Born into a Calvinist Scottish family, Elizabeth Young?s life was turned upside down when she was given, at the age of 11, three American novels: Algren?s The Man with the Golden Arm, Ginsberg?s Howl and Kerouac?s On the Road. An exceptionally ghoulish child, obsessed with graveyards, owls, wolves and horror stories, she very early on decided to devote her life to books, reading and writing. Elizabeth Young?s collected writings exhibit her singular attraction to the bizarre and her dedication to the high standards of a critic. Witty, incisive, wide-ranging and also moving, Pandora?s Handbag chronicles the journey of a modern arts critic and Young?s personal journey from childhood to critic. Each previously published article is presented in its entirety, with original titles and additional notes. This collection includes two of Young?s crusading articles (on Drug Legislation and the Hepatitus C virus), which have become seminal texts.