The article of which part is reproduced below was penned by Bernard. Levin
for the Features section of the Times on 21. September 1991. To my mind, it
described the situation at the time. and in particular a recent meeting with
a friend, during which I. for the first time admitted to someone other than
my GP that I had been subjected to a conspiracy of. harassment over the
previous. year and a half.
>There is a madman running loose. about London, called David Campbell; I have
>no reason to believe that he is. violent, but he should certainly be
>approached with caution. You may know him by. the curious glitter in his
>eyes and a. persistent trembling of his hands; if that does not suffice, you
>will find him attempting to thrust no. fewer than 48 books into your arms,
>all hardbacks, with. a promise that, if you should return to the same
>meeting-place next year, he will heave. another 80 at you.
>
>If, by now, the police have arrived and are. keeping a close watch on him,
>you. may feel sufficiently emboldened to examine the books. The jackets are
>a model of uncluttered typography, elegantly and simply laid out;. there is
>an unobtrusive colophon of a rising. sun, probably not picked at random.
>Gaining confidence - the lunatic is smiling by now,. and the policemen, who
>know about such things, have significantly removed their. helmets - you
>could do worse than take the jacket off the first book. in the pile. The
>only word possible to describe the binding is sumptuous; real cloth in. a
>glorious shade of dark green, with the title and. author in black and gold
>on the. spine.
>
>Look at it more closely; your eyes. do not deceive you - it truly does have
>real top-bands and tail-bands, in yellow,. and, for good measure, a silk
>marker ribbon in a lighter green. The paper is cream-wove. and acid-free,
>and the book is sewn, not. glued.
>
>Throughout. the encounter, I should have mentioned, our loony has been
>chattering away, although what he is trying to say is almost impossible. to
>understand; after a. time, however, he becomes sufficiently coherent to make
>clear that he is t