Handwriting, the subject of this clever book, is something we don’t talk about very much. But somewhere in your mind is a hornet’s nest of strong opinion and childhood memory. Hensher has opened, and poked, this hornet’s nest. I had no idea how emotional I would get, just thinking about handwriting. He gives us a personal history of his own handwriting. And this, the way you write, is a very personal thing indeed. Hensher tells us the history of handwriting in a way that is also a history of the world; he makes you think about lots of things in a new way. Including Biros, italic script, and the question of making things join up.
