The Critics Simon Shaw The Mail on Sunday February 17, 2008
Henry Miller is Under My Bed by Mary Duncan Starhaven
****Mary Duncan is a retired San Diego University professor and an expert on terrorism, specializing in the conflict in Northern Ireland. You might think the autobiography of an academic would be as dry as dust, but in her case the truth is rather different. She learnt about terrorism first-hand in Belfast. But what makes her story gripping is her determination to live life to the full. She writes candidly abut her love life. One lover was a friend of Hugh Hefner’s, and her colleagues were stunned to discover Duncan was a regular visitor to the Playboy Mansion. Her fascination with the notorious erotic writer Henry Miller helped propel her to a new life in Paris. This is a remarkable story, beautifully told.