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Jon (Animated)'s avatar

Saw an interview with Diana Athill when she was about 95, that woman could still move mountains, she was a force to be reckoned with so am sure she was a fantastic friend to have.

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Samuel Adamson's avatar

This is lovely, Kate, thank you. I adore all of Rhys's novels, particularly Voyage in the Dark. To a theatre person it seems sad and true. I agree about Smile Please but I still found it fascinating. I remember loving her description of her trip to London Zoo, and the 'resentful' Dominican parrot and the hummingbirds, all fed a ludicrously archetypal English meal of bread and marmalade, all desperate to escape -- just like Rhys, just like her heroines. A quintessential 'expat' moment, a stranger in a foreign city, the absurdity of it all. Wide Sargasso Sea: probably one of the most studied books in the canon -- and when I returned to it not that long ago I kept finding more and more and more.

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Kate Jones's avatar

Thanks, Sam. I almost put Voyage in the Dark as the recommended novel! I wrote about that one for an MA assignment and there was so much to unpick from it. I love her prose and could literally write about different aspects of both her work and her persona every week. You're right about the London Zoo scene, I had forgotten about that. I love how her books show the coldness of England as she felt it. Although I agree that WSS is a masterpiece, I think it is her stories and novels set on the streets of Paris and London that really get me. I wonder if you've read Caryl Phillips' 'A View of the Empire at Sunset'?

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Samuel Adamson's avatar

I haven't, actually. I seem to remember going through a Rhys phrase and resisting it for some no doubt stupid reason. Should I read it?

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Kate Jones's avatar

It's an interesting thing Phillips did with the material, I think, but I wouldn't say it particularly brought anything new to appreciating her work. I think you probably get more of her essence of her through her own novels.

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Samuel Adamson's avatar

Thanks. (Stella Bowen and I share a home town, by the way!)

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Kate Jones's avatar

Fancy that!

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Samuel Adamson's avatar

*phase*

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Victoria K. Walker's avatar

Really interesting, Kate. I’m also fascinated by literary friendships. Thank you again for a great post :)

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Eleanor Jones's avatar

I love this look at literary female friendships - I look forward to more in this series. It’s great to see how literary greats supported each other and how their writing was influenced by others. Thank you for sharing :)

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Kate Jones's avatar

Thank you :) I find it so interesting that a lot of the women I research found support from other women writers. Just like now, it's so important to connect with other creatives who get what you're trying to do.

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Louisa Flynn's avatar

Fascinating stuff! I was engrossed by Wide Sargasso Sea when I read it at A-level. Thank you for all of the insights and suggestions.

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Kate Jones's avatar

I'm glad you found them useful! Thank you for reading :)

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Kathleen Clare Waller's avatar

You find the best in between stories! Really fascinating. I need to dig into your references when I’m back from holidays. Just finished The Memory Police which is a Japanese dystopian story, but one that centres around a novelist and her editor. It’s an intriguing relationship in many ways.

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Kate Jones's avatar

Sounds interesting! I love books around writers/editors and that kind of thing.

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