HEPPENSTALL, Rayner. Four Absentees. London: Cardinal / Sphere Books, 1988. First Thus. 197x129mm. Trade Paperback. Very Good. 148pp. The Four Absentees of the title are George Orwell, Dylan Thomas, J Middleton Murry and Eric Gill, all friends of the author, novelist and writer Rayner Happenstall, described by CP Snow as 'the master eccentric of English letters'.