Frederic Raphael was born in Chicago in 1931 and educated at Charterhouse and St John’s College, Cambridge. His novels include The Glittering Prizes (1976), A Double Life (1993), Coast to Coast (1998) and Fame and Fortune (2007); he has also written short stories and biographies of Somerset Maugham and Byron. Frederic Raphael is a leading screenwriter, whose work includes the Academy Award-winning Darling (1965), Two for the Road (1967), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), and the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). The first volume of Personal Terms was published by Carcanet in 2001, with subsequent volumes in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2013. The Times Literary Supplement said, ‘Aphoristic, lapidary and sumptuously reflective by turns, Personal Terms is a joy to read both for Raphael’s prose and mental powers. It is a work of iridescent intelligence, seductive charm, urbane temper and unflagging delight…’