SOURCE: "Elitism," in London Review of Books, Vol. 14, No. 23, December 3, 1992, p. 18.

In the following review, Colley ponders Sontag's reasons for writing The Volcano Lover.

Why did Susan Sontag write [The Volcano Lover]? Essayist and cultural critic, interpreter of Aids, cancer, the cinema, Fascism and pornography, recipient of Jonathan Miller's burdensome accolade 'probably the most intelligent woman in America', why should she want to attempt a historical novel? It's been a success of course. There have been the entries into the best-seller lists, the interviews and profiles in the right magazines, the respectful and often rapturous reviews. Only the occasional still small voice has risked pointing out—what is almost certainly true—that the bulk of those who have purchased this book have wanted the latest high-cultural artefact for their glass-topped tables, not ideas or literature. It is easy to read. It is even entertaining. But why did she...