by Muriel Spark
Financial stability took a long time to achieve, but I was no more anxious about the next week’s rent, and was able to visit Edinburgh more often and eventually, New York. My mother was delighted, excited; my father smiled to himself with contentment. While I was away, Tiny could always be depended upon to keep me informed of what was going on. She had infinite courage. I have a letter in which she tells me in her own simple yet extremely expressive words about the death of her son, Bunny, which we had, sadly, expected. But added to this, she gives a full account of the daily occurrences at Baldwin Crescent. She was really a remarkable friend. Here is her letter, verbatim:
My Dear Muriel,
At last I have got courage to break the news to you, I didnt want to write untill you finished your novel, I cant keep it any longer from you. I dont want to see any one else die with cancer it is a very cruel thing God keep it from us, all the family were here Joss came and she is looking very well, Charlie is only just gone back I am on my own again I am glad in a way I can get something done. Well dear the express [Daily Express] rang yesterday and wanted to know where you were of course I told them they wanted to know if you went for meterial for a new Novel I said you had plenty of that without going away just a business trip I do hope I was right. Everything is very good here Charlie cleaned all your carpets they look very nice. I am going home for Christmas I will be leaving here on 20th of December … well darling I miss you very much and I do hope everything goes well for you I am always thinking of you and wondering if you sleep and eate plenty do look after your self
I just feel I am going to hear something very good about you God bless you
All my love Tiny.
Tiny was a woman of considerable good looks. She always had a fresh, neat and charming appearance. But she had an old-fashioned widow’s modesty. Once, in the course of a conversation with our neighbour, Mr Jackson, an odd-job man, when we were discussing the merits and demerits of a certain type of roof-gutter, Mr Jackson invited Tiny to step across the street to inspect a neighbouring gutter which he had arranged for.
Tiny refused. Sensing that she had her own good reasons, I kept silent. But after Mr Jackson had left, Tiny confided to me: ‘I wouldn’t be seen crossing the street with a man. You never know what people would say.’
Evelyn Waugh once wrote to me to say that now I was becoming established I should move to a good address. On paper, the advice was of course very wise. But nothing would part me from Tiny Lazzari and my rooms at 13 Baldwin Crescent where I could look over the peaceful back gardens and work so well.
I could never fully depict Tiny Lazzari. But I have done so partially in my novel A Far Cry from Kensington. She was a great deal of fun. Her energy was still superb when I last saw her. She was then ninety-four, quick-minded and positive. She died four years later, peacefully, of old age.
Since I wrote my first novel I have passed the years occupied with ever more work, many travels and adventures. Friends, famous and obscure, abound in my life-story. That will be the subject of another volume.
My story, as I have told it here, happened a long time ago, but the events are still strong in my mind. Especially I remember the sheer amusement of that day in February, on the publication of The Comforters, when not only Evelyn Waugh’s essay in the Spectator, but the reviews in the other papers caused my editor Alan Maclean to ring me up at Peter Owen’s office. ‘You’ve hit the jackpot today,’ said Al (as he was known to his friends).
Al took me to lunch the next week to a smart restaurant, Le Caprice, to celebrate. He had a bunch of reviews in his hand. ‘I dare say’, drawled Al, ‘that this is the shape of things to come.’ It was a risky saying, for many fine first novels are followed by duds. However, I took great heart from what he said, and went on my way rejoicing.
INDEX
(Muriel Spark’s name is abbreviated to M)
Adamson, Violet, 1
Agius, Dom Ambrose, 1, 2
Alice, Auntie, 1
Anderson, Miss (‘Andie’), 1, 2
Andipatin, Mr and Mrs, 1
Anschutz, Mr, 1
Armstrong, Robert, 1, 2, 3
Astor, David, 1
Auden, W.H., 1
Auw, Ivan von, 1
Baker, Peter, 1, 2
Baker, Reginald, 1
Baldwin, Stanley, 1st Earl, 1
Barnsley, Alan, 1
Barr, Ian, 1
Bartlett, Alice Hunt, 1
Below, Barbara, 1, 2
Berkeley, Lady (Molly), 1
Birtwistle, Iris, 1
Blossom (Miss McLean), 1
Bluebell (M’s cat), 1
Blunden, Edmund, 1
Bonaparte, Marie (Princess George of Greece), 1
Bool, Mrs, 1
Bowen, Arnold Vincent, 1
Brash, John, 1
Braybrooke, June, 1, 2
Braybrooke, Neville, 1, 2
Brooke-Rose, Christine, 1, 2
Brookes, Colin, 1
Buchan, Sandy, 1
Burnett, Maida, 1
Burnett, T.J., 1
Cairns, Huntingdon, 1
Camberg, Bernard: Jew, 1; engineer, 1;
comfots M, 1;
sings, 1, 2;
returns from races, 1;
guineas, 1;
Saturday outings, 1;
little tricks, 1;
evening clothes, 1;
runs away to sea, 1;
engagement, 1;
and son, 1;
presents for M, 1, 2, 3, 4;
at Watford, 1;
Rule suggests emigration, 1;
death of mother-in-law, 1;
plays ghost, 1;
surname, 1;
gramophone records, 1;
and Spark, 1, 2;
and M’s departure for Rhodesia, 1;
permission for M’s marriage, 1;
M’s divorce, 1;
and Robin, 1;
and Sergeant, 1;
and Stanford, 1
Camberg, Philip: and M’s early memories, 1; wireless, 1, 2;
and Charlotte Rule, 1;
piano lessons, 1;
Christmas, 1;
and Billy Wright, 1;
Meccano, 1;
golf, 1, 2;
later life, 1;
holidays
in Watford, 1, 2;
‘bumps’ read, 1;
kittens, 1;
dances, 1;
M’s pen, 1;
sees M off, 1
Camberg, Sarah: Englishness, 1, 2; pianist, 1, 2, 3;
musical evenings, 1;
returns from races, 1;
takes M visiting, 1;
‘I said Five’, 1;
‘Mistress Camberg’, 1;
Gilbey’s port, 1;
knitting, 1;
M’s party shoes, 1;
cosmetics, 1;
superstitions, 1;
maxims, 1;
evening clothes, 1;
nervous breakdown, 1;
high tea, 1;
flowers, 1, 2, 3;
Bruntsfield Links, 1;
sandwiches for train journey, 1;
dark-haired, 1;
and aunts, 1;
father’s death, 1;
family feeling, 1;
devoted daughter, 1;
domestic work, 1;
and Snyder, 1;
M treats her, 1;
gramophone records, 1;
and Spark, 1, 2;
sees M off, 1;
and Robin, 1;
depression, 1;
and Sergeant, 1;
and Stanford, 1, 2
Cameron, Richard, 1
Campbell, Roy, 1
Caraman, Father Philip, 1 bis
Carnegie, Andrew, 1
Caro, Violet, 1, 2
Cecil, Lord David, 1
Chochor, René de, 1
Christie, Agatha, 1
Christie, William, 1
Clough, Arthur Hugh, 1
Cockerell, Sir
George, 1, 2
Colbourne, Betty, 1
Comfort, Alex, 1
Cooper, Jack, 1
Couling, Arthur (‘Coolie’) 1, 2, 3, 4
Cowell, Frances, see Niven, Frances
Cracroft (‘Cray’), 1, 2
Cripps, Arthur Shearley, 1
Crossman, Richard, 1
Curran, Mona, 1
Dangerfield, Elma, 1, 2
Darling, Sir Will Y., 1
Davie, Cathie, 1, 2
Day-Lewis, Cecil, 1
Delmer, Sefton: interviews M, 1; history, 1;
black propaganda, 1, 2;
M’s work for, 1
Deutsch, André, 1
Donaldson, James, 1
Doren, Mark van, 1
Douglas, Lord Alfred, 1
Draper, Miss, 1
Edinburgh: Bruntsfield Links, 1, 2, 3, 4; M’s birthplace, 1;
Morningside, 1, 2;
the Mound, 1;
gaslight, 1;
Princes Street, 1, 2, 3, 4;
summer evenings, 1;
foundation of schools, 1;
University, 1, 2;
Tovey, 1;
Usher Hall, 1;
Meggetland, 1;
nineteen-thirties, 1, 2;
New Town, 1;
racial discrimination, 1;
William Small & Sons, 1, 2;
women’s shops, 1;
M’s visits, 1, 2;
Festival, 1, 2;
M able to visit, 1
Edward VIII, King, 1
Eliot, T.S., 1, 2, 3
Elkesch, Dr, 1
English, Isobel, 1
Erskine, Mary, 1
Esther, Auntie, 1, 2
Esther (Robin’s nanny), 1, 2
Feldman, Lew D., 1
Fermie, Denis, 1
Fermie, Guy, 1
Fettes, Sir William, 1
Fielding, Gabriel, 1
First World War, 1, 2, 3
Fish Jean, 1
Fleming, Ian, 1
Flood, Pamela, 1
Foggo, Arthur, 1
Forde, Florrie, 1
Forgan, Miss, 1
Forrest, Dorothy, see Rankine, Dorothy
Forrester, Dorothy L, 1, 2
Forrester, Madge, 1
Foster, Alison, 1, 2, 3
Frederica of Greece, Princess (later Queen), 1
Freud, Anna, 1
Freud, Sigmund, 1
Frost, Basil, 1
Fry, Christopher, 1
Fulcher, Alex, 1
Gardiner, Wrey, 1
General Strike of 1926, 1
George V, King, 1, 2
Gertie, Auntie: boyfriends, 1; takes M to theatre, 1;
knitting, 1;
M’s mother’s dress, 1;
Charleston, 1;
marries, 1
Gillespie, James, 1, 2
Gillespie’s High School for Girls, see James Gillespie’s High School for Girls
Gittings, Robert, 1
Glen, J.G., 1
Gordon, Jerry, 1
Graddon, John, 1, 2, 3
Grant, H.K., 1, 2
Green, Chris, 1
Greene, Graham, 1, 2
Grigson, Geoffrey, 1
Guild, Jean, 1, 2
Gunn, (Sir) James, 1
Hans (German prisoner-of-war), 1
Hardie, Mrs, 1, 2
Hardy, Thomas, 1
Heath-Stubbs, John, 1, 2
Helena, Princess, 1
Hemingway, Ernest, 1
Heriot, George, 1, 2
Heriot-Watt College, 1, 2
Heygate, Gail, 1
Heygate, May, 1 passim, 2
Heygate, Nick, 1
Hitler, Adolf, 1, 2
Horder, Pearson, 1
Horne, Erna, 1
Humphreys, Puck, 1
Humphreys, T. Christmas (‘Toby’), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Humphreys, Sir Travers, 1
Isador, Uncle, 1
Jackson, Mr (the odd-job man), 1
James Gillespie’s High School for Girls, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Jardine, Penelope, 1
Jeans, Sir James, 1
Jewishness: M’s father, 1, 2; Auntie Esther, 1;
M’s grandmother, 1;
M’s surname, 1;
anti-Semitism, 1;
Mosley, 1;
Uncle Isador, 1;
Mother Superior and M, 1;
Robin, 1
Kay, Christina: adornment of her classroom walls, 1; and Miss Jean Brodie, 1, 2, 3;
devout Christian, 1, 2;
appearance, 1;
letters written to M about her, 1;
love of colour, 1;
fills pupils with wonder, 1;
language, 1;
romance, 1;
visit to Egypt, 1, 2;
scripture lessons, 1;
takes pupils to theatre, 1;
predicts M’s future as writer, 1;
experimental teacher, 1;
gas bill affair, 1;
gains pupils’ sympathy, 1;
lecture-goer, 1;
Steinbeck’s tribute to great teachers, 1;
and M’s poetry prize, 1;
wonderful teacher, 1;
M’s farewell tea, 1;
Stanford’s mistake, 1
Kerr, Maudie, 1, 2
Kerr, Mrs, 1, 2
Kilmartin, Terence, 1
Kirkwood, Miss, 1
Kurt (German prisoner-of-war), 1
Kyle, Galloway, 1, 2, 3
Lazzari, Bunny, 1
Lazzari, Tiny, 1, 2, 3
Lessing, Doris, 1
Lieber, Dr, 1
Lincoln, Tony (Sir Anthony), 1
Linklater, Eric, 1
Lipetz, Susan, 1
Llewellyn-Amos, William, 1
Lockhart, Bruce, 1
Logan, Bill, 1
Lonsdale, Girlie, 1
Lubbock, Percy, 1
Lynn, Miss, 1
McCrindle, Joe, 1
Macdonald, Margaret, 1
McEwen, Nita, 1, 2
Maclean, Alan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
McLean, Charlotte (‘Blossom’), 1
MacNeice, Louis, 1
Manning, Hugo, 1
Marr, Mabel, 1
Marx, Erica, 1
Mary, Queen, 1, 2
Masefield, John, 1, 2, 3
Maurois, André, 1
Meade, Walter, 1, 2
Methven, Colin: and M, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; and M’s dismissal from Poetry Society, 1;
and Sergeant, 1;
health, 1
Methven, Deirdre, 1, 2, 3, 4
Millington-Drake, Effie, Lady, 1, 2
Millington-Drake, Sir Eugen, 1, 2
Millington-Drake, Teddy, 1
Moffat, Peggy, 1
Morrison, Miss, 1
Moses (M’s cook), 1, 2
Mosley, Sir Oswald, 1
Mossie (M’s cousin), 1
Munro, Anna (‘Beanie’), 1, 2, 3
Murphy, Betty, see Vance, Elizabeth
Myers, Bella, 1
Napier, Margaret, 1
Newby, P.H., 1
Newman, John Henry, 1
newspapers and periodicals: Argentor, 1, 2;
Church of England Newspaper, 1;
Daily Express, 1;
European Affairs, 1, 2;
Forum, 1;
Month, The, 1;
Neto Yorker, The, 1, 2;
Observer, The, 1, 2, 3, 4;
Poetry Review, 1, 2
passim, 1, 2, 3;
Scotsman, The, 1, 2;
Spectator, The, 1, 2;
Times Literary Supplement, The, 1, 2;
Transatlantic Review, 1
Niven, Frances: school-friend, 1, 2, 3; and Miss Kay, 1, 2, 3, 4;
and M’s poetry prize, 1;
at Crail, 1;
weekends with M, 1;
lives near Coolie, 1;
graceful dancer, 1;
sweet nature, 1;
and M, 1, 2, 3;
Hallowe’en, 1;
secretarial college, 1;
M’s farewell tea, 1;
M’s missing notebooks, 1, 2
O’Malley, Father Frank, 1, 2, 3
Otto (German prisoner-of-war), 1
Owen, Peter, 1, 2
Pagan, Fanny, 1
Page, Isabel, 1
Page, James, 1
Page, Mr (Cambergs’ neighbour), 1
Pankhurst, Emmeline, 1
Paterson, Atholl, 1
Paterson, Constance, 1
Paterson, Doris, 1
Pavlova, Anna, 1
Pforzheimer, Carl H., 1
Philip, the Misses, 1
Pietrkiewicz, Jerzy, 1, 2
Porter, Daphne, 1
Porter, Mrs, 1
Pound, Ezra, 1
Pride, Miss, 1, 2
Prinz, Phil, 1
Pryce-Jones, Alan, 1
publishers: André Deutsch, 1; Allan Wingate, 1;
Falcon Press, 1, 2;
Grey Walls Press, 1;
Hand and Flower Press, 1;
Lippincott, 1;
Macmillan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;
Pen-in-Hand, 1;
Penguin, 1;
Peter Owen, 1, 2, 3;
Sheed & Ward, 1;
Tower Bridge Publications, 1
Quennell, Marcelle, 1
Quennell, (Sir) Peter, 1
Radulovitch, Monty, 1
Rae, Auntie, 1
Ralston, Esther, 1
Rankine, Dorothy, 1, 2
Rhodes, Clifford, 1
Ritchie, Miss, 1
Rosenbloom, Gertie, 1
Ross, Chief Constable, 1
Rubinstein, Michael, 1
Rule, Andrew K., 1, 2, 3
Rule, Charlotte, 1, 2, 3, 4
Sarah, great-aunt, 1
Sayers, Dorothy L., 1
Semeonoff, Cathie, see Davie, Cathie
Sergeant, Howard, 1, 2, 3
Seymour, William Kean, 1
Shapiro, Joe, 1
Sheed, Frank, 1
Simon, Dave, 1
Small, Gordon, 1, 2
Small, William, 1
