A Letter from Paris
Page 29
Australian artist, broadcaster, author. Lived in Saint Clair in the late 1940s.
Foujita, Tsuguharu (1886–1968)
Japanese-French painter and printmaker. Known most famously for his drawings of cats in the 1930s. Met Albert Tucker in Japan during World War II and gifted him two small doll paintings, which Tucker then gave to DD to sell in Paris in exchange for the fare to England. DD was accused of forgery instead, as Foujita was only known for drawing cats at the time.
Humphries, Barry AO, CBE (1934–)
Australian comedian, actor, artist, author, best known for his personas Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. DD wrote the first article to explore his unique act.
Kershaw, Alister (1921–1995)
‘Al’. Australian poet, writer, broadcaster. Travelled to England in 1947 and France in 1948 and never returned to Melbourne. Author of numerous memoirs about life in France in the 1940s and 1950s. Secretary of Aldington’s estate until he died.
Lawlor, Adrian (1889–1969)
English painter and writer who relocated to Melbourne and became a member of the Heide circle. In 1949, DD published his book Horned Capon, about Melbourne bohemia in and around the town of Warrandyte.
MacNeice, Louis CBE (1907–1963)
Irish poet and playwright from the Auden Group, which included W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender, and Cecil Day-Lewis. Lived in London in the post-war period. DD described Roy Campbell shouting across at him in pubs and on London streets.
Mora, Mirka (1928–)
French-born Australian modern artist, member of the Heide circle. Emigrated to Melbourne in 1951 with husband George and ran Balzac cafe in Collins Street in the 1950s. Remembered a cheese-throwing incident with DD in Melbourne in the late 1950s.
Murray-Smith, Stephen AM (1922–1988)
Australian man of letters. Lived in London and Prague from 1948 to 1951. Founded Overland magazine in Melbourne in 1954. Both DD and SMS attended Geelong Grammar and joined the Commandoes in World War II. Wrote letter of recommendation for State Library Victoria to take DD manuscripts.
Nolan, Sidney OM, AC (1917–1992)
Australian modern artist, member of the Heide circle. Best known for his Ned Kelly paintings.
Peake, Mervyn (1911–1968)
English writer, artist, poet, illustrator. Best known for the Gormenghast books. Gisèle modelled for him in 1950 in London. She said that he wasn’t proud of the Gormenghast books.
Southey, Robert AO, CMG (1922–1998)
Australian businessman who was president of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1970 to 1975. Went to Geelong Grammar with DD and served in the British Army during World War II. Wrote main DD obituary in The Corian.
Thomas, Dylan (1914–1953)
Welsh poet and writer who lived in London in the post-war period. Drank at The George, introduced to DD by Roy Campbell.
Tucker, Albert (1914–1999)
Australian modern artist, member of the Heide circle. Lived in Europe from 1948 to 1960 and famously built a caravan out the window of his hotel in 1949–1950 in Saint Germain, Paris. Gave DD some original paintings by Foujita.
Acknowledgements
First, I must thank Coralie Caron-Telders for doing what I didn’t realise I wanted all my life: telling me a beautiful story of my dad, not wanting anything in return. Thank you for so generously sharing Michelle’s letters when she’d only just passed away. And Michelle, thank you for keeping those letters all these years.
Clém, your emotional support, empathy, and understanding throughout the whole process — even when we had never met! — has propped me up so many times when I thought I was going mad. I don’t think you realise how important your passion and encouragement has been to me. Thank you dearly, and for all your kindness with Gisèle and sorting out the paperwork with Sandrine.
To the rest of Michelle’s family — Edouard, Laurence, Benjamin, Marie, Margaux, and Maxime — I’m so glad to know you all.
To my brother and sister: I could not have done any of this without your support, and wouldn’t have wanted to. All I really cared about was getting something down that we three could have as our record. I’m glad we finally got to talk about how difficult it’s been with all the scraps of differing information all these years.
Ayala, you’re the best research ‘partner’ I could have hoped for: from sniffing out passenger ship records from 1947 and the cost of the fare to England, to recovering long-lost birthday cards from Gisèle, printing dozens of library things, double-checking other things, and, most importantly, holding on to all the (heavy) boxes of documents all these years. I love that we could combine forces for this project, even though looking through dad’s papers was often painful for you, too. Thank you.
Dec, thank you for ‘backing me up’ in all of this, for helping with the army stuff, for the comrade-like chats about how bloody difficult and complicated it was to piece dad’s story together, and for articulating the difficulties of the time in which dad lived, so that I better understood myself. Thanks also for making a start on the photos a few years ago and planting the idea in my head that I should continue the work.
My thanks to so many others:
To Mystic Medusa, for decades of encouragement, as well as that first short, sharp, swift message when I first heard from Coralie. To Margaret Ambrose, for similar immediate recognition and support — encouragement literally does ‘give courage’ … particularly when I was so full of doubt!
To all my cousins who shared stories of dad, particularly Sarah and Mark, who helped me (finally) understand where the ‘inheritance’ came from.
To my friends and family and even strangers who became friends in the course of this research. A word, an ear, an unasked-for photocopy, a snippet of information, a translation, a connection, a kindness — it all meant more than you know.
To Russell Brooks, for contacting us with beautiful photos of dad (and us) from 1983, and, most importantly, stories of dad’s love of Albert Camus and way of teaching.
To dear friends who loaned an ear or gave a hug or met me for lunch or coffee during my subterranean year visiting State Library Victoria. Claire Buckis, I loved our lunches at the Moat. Jason and Deanne, thanks for understanding the heaviness of all of this and just popping by with chicken soup, whisking me away for pho in Richmond, and, most importantly, believing in the story and encouraging me to pursue it.
To others who said things that helped me feel understood or encouraged in quite a strange and difficult process: Kingsley Baldwin (the line about DNA made it into the book!), Lia and Troy Simmonds, Cameron Watt, Kimberley Barter, Sacha Payne and Greg Muller, Karina Machado (thank you for the understanding chat and extraordinarily generous cover quote), Carla Coulson, Eleanor Jackson (for poetic texts of encouragement), Tim Haynes (for the translations and France info), Philippa Knack, Joanne Liberty and Eamon Dawson, Carmen Paff, Vanessa Hutchinson, Elisa Ventura, Carrie Hutchinson (for catching a train all the way to Sunbury after dinner to celebrate my first draft!), and Eliza Compton (I loved our birthday coffee in Paris!).
To Simon Clews. Thank you so much for the publishing advice, gracious fostering of connections, and speedy reply when I was in a real conundrum. You’re incredibly generous. Thank you.
To my agent, Clare Forster — your calm, professional, and methodical approach was balm to an intensely emotional and complex project for me. Thank you.
To the entire team at Scribe, who saw the potential in this story from the beginning, particularly Henry Rosenbloom and Julia Carlomagno.
To my editor, David Golding. Thank you for such generous, intelligent, sensitive, meticulous, and thoughtful feedback (to such a complicated story!) on the second and third drafts. This story would be completely different without all your work, and I’ve learned so much from your approach. Editors really are the unsung heroes of books — and I feel so privileged to have worked w
ith you!
To Laura Thomas (huge thanks for the wonderful cover), and to Cora Roberts and the entire publicity and marketing team for your enthusiasm.
To the Murray-Smiths — Joanna, Cleeve, and David. I loved that as soon as I contacted you about our dad’s connection, messages pinged to my email inbox full of enthusiasm and understanding and memories of dad. Our mutual love of ‘letters’, written connection, and history gave me a taste of those fireside chats between dad and Stephen! Thank you. And Cleeve — your emotional support and inviting me over to see photos of dad was a miracle.
To all those I contacted in the course of this massive project who shared either information or anecdotes about my dad or the times in which he lived — every snippet, large or small, provided a clue to a huge life.
To Mirella and Peter Satoor de Rootas — thank you for helping us find Gisèle.
To the team at Heide Museum of Modern Art — particularly Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan, and to Darren at the Tucker Foundation, for letting me use ‘Bert’s’ quote from the letter to dad. Also to the National Library Australia, for allowing me to print the portrait of dad by Arthur Boyd in this book.
To all the others I contacted who provided vital information or speedy replies or thoughtful conversation and help with photos over coffee: Sylvain Kershaw (thanks also for all those other letters!), Paul Cleary (it’s hard to imagine I once thought those photos were taken in Timor), George and Philippe Mora, Jim Walker from the Australian Commando Association Victoria, Cheryl and Tony Hoban, Vivien Whelpton (your transcription work and camaraderie from afar was so appreciated!), Dr Andrew Frayn (for the Aldington help), Dr Karl James (thanks for confirming that dad’s military record was hard even for the experts to decipher!), and the unknown manuscript librarian in Illinois who generously looked up my dad’s material and photocopied parts of it to save me a trip to the USA!
To State Library Victoria, in particular, for keeping my dad’s words safe and sound all these years. And to the National Library of Australia, for doing the same.
To my dear friend Jonathan Irwin for taking me on the ‘1947’ tour of London and being so supportive, helpful with London research, and encouraging throughout this whole process. To my cousins Chloe and Kirsty, with love, for understanding phone chats throughout the journey.
In loving memory, to my cousin Julian who told me fun stories about dad.
To Raphaël Dupouy, Josephine Marechal, and Ivor Braka for the miraculous trip to Saint Clair, and allowing me to see the Villa Aucassin and experience the warmth and beauty of the South just as dad would have felt it.
And to that nice man ‘Jon’ who bought me a coffee and ordered me a taxi on my last day in Paris —
It’s the little miracles that make up the big ones …
Lastly, to my precious Sam — Je t’aime, mon amour.