DAUGHTERS OF ALBION
by A.N. Wilson
Viking; 287 pages; $21
In the past 15 years, Britain's A.N. Wilson has built a formidable reputation as a prolific man of letters -- 11 novels, three biographies, essays, journalism. He is brilliant, brisk, funny and morally exacting. Daughters of Albion is the last volume of a trilogy produced, with the author's characteristic vigor, a book a year.
One suspects that a considerable understanding of the British intelligentsia is necessary for a true appreciation of these works. Just reading Iris Murdoch will not do. The story involves the Lampitt family, a large clan whose money...