Professional singers are paid according to the richness, sweetness, and compass of their voices, but the gridler's profit increases as his vocal powers decline.
In middle-age, the novelist Evelyn Waugh became increasingly deaf in his right ear: here he puts his ear-trumpet to unusual use. He loved his ear-trumpet, which, though uselessly antiquated in appearance, was a highly refined and effective instrument of amplification.
Also, in the case of this novel, its adaption to the big screen in 1983, directed by James Ivory, screenplayed by Jhabvala herself—screenwriter of the year, London Critics Film Award, 1984—awarded with a BAFTA, and nominated for the Palme d'Or, gave rise to Heat and Dust's great success.
