A RAKE’S REGRESSION

here are not many of us who don’t have memories of the kleptomaniac wild canines, cantankerous aunties and troublingly eccentric confectionery peddlers he created when we were children. Those of a similar vintage to me may also recall the first stirring of their adolescent loins to the silhouette dance in the title sequence of , which televised his macabre stories, including those of an amputation-based wager and a skin-grafting operation