[Vwoolf] talking to the servants

[Stuart N. Clarke]

Diary, Vol. I, p.116:

“Home I went, & there was a raid of course. The night made it inevitable. From 8 to 1.15 we roamed about, between coal hole kitchen bedroom & drawing room. I dont know how much is fear, how much boredom; but the result is uncomfortable, most of all, I believe, because one must talk bold & jocular small talk for 4 hours with the servants to ward off hysteria.”

From: Stuart N. Clarke 
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2013 5:24 PM
To: vwoolf at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
Subject: Re: [Vwoolf] talking to the servants

E.g., Letter #905:

‘Nine bombs on Kew; 7 people killed in one house, a hotel crushed—but not a hair of Wattie's [Walter Lamb] head was touched. I know raids dont interest you when no one you know is killed, so I won't describe our night in the kitchen. Barbara was with us and we all slept on the floor—We have mattresses laid there every night. Talking to the servants from 8 to 1.15 (as we did first time) is so boring—"but not so boring as a description" as you justly remark’

Stuart


From: Jeremy Hawthorn 
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2013 4:52 PM
To: vwoolf at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
Subject: [Vwoolf] talking to the servants

I've just had a Christmas card from a friend in which he writes: "Dai Vaughan in his first-rate novel Non-return, mentions VW's writing that the worst thing about going down the WW1 air-raid shelter was having to talk to the servants." He asks if I have a source.

I don't but wonder if anyone on the list has. If she really did say it, I guess that it'll be in the diary (or maybe a letter). Anyone?

Jeremy H


Department of Language and Literature
NTNU
7491 Trondheim
Norway

tel. + 47 73596787
mobile + 47 90181427

See details of my forthcoming book at
https://ohiostatepress.org/Books/Book%20Pages/Hawthorn%20Reader.html 



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