THE TIMES Cheltenham Festival * News * Opinion * Business * Money * Sport * Life * Arts * Puzzles * Papers * Irish news * List View * Site Map * RSS Feeds * Welcome to your preview of The Times Subscribe now Edward St Aubyn: escaping the sins of the father Edward St Aubyn says he had to write about his past — or kill himself * * Print Share via * Facebook * Twitter * Google+ * 1 of 1 Edward St Aubyn says he had to write about his past — or kill himself Robbie Millen Last updated at 12:01AM, September 13 2014 Edward St Aubyn made his name with novels exorcising the demons of his childhood. He tells Robbie Millen why he is finally able to write a comic novel, satirising the literary scene So has Dame Stella Rimington been in touch? Edward St Aubyn replies to the question with a look of studied, unbudgeable blankness. St Aubyn’s latest novel, Lost for Words, is a very funny satire on the literary scene and the Man Booker Prize. One of the hapless judges of his imaginary Elysian Prize is Penny Feathers, a retired Foreign Office mandarin who has turned to writing clunking thrillers with the aid of Gold Ghost Plus, a computer program that inserts suitable clichés. (“When you typed in a word, ‘refugee’ for instance, several useful suggestions popped up: ‘clutching a pathetic bundle’, [TT_Sale_Teaser_1020376a.jpg] [TT_Winter_Sale_15__1018362a.jpg] Subscribe now Login Already a subscriber? To see the full article you need to subscribe Subscribe Login Cheltenham Literature Festival 2014 Pile of books 1. 0014-10-06 21:00:49.514 0014-10-06 21:00:49.514 0014-10-06 21:00:49.514 2. 2015-09-26 00:01:00.0 2015-09-26 00:01:00.0 2015-09-26 00:01:00.0 Read the full story Lauren Child: ‘I am sick of girls always playing the sidekicks’ Lauren Child Lauren Child, creator of Charlie and Lola, on their first outing in five years Fiction in short Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff; In the Dark by Mai Jia, translated by Christopher N. Payne; The Book of Memory... From fleeing Hitler to teatime with tiger: the adventures of Judith Kerr At 92, the children’s writer thinks often of her escape to Britain, and her father, whose memory inspired her new... Everyone’s talking about: The Cheltenham Literature Festival Dates for your diary: the best of Cheltenham Literature Festival 2015 Rushdie, Bryson, Beevor, and many more: The Times-sponsored event has entertaining guests to exercise the mind Neon is a no-no in the Grayson Perry guide to terrible taste The artist, who won the Turner prize in 2003, has issued a list of characteristics in contemporary art that should... 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