The life of Kingsley Amis

1047 Pages·2007·5.49 MB·English

by  Zachary Leader

By the same author
READING BLAKE'S SONGS
WRITER'S BLOCK
REVISION AND ROMANTIC AUTHORSHIP
Edited by the same author
ROMANTIC PERIOD WRITINGS 1798–1832,: AN ANTHOLOGY
(with Ian Haywood)
THE LETTERS OF KINGSLEY AMIS
ON MODERN BRITISH FICTION
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY: THE MAJOR WORKS
(with Michael O'Neill)

To my Mother and the memory of my Father
Contents
Illustrations
Introduction
1 Family
2 Reading and Writing
3 City of London
4 CLS at Marlborough
5 Wartime Oxford
6 The War
7 Post-War Oxford
8 Newly Married: Oxford and Eynsham
9 Swansea
10 Making Lucky Jim
11 Fame and Friendship
12 Uncertain Feelings
13 ‘Fun’
14 Abroad
15 Widening Horizons
16 Princeton
17 Patrick and Dai
18 Cambridge
19 Waking Beauty
20 Break-Up
21 Divisions
22 Lefties, Toffs and Bigots
23 Lemmons
24 Dissolution
25 Nadir
26 Return
27 Ending Up
28 Afterlife
Acknowledgements
Notes
Notes
Notes
Bibliography
Illustrations
All illustrations marked * are courtesy of Lady Kilmarnock.
SECTION ONE
1 Amis family wedding photograph*; 2 W.R. Amis with Cannon Street Football Club
(Carrow Works Magazine, Vol. XIV:2, January 1921, by kind permission of Unilever from
an original in Unilever Archives); 3 KA, aged nine*; 4 KA's childhood home, 7 Ena
Road, Norbury (Drawing by George Murray); 5 F.R. Dale, Headmaster, City of London
School (by kind permission of the Headmaster, City of London School); 6 Rev. C.J.
Ellingham, Classics Master, CLS (by kind permission of the Headmaster, City of London
School); 7 CLS boys at Marlborough College during the Second World War, 1940 (by
kind permission of the Headmaster, City of London School); 8 The Great Ice Storm of
January 1940 (Marlborough College Natural History Society Report, by kind permission of
the Master, Marlborough College); 9 KA, c. twelve years old ( British Library
Reproductions © The British Library Board); 10 Philip Larkin and fellow
undergraduates, St John's College, Oxford, Summer 1942 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin
Estate, Society of Authors); 11 KA and fellow undergraduates, St John's College, Oxford,
Summer 1942 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 12 Lieutenant
KA and fellow officers, 1945*; 13 KA's batman, Bert Wootton, c. 1945 (courtesy of the
Kingsley Amis Literary Estate); 14 St John's College Humanitarian Society, 1947
(courtesy of Sir Mervyn Brown); 15 Hilly at seventeen, 1946*; 16 KA, Hilly and her
sister Margaret ‘Miggy’ Partington (née Bardwell), 1948*; 17 KA, Hilly and Mandy, their
dog, 1949*; 18 Leonard Bardwell (‘Daddy B’), c. 1935-39 (by kind permission of the
East Surrey Morris Men website: www.esmm.org.uk); 19 KA at Abbey Timbers, 1946
(courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 20 Margery and Leonard
Bardwell, Abbey Timbers, c. 1948-50 (courtesy of Margaret Righton, née Bardwell); 21
William Bardwell, Hilly's older brother (courtesy of Margaret Righton); 22 Bruce
Montgomery, 1958 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 23 Philip
Larkin, 1962 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 24 John Wain,
1958 (© Mark Gerson/National Portrait Gallery, London); 25 KA's students at Swansea,
Geoffrey Nicholson, David Rees and Clive Gammon (published in Dawn, 1952, the
official publication of the Students’ Union Council, University College, Swansea
(LF1215D18)); 26 KA in staff-student Hamlet, 1953 (The Bodleian Library, University of
Oxford, MS Eng. c. 6050, fol.65); 27 KA, Swansea, 1958 (© Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
SECTION TWO
28 KA, 1955 (John Deakin/Vogue ©The Condé Naste Publications Ltd.); 29 KA and
Hilly with Philip, Sally and Martin, 1955 (Daniel Farson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images);
30 University College of Swansea, 1952 (Image from Swansea University College Brochure
by kind permission of University College, Swansea); 31 Anthony Powell, Philip Larkin,
KA and Hilly, 1958 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 32
Journalists at the bar at Rules, c. 1960 (photograph by Ormond Gigli); 33 KA, 1957
(National Portrait Gallery © Diane Fernald, the Estate of Rollie McKenna); 34 Robert
Conquest, 1963 (courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of Authors); 35 KA, Hilly
and Jean McAndrew in Princeton, New Jersey, 1959*; 36 Martin, Sally and Philip Amis,
Princeton, 1958*; 37 KA, Hilly and Aunt Gladys, Washington, DC, 1958*; 38 WR. Amis,
Princeton, 1959*; 39 Sally, Princeton, 1958 *; 40 Life at Madingley Road, Cambridge,
by Elisabeth Rukeyser, 1963 (© Elisabeth Rukeyser); 41 Hilly, Sally, George and Pat
Gale and Timothy Houghton, Swansea, c. 1960-61*; 42 KA and Robert Graves, pushing
car, Deya, Majorca, 1962 (courtesy of William Graves); 43 KA at wedding reception of
Elisabeth and William Rukeyser, 1963 (courtesy of Elisabeth and William Rukeyser); 44
KA with Robert Graves, Deya, 1962 (courtesy of William Graves); 45 KA and Hilly,
Swansea, c.1960 (King Collection/Retna); 46 KA, Yugoslavia, 1963*
SECTION THREE
47 KA and Elizabeth Jane Howard at their wedding reception, the offices of Jonathan
Cape, 29 June 1965 (Daily Sketch/photograph by Don Price); 48 KA and EJH at 108
Maida Vale, c. 1967 (© Giselle Freund/Nina Beskow); 49 EJH, 1975 (© Jerry Bauer);
50 KA outside Lemmons, 1970 (© Mark Gerson); 51 KA and EJH, Sanderson
advertisement, Lemmons, 1973 (by kind permission of Arthur Sanderson and Sons); 52
EJH, Colin Howard and Sargy Mann at Lemmons, 1969 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane
Howard); 53 Amis in Greece, Summer 1969 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane Howard); 54 KA
and EJH with Keeleys and friends, Greece, summer 1969 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane
Howard); 55 EJH with Dolly Burns, Jamaica, 1966 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane Howard);
56 KA with Czech guide, 1966 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane Howard); 57 KA at
Vanderbilt, 1967 (courtesy of Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University
Archive); 58 Sally Amis, 1973*; 59 Martin Amis, 1973 (cover of The Rachel Papers); 60
Philip Amis, c.1980*; 61 Colin Howard, 1970 (courtesy of Elizabeth Jane Howard); 62
Jaime Boyd and Hilly, 1984*; 63 Alastair Boyd, 1992 (courtesy of Alastair Boyd); 64 KA
at his 70th birthday party, with Martin Amis, Mavis Nicholson and Paul Fussell, 16
April 1992*; 65 Philip Larkin in Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull, 1981
(photograph © Christopher Barker, courtesy of the Philip Larkin Estate, Society of
Authors); 66 KA at pub in Wales, with Michael and Virginia Rush and Stuart Thomas,
1994 (courtesy of Michael and Virginia Rush); 67 The Queen's, Regents Park Road,
1990 (photograph by Jaime Boyd)*; 68 KA at home, 194 Regents Park Road, 1990 (©
Martin Black); 69 The Coffee Room, Garrick Club, painting by Julian Barrow, 1989
(Garrick Club/The Art Archive); 70, 71 KA in Laugharne, Wales, August 1995 (courtesy
of Michael and Virginia Rush); 72 KA leaving Swansea, with Eric Jacobs in the
background, August 1995 (courtesy of Michael and Virginia Rush).
INTEGRATED ILLUSTRATIONS
Letter from KA to Philip Larkin, 27 January 1950 (The Bodleian Library, Oxford); Letter
from Hilly to KA, 12 May 1965 (Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California);
Page from guestbook of Virginia and Michael Rush, 31 August 1995, Swansea (courtesy