and the obituaries when Josh died made the same point, while revealing tantalising glimpses of stories still untold. But it seemed not to matter. In Dog Days in Soho Richardson has woven a life of Josh that might be true in every detail, or might not. Employing the same technique as in his highly acclaimed Breakfast in Brighton, he has produced a book which captures the essence of a time and a place now gone. It is a magnificent achievement.