So much here, thank you! Loved the quotes from Virginia Woolf especially — they're moving, somehow. (Incidentally, there was interesting podcast in September by the London Review of Books with Mary Beard, talking about Jane Ellen Harrison and the origins of the more colorful stories about her. Fun to listen to. The title of the podcast episode is “The Cleverest Woman in England,” and I think that I Iistened to it because I had read the phrase here first, in a different context.) Now to read the piece on Eileen Powell!
Ah, that's a good tip about the Mary Beard interview, thank you Maria. I read her LRB article, which is great (Vol. 46 No. 17 · 12 September 2024) and it's good to see Jane Harrison back in the spotlight.
Oh — the podcast must have been in conjunction with the article, which I hadn't seen. It may be time to start subscribing again, and to start to subscribe the TLS also. I let a lot of subscriptions lapse a while back, and then Substack came along, and I was finding such a range of articles on the platform, it's sort of taken over a bit.
Yes, it’s rather expensive to subscribe to everything! It was just chance that someone sent me a link to the LRB article (and by registering for emails I got a couple of free articles). I do subscribe to the TLS, & that’s the one I tend to read most, probably as I’ve reviewed for it for a few years. But mostly I am writing here now - & it’s nice to see @SUSAN HILL is here too!
That's so kind, Deborah, thank you. I do love Wade's book, and return to it often - this time as I want to delve into the world of Dorothy L. Sayers, and love reading about her time at Oxford.
Fantastic that you stayed in the square, Emma - was that at the college there? I'm hoping to feature Gaudy Night in a future bookclub here. About to read your first JMK novel for background research into Mary Paley Marshall's life.
I stayed at the Goodenough Club a couple of times - maybe that's the same thing. The Society of Authors used to have special rates there. Hope you enjoy the novel and my take on Mary Paley Marshall!
Oh, that sounds a lovely place to stay - and not surprising that it gets booked up early at weekends. Will have to treat myself to a midweek stay sometime (and bring your novel to read there).
Brilliant as always, Ann. I didn’t know that H.D. struggled for so long with writer’s block, or that a space existed in London associated with literary women. Thanks for sharing your lively erudition.
Very kind of you Mary - it's a bit of a dash through Wade's book, attempting to sum up the women's stories in a paragraph or two, but I did enjoy the way she described how H.D., many years after her unhappy time in Mecklenburgh Square during WW1, transformed her experiences in Bid Me to Live (1960).
Eileen Power sounds like a fascinating woman. i look forward to hearing more about her and her interactions with the other members of the Cambridge Ladies Dining Society.
Thank you for engaging our hearts and brains with these fascinating vignettes, Ann! Reading your Substack I feel like I've enrolled on some wonderful extra mural university course, with so many smart students to learn from, as well as yourself.
Aha, you have intuited that I was in fact an extra-mural studies tutor at one time - a job I loved, but this is possibly even more fun! Many thanks Jeffrey.
It’s a while since I read Gaudy Night so I’d loved to revisit it here if you do decide to read it. The Nine Tailors is another favourite, all those Kent Treble Bob Majors!
I dipped into a biography of Dorothy L. Sayers last year having read her play, A Man Born to Be King. She really was supremely talented and such a fascinating woman so I’ll look forward to any of your future writing about her.
Thanks Grace, I think it would be an interesting book to look into, so I'm looking forward to catching up with some of the Harriet Vane books before that as preparation... The Nine Tailors does sound good too. Sayers is such a fascinating woman, a respected scholar as well as a novelist. An enviable combination!
6am here in Australia and what a great read with first coffee of the morning, your post was. So much in it I didn't know and yet, so many scenarios I closely identify with. I'll read it again, after I paint a bit and grind the beans for coffee no. 2
I am feeling very honoured, Raichel, to accompany your coffee and painting! It's nice thinking about what those women achieved, and part of it was finding that space of their own to work in (& Mecklenburgh Square wasn't a glamorous location at the time), negotiating their own time separately from others' demands. A good thing to aim for!
How fun! I was just listening to Gaudy Night (is anything better than Ian Carmichael’s narration?), and to the very passage about hearts and brains when this showed up. I’m delighted by the idea of Sayers literarily killing off her lover - she was such a strong and witty personality!
What a happy coincidence, Kerri - and I will download the audiobook forthwith. Though I see that version is perhaps a shorter one, as the more recent recording is 16 hours long (I do remember the novel being quite lengthy). Still, Ian Carmichael's reading will be a treat.
H.D.— have not thought of her for awhile and glad to be reminded. And I notice the blurb on the cover or Square Haunting and feel pleased to see a contemporary celebrated writer of fiction supporting this book that provides an important window into how the way was paved. Always appreciate you kind words and have loved the response to our discussion. Glad for our connection!
Thanks Abra, I didn't know much about H.D.'s life until I read this. And yes, good to see Sally Rooney acknowledging that her literary forebears didn't have an easy time of it (I do like it when fiction writers read nonfiction too!). Really enjoyed our conversation, great to meet you.
I've been wanting to read Square Haunting--thank you for this post! And I have never read Dorothy Sayers, can you believe it? I have Gaudy Night and need to read it!
Ah yes, I didn't read her for years as I'm not a detective fiction fan - but people kept recommending Gaudy Night to me because of the starring role of the fictional women's college in it (in Oxford but very similar to Cambridge). Now I want to read more about Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey...
So much here, thank you! Loved the quotes from Virginia Woolf especially — they're moving, somehow. (Incidentally, there was interesting podcast in September by the London Review of Books with Mary Beard, talking about Jane Ellen Harrison and the origins of the more colorful stories about her. Fun to listen to. The title of the podcast episode is “The Cleverest Woman in England,” and I think that I Iistened to it because I had read the phrase here first, in a different context.) Now to read the piece on Eileen Powell!
Ah, that's a good tip about the Mary Beard interview, thank you Maria. I read her LRB article, which is great (Vol. 46 No. 17 · 12 September 2024) and it's good to see Jane Harrison back in the spotlight.
Oh — the podcast must have been in conjunction with the article, which I hadn't seen. It may be time to start subscribing again, and to start to subscribe the TLS also. I let a lot of subscriptions lapse a while back, and then Substack came along, and I was finding such a range of articles on the platform, it's sort of taken over a bit.
Yes, it’s rather expensive to subscribe to everything! It was just chance that someone sent me a link to the LRB article (and by registering for emails I got a couple of free articles). I do subscribe to the TLS, & that’s the one I tend to read most, probably as I’ve reviewed for it for a few years. But mostly I am writing here now - & it’s nice to see @SUSAN HILL is here too!
*Power, not Powell.
Such an excellent piece as always. I had forgotten about this book and have now ordered it! Thank you for the reminder and such an absorbing essay.
That's so kind, Deborah, thank you. I do love Wade's book, and return to it often - this time as I want to delve into the world of Dorothy L. Sayers, and love reading about her time at Oxford.
I've stayed in Mecklenburgh Square, very enjoyable as a Gaudy Night fan. Very enjoyable read, thank you.
Fantastic that you stayed in the square, Emma - was that at the college there? I'm hoping to feature Gaudy Night in a future bookclub here. About to read your first JMK novel for background research into Mary Paley Marshall's life.
I stayed at the Goodenough Club a couple of times - maybe that's the same thing. The Society of Authors used to have special rates there. Hope you enjoy the novel and my take on Mary Paley Marshall!
Oh, that sounds a lovely place to stay - and not surprising that it gets booked up early at weekends. Will have to treat myself to a midweek stay sometime (and bring your novel to read there).
And Gaudy Night sounds a lovely idea for a book club!
Brilliant as always, Ann. I didn’t know that H.D. struggled for so long with writer’s block, or that a space existed in London associated with literary women. Thanks for sharing your lively erudition.
Very kind of you Mary - it's a bit of a dash through Wade's book, attempting to sum up the women's stories in a paragraph or two, but I did enjoy the way she described how H.D., many years after her unhappy time in Mecklenburgh Square during WW1, transformed her experiences in Bid Me to Live (1960).
Thank you for sharing this bit of information! I did not know that H.D. lived to that date. Hope she didn’t become “problematic” as Pound did.
Eileen Power sounds like a fascinating woman. i look forward to hearing more about her and her interactions with the other members of the Cambridge Ladies Dining Society.
Thank you Ann, I will accept your challenge... Eileen Power was great. Hope you are getting fewer annoying Substack emails these days.
Thank you for engaging our hearts and brains with these fascinating vignettes, Ann! Reading your Substack I feel like I've enrolled on some wonderful extra mural university course, with so many smart students to learn from, as well as yourself.
Aha, you have intuited that I was in fact an extra-mural studies tutor at one time - a job I loved, but this is possibly even more fun! Many thanks Jeffrey.
That’s possibly why you’re so brilliant at it! 🙂It’s certainly great fun for us as readers/learners, too.
It’s a while since I read Gaudy Night so I’d loved to revisit it here if you do decide to read it. The Nine Tailors is another favourite, all those Kent Treble Bob Majors!
I dipped into a biography of Dorothy L. Sayers last year having read her play, A Man Born to Be King. She really was supremely talented and such a fascinating woman so I’ll look forward to any of your future writing about her.
Thanks Grace, I think it would be an interesting book to look into, so I'm looking forward to catching up with some of the Harriet Vane books before that as preparation... The Nine Tailors does sound good too. Sayers is such a fascinating woman, a respected scholar as well as a novelist. An enviable combination!
6am here in Australia and what a great read with first coffee of the morning, your post was. So much in it I didn't know and yet, so many scenarios I closely identify with. I'll read it again, after I paint a bit and grind the beans for coffee no. 2
I am feeling very honoured, Raichel, to accompany your coffee and painting! It's nice thinking about what those women achieved, and part of it was finding that space of their own to work in (& Mecklenburgh Square wasn't a glamorous location at the time), negotiating their own time separately from others' demands. A good thing to aim for!
How fun! I was just listening to Gaudy Night (is anything better than Ian Carmichael’s narration?), and to the very passage about hearts and brains when this showed up. I’m delighted by the idea of Sayers literarily killing off her lover - she was such a strong and witty personality!
What a happy coincidence, Kerri - and I will download the audiobook forthwith. Though I see that version is perhaps a shorter one, as the more recent recording is 16 hours long (I do remember the novel being quite lengthy). Still, Ian Carmichael's reading will be a treat.
I wonder if it might be because he speaks so quickly? He’s the only narrator I’ve actually had to slow down in an audiobook!
That is funny, Kerri. It sounds like a delightfully old-fashioned English way of speaking...
A wonderful essay, thank you Ann. I just love Wade’s book! And thank you so much for the Beyond Bloomsbury mention.
My pleasure, Victoria! I enjoyed returning to the book (as I often do) as I'm planning to write something on Sayers soon.
Oooh, she’s on my list too. I love Sayers and look forward to reading your post on her 🧡
This piece was an absolute joy, as I knew it would be. Thank you Ann!
That's lovely to hear, Tash - great to revisit the storied Mecklenburgh Square.
H.D.— have not thought of her for awhile and glad to be reminded. And I notice the blurb on the cover or Square Haunting and feel pleased to see a contemporary celebrated writer of fiction supporting this book that provides an important window into how the way was paved. Always appreciate you kind words and have loved the response to our discussion. Glad for our connection!
Thanks Abra, I didn't know much about H.D.'s life until I read this. And yes, good to see Sally Rooney acknowledging that her literary forebears didn't have an easy time of it (I do like it when fiction writers read nonfiction too!). Really enjoyed our conversation, great to meet you.
I've been wanting to read Square Haunting--thank you for this post! And I have never read Dorothy Sayers, can you believe it? I have Gaudy Night and need to read it!
Ah yes, I didn't read her for years as I'm not a detective fiction fan - but people kept recommending Gaudy Night to me because of the starring role of the fictional women's college in it (in Oxford but very similar to Cambridge). Now I want to read more about Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey...