Madam, – As Farrell's biographer, and editor of JG Farrell in His Own Words, Selected Letters and Diaries, I agree with Mike Collins, my publisher, about the genesis of the Majestic Hotel in Troubles. The shell of the burned-out Ocean View Hotel on Block Island, Rhode Island, did inspire it originally, and, as his letter shows, Waterford was his intended location. But two Irish hotels are candidates for its imaginative structure; one is no longer standing, and the other, I understand, heading for a similar fate. The Portsalon Hotel overlooking Lough Swilly in Co Donegal (Farrell spent childhood holidays nearby), was founded by Col Barton in the 19th century, and has been demolished since Farrell's death. And the La Touche Hotel in Greystones, Co Wicklow, which he knew well while growing up in Shankill and Dalkey, no longer has the protection of being a publicly listed building. Fans of Troubles should note. – Yours, etc,