Iris Murdoch was a highly successful novelist. She and her husband lived in North Oxford. She and I saw quite another ‘between books’, as they say. There was a time in China when I injured my foot and was quite lame for a day or two. Iris had dipped into her little store and given […]
Cape also lived in Russell Square. The Greene family were directors, related to Grahame Greene, whose novels everyone was reading. Cape threw a splendid party every winter. Desmond Morris would drive me up to London, where we would dine at the Gay Hussar before moving on to Cape’s entertainments, which lasted half the night. On […]
No, no, I was never a friend of Eliot’s. But I was being published by Faber & Faber when they lived grandly in a corner of Russell Square. There, thinking how staggeringly fortunate I was, I would talk to Charles Monteith, and was induced to go upstairs and talk to Eliot. My goodness! Eliot was at that time […]
Once I was demobilised from the British Army, I found myself, as many other men must have done, at a loss. So I got myself to Oxford, that celebrated seat of learning. It happened that I was reading Thomas Hardy’s novel, Jude the Obscure. I felt myself as ignorant as Jude, and as unwanted as […]
Going into the vast marquee at Doris Lessing’s funeral, I found an old friend. Old indeed, making his way on two sticks and somewhat deaf. In fact, this was my retired publisher, Tom Maschler, who had been in charge of Jonathan Cape back in my time with them. I will give one example – there […]
Oxford… a residence for fantasy, as it has been since – and possibly before – Max Beerbohm’s Zuleika Dobson, which appeared in 1911. As one sees here, many surprising connections could be made, some beyond the university. Hilary Rubinstein attended Merton College. Having graduated, he went to work for his uncle, Victor Gollancz, the publisher. […]
Among those whom Kingsley admired and always spoke of respectfully was C.S.Lewis, who had been his tutor. This, despite the fact that Kingsley was anti-Church while Lewis was profoundly Christian. Lewis was the embodiment of friendship, never thrusting himself or his point of view on anyone. One of my first meetings with him was in […]
Count Leo Tolstoi’s final novel was published in installments throughout 1898, in a magazine. In fact, in several magazines. Tolstoi was seventy years old in an exhausting year. Tolstoi had to check cuts made in his work by censors, week after week. Censors were not the writer’s only problem; closer to home, Sonya, Tolstoi’e wife, […]
Bruce was a close friend of Kingsley Amis. Both had been at St John’s, together with Philip Larkin.Bruce was regarded as wealthy. He was already composing musical scores for British movies. Kingsley would say jokingly that while he and Larkin had to drink beer in The Bird and Baby (aka The Eagle and Child, a […]
Kingsley, born in 1922, came up to St. John’s College, where he met Philip Larkin. They remained friends for life. Kingsley was good at friendship. I am convinced that it was Kingsley who got me a place in ‘Who’s Who’, but he was not the sort of bloke who would sneak round later, saying, ‘Look, […]
