Robert Graves, And the white goddess 1940-1985

660 Pages·1995·18.98 MB·English

by  Richard Perceval Graves

ROBERT GRAVES
A N D THE WHITE GODDESS
1940-1985
RICHARD PERCEVAL GRAVES
‘Triumphantly concludes a trilogy that embeds Graves’s life in a
microcosm of English social history’ John Carey, SUNDAY TIMES

Richard Perceval Graves was born in 1945. He was
educated at Charterhouse and St John’s College,
Oxford. He became a full-time author in 1973. His
books include Lawrence of Arabia and his World
(1976); A. E. Housman: The Scholar-Poet (1979);
The Brothers Powys (1983); Robert Graves: The
Assault Heroic (i8gs~ig26) (1986); Robert Graves:
The Years with Laura Riding (ig26-ig4o) (1990);
and Richard Hughes (1994). He lives in Shrewsbury.

ROBERT GRAVES
AND THE WHITE GODDESS
1 9 4 0 -8 5
RICHARD PERCEVAL GRAVES
FOR
M Y FO R M ER T U T O R
K E IT H TH O M AS
A PHOENIX GIANT PAPERBACK
First published in Great Britain
by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 1995
This paperback edition published in 1998
by Phoenix, a division of Orion Books Ltd,
Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin’s Lane,
London WC2H 9EA
Copyright © Richard Perceval Graves, 1995
The right of Richard Perceval Graves to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
isbn: 0 75380 116 7
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and London
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
Family Trees xiv
Introduction xix
BOOK ONE THE SHADOW OF THE PAST I94O-43
1 A Letter from Laura Riding 3
2 The Vale House 10
3 The Birth of William 14
4 Work in Hand 17
5 Lament for Pasiphae 21
6 Nancy’s Children 28
7 Wife to Mr. Milton 34
8 Family and Friends 43
9 A Divorce in the Family 47
BOOK TWO THE WHITE GODDESS I 943-46
1 The Golden Fleece 57
2 ‘Missing, Believed Killed’ 64
3 Matriarchal Days 70
4 The Angry Shepherd 75
5 The Roebuck in the Thicket 81
6 The Winter Solstice 85
7 Jenny’s Wedding 91
8 Clarissa at Galmpton 95
9 The White Goddess 98
VI Contents
BOOK THREE WATCH THE NORTH WIND I 946-5 0
1 A Flight from Croydon 107
2 Return to Canellun 119
3 Family, Friends and the Queen of Heaven 124
4 The Golden Ass 130
5 Silver Island 137
6 Watch the North Wind Rise 141
7 At London Zoo 152
8 The Isles of Unwisdom 154
9 The Nazarene Gospel Restored 158
BOOK FOUR JUDITH 1950-53
1 Flawless Blade 171
2 Death of a Matriarch 179
3 Volcanic Emotions 185
4 A Disappointing Answer 190
5 ‘Rather a Boring Saint’ 194
6 ‘Thank You Always & For Ever’ 198
7 Absence 204
8 The World’s Delight 209
9 Your Naked Name 212
BOOK FIVE AMBASSADOR OF OTHERWHERE I953-60
1 No Holidays for a Writer 221
2 Blind Homer’s Daughter 225
3 Under Fire 233
4 Ambassador of Otherwhere 238
5 Golden Hopes 246
6 They Hanged My Saintly Billy 256
7 Dreams and Lectures 264
8 More Dreams and Lectures and Cindy Lee 276
9 Sheba, Lawrence, and Magic Mushrooms 289
Contents
BOOK SIX MARGOT AND ‘iNF.XORABI.F. NF.F.d’ 1960-63
I ‘Lyceia’ 3“
2 ‘The Starred Coverlet’ 316
3 The White Callas 321
4 Baraka 326
5 ‘Beware, Madam!’ 332
6 The Personal Muse 340
7 Margot in Attendance 353
8 Neurotic Casualties 359
9 The Black Goddess 364
BOOK SF.VF.N CINDY AND POF.TIC TRUTH I 963-66
I ‘Gift of Sight’ 377
2 Death of a Daughter 383
3 Talk of Leaving 389
4 The Trouble with Howard 396
5 To Seek Felicity 405
6 Lure of Murder 410
7 Sagacious Friend 416
8 Withering Heights 420
9 Closing Accounts 43i
BOOK EIGHT JUI.I I 966-75
I Tousled Pillow 437
2 Summer of ’67 443
3 To Avoid Drowning 446
4 Don’t Hate Iago 454
5 Loss of Magic 463
6 A Matter of Honour 469
7 The Fifth Dimension 473
8 Loss of Memory 477
9 It’s Your Moon and My Moon 489
viii Contents
BOOK NINE death’s NARROW SEA I 975~85
i Screening/, Claudius 495
2 Walking Back to Wimbledon 498
3 Under The Influence 500
4 ‘My Dear Old Friend’ 502
5 Heavenly Deya 5°4
6 Death and Decay 505
7 Spell-bound 507
8 Sad but Inevitable 509
9 Death of a Poet 5“
Afterword 5i3
Abbreviations 5H
Reference Notes 516
Select Bibliography 596
Index 601