THE TELEGRAPH: The family of the late Sir Kingsley Amis has rallied to his defence after he was accused of being "a racist, anti-Semitic boor, a drink-sodden, self-hating reviler of women, gays and liberals", by Marxist intellectual Terry Eagleton.
Colin Howard, the homosexual brother-in-law of Sir Kingsley, has called Prof Eagleton "a little squirt" and said that the novelist, far from being homophobic, had extended an affectionate friendship to him and helped him come to terms with his sexuality.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph published today, Mr Howard says: "I can assure Professor Eagleton that he is at the least, careless in his description of Kingsley as homophobic. Calling him anti-semitic should be actionable if it was not so absurd."
His sister, the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, Sir Kingsley's second wife, writes in another letter: "Kingsley was never a racist, nor an anti-Semitic boor. Our four great friends who witnessed our wedding were three Jews and one homosexual. Family defends 'racist' Sir Kingsley Amis (more) By Lucy Cockcroft
Terry Eagleton: Why I rebuked Amis for his obnoxious views
Mark Alexander
