Plotinus, the philosopher of ancient Greece who gave us the six Enneads, had atrocious handwriting, did not properly separate individual words, and did not bother himself with the niceties of spelling. His student Porphyry, who edited, polished and arranged the Enneads for publication, had the thankless preliminary task of transcribing Plotinus’ shoddy and near-illegible scribbles. That was almost two thousand years ago, yet in many ways it describes perfectly the working relationship that obtained between Dobson and Marigold Chew. The out of print pamphleteer had an abysmal scrawl, possibly because of the unusual way he clutched his pencil, like a ...
