In Margaret Forster’s obituary (8 February) you noted that she did not like parties. She made one exception in that she and Hunter opened the new Carlisle library in 1986. She did this to acknowledge the contribution it had made to her education and reading.
We do not recognise these days the importance of the easy availability of books and information which can add to the quality of lives both as readers and authors. I have asked that flowers be placed by the plaque that honours the event as we remember a daughter of Carlisle and her achievements and a public library that lent over a million books and other items in its first year.
John Smith (former Cumbria librarian)
Brampton, Cumbria
• As one of the judges, I presented Margaret with the Fawcett Society book prize for her 1993 biography of Daphne du Maurier with its brilliant opening. Instead of taking the prize money, she asked that it be spent on buying sets of all the shortlisted books for every mobile library in Cornwall – du Maurier’s county. What wonderful generosity. A very sad loss.
Professor Maggie Humm
London
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