[No surviving envelope]
I have been slow in writing, because your last letter, telling of your approaching departure, did not reach me in time to write back. So this letter, together probably with several picture postcards of the Waterspout in Geneva, will probably be awaiting you on your return, whenever that is. It made me rather dizzy to read of your itinerary. I am glad at least that you are not flying across the Rockies. And at least you will be inaccessible and a change of scene, with congenial companionship (and presumably seeing old friends in the West?) may even do you more good than the repose of Grand Manan.
ThisCheetham, Revd Ericleaves affairs in a mess;h8 is a letter instead of an ‘air letter’ in order to return the letter from Cheetham. Poor Man! He is indeed right in saying that he came, providentially, to be of immense service to me at a very difficult time in my life – butSt. Stephen's Church, Gloucester Roadvestry goings-on;a2 oh dear! How little he realises the mess he left behind him for his churchwardens – a great worry to me for the last six months. It never seems to have occurred to him that there would [be] no place for a new vicar to live in – he’s kept his little flat, and as for the vicarage, which he let, it’s probably going to take a lawsuit to get the tenants out. So it’s not at the moment a very desirable living. At the end of this month the patrons’ advowson runs out, and the Bishop can then appoint someone – if he can find a man; and he can also order the sequestrators (that’s the two churchwardens and the rural dean) to take the vicarage matter to court. All this time, we have had a good little retired priest of 76 carrying on single-handed; he’s just gone on holiday for three weeks and another retired priest, who looks still older, is filling in for him.
IEliot, William Greenleaf, Jr. (TSE's cousin)elegised;a5 was very sad on learning of the death of my cousin Will. AsEliot, Ruth Kayser (TSE's cousin);a2 I wrote to his daughter Ruth,1 I had never really known him till we met in St. Louis in 1953, and they came to London later. But I thought him a real pet – intelligent, alert, wellbred, and deeply religious. I am very happy to have known him a little before his death. IPerkins, Edith (EH's aunt)sends funeral tribute to Cousin Will;o6 wrote and thanked your aunt for sending me the (excellent) funeral tribute by the minister in Portland.2
ItHale, Emilybirthdays, presents and love-tokens;w2TSE gives EH 'evening bag';f8 is a relief to know that you liked the evening bag. The saleswoman told me that it could easily be cleaned if it got dirty.
Mytravels, trips and plansTSE's 1956 Geneva rest cure;j1itinerary;a2 holiday is to be a quiet one compared to yours. I go to Geneva on Tuesday – chez Clement, 1 rue de l’Evêché as usual – and will be with them until September 12, except for a week from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8 at the Hôtel Belle Vue, Chardonne sur Vevey, where I have been before. That gives me a week altogether in the country; and as I want a month’s holiday, and as I don’t think it proper to sponge on friends for more than three weeks (theClements, thein Geneva;a8 Clements refuse to let me pay for my board) that seems a good arrangement. So I hope to lead a vegetable life3 for four weeks. I would have done well, perhaps, to take a holiday as convalescence, butSmith, Theodora ('Dodo') Eliot (TSE's niece)1956 visit to England;e2;a1 there were engagements from the middle of July, and I did not want to miss Theodora.
IHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin)TSE's improved relations with;f2 am glad you were able to spend a night with Eleanor. I enjoy staying there; and she has in the last year or so become a much better correspondent than she used to be.
I return on the 12th September; you return, I presume, soon after that, and I shall look forward to hearing about your odyssey. I do hope you will come back fresh and strong.
It’sFamily Reunion, The1956 Phoenix Theatre revival;k1described;a1 curious that neither to you, not [sc. nor] to anyone else, have I remembered in letters to say anything about the revival of the ‘Family Reunion’. ButScofield, PaulFamily Reunion's finest Harry;a2 I wish you could have seen it. SybilThorndike, Sybileventually plays Amy;a8 Thorndike (Amy) LewisCasson, Lewisin 1956 Family Reunion revival;a1 Casson4 (Warburton) andHorne, Davidin 1956 Family Reunion revival;a1 twoCorbett, Harry H.in 1956 Family Reunion revival;a1 minor characters, David Horne5 as Charles and Corbett6 (hitherto quite unknown to me) as Downing, were all as good as could be; but Paul Schofield [sc. Scofield]7 as Harry is the first actor to make the character living and likeable – the first to present Harry as a really haunted man, instead of a selfish cad. They spoke their lines well, too. OnlyGregg, Olivein 1956 Family Reunion revival;a1 Gwen Ffrancon [sc. Ffrangcon] Davies (Agatha) and Olive Craig [sc. Gregg]8 (Mary) were not quite to my liking. It is running a month longer than the original 8 weeks arranged for, ending on Sept. 1st.9
1.Letter not traced.
2.TheEliot, William Greenleaf, Jr. (TSE's cousin)funeral tribute to;a6n funeral of Dr William G. Eliot, Jr., on 11 June, included this oration by Dr Richard M. Steiner: ‘We are gathered here this afternoon to pay tribute to our friend, William G. Eliot, Jr., whose greatness as a human being was often overshadowed by his humility.
‘As his minister for 22 years, I am sure you all will understand that I speak with a feeling of great personal loss, for he was my minister as well as my friend. But I do not speak with any deep sense of grief, for I do not feel that I have lost him. His presence is still with us, and for so long as memory persists, it will remain with us.
‘His life and work were so complete, his death so mercifully without pain or consciousness, his faith in immortality so secure that his absence from us is but the absence of a friend who has gone upon a journey.
‘Dr Eliot – I could never bring myself to call him “Will”, having been reared in a school which venerated the wisdom of old and the dignity of one’s superiors, – was a person whose life was paradoxically enlarged and circumscribed by his chosen profession.
‘Few of this generation know the enormous amount of civic activity in which he was engaged during the earlier years of his ministry in this church. In this he was carrying on the tradition of his father, Thomas Lamb Eliot, but his endeavors were not out of a sense of duty to family tradition. Rather they were out of a very real concern for the welfare of his city.
‘A pioneer in the field of social hygiene, he has received recognition for his work. His continued concern with the affairs of Reed College has bespoke his devotion to education as a means of expanding the cultural life of the community …
‘The commandment, “Bear ye one another’s burdens” was one which he literally obeyed. He was acquainted with grief and those who grieved found him a wellspring of sympathy, understanding and comfort.
‘He was a gentle person, and he had a gentle humor which made conversation with him a gentle pleasure. No one, I think, would ever have poked fun at Dr Eliot, but he often poked fun at himself. He knew his own quirks and failings and took a kind of delight in giving them a humorous acceptance.
‘His loyalty to this church was more than loyalty; it was love. He was not denominationally minded. To him this church was but a fragment that he cherished with the same passion as he cherished the whole of Christendom …
‘It is impossible for me to say what could be said about his family life. He was a devoted husband and father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was devoted to his brothers and sisters. Those whom he loved, loved him for his unfailing care …
‘If there is one memory above all memories of him which I shall take with me to my grave, it is the memory of Dr Eliot speaking, as he so often spoke on occasions such as this of immortality, and I cannot end this tribute to him without recalling to you his conviction which I so deeply share, that death is not the end but is a beginning.
‘He believed implicitly in a personal immortality, that God did not create the human spirit to let it end in darkness and a void, and he was able to communicate his belief during the 61 years of his ministry to, I suppose, many thousands of persons – the comforting conviction that ’twixt earth and heaven there is a bond that cannot be broken …
‘Old age became him like a mantle, and now he is crowned with immortality.’
(Courtesy of Leslie Pohl-Kosbau, Archivist, First Unitarian Church, Portland, Oregon)
3.Cf. Andrew Marvell, ‘To His Coy Mistress’: ‘My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow.’
4.LewisCasson, Lewis Casson (1875–1969): noted British actor and director; husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.
5.DavidHorne, David Horne (1898–1970): British character actor on film and stage.
6.HarryCorbett, Harry H. H. Corbett (1925–82): British actor on stage, film and TV, and comedian – who had served during WW2 with the Royal Marines in the Far East, before taking up acting – was to become a household name as the character Harold Steptoe in the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son, 1962–5, 1970–4 (which sadly typecast him).
7.PaulScofield, Paul Scofield (1922–2008): renowned British actor; awarded Best Performance by a Leading Actor in the 1962 Tony Awards for his performance in the Broadway production of A Man for All Seasons (he received too the Academy Award for Best Actor for his reprisal in the movie, 1966). Many other accolades included Best Actor in a Supporting Role (BAFTA) for his performance in The Crucible (1996). Appointed CBE, 1956; CH, 2001.
8.OliveGregg, Olive Gregg (1925–2003): South African-born British actor and voice artist.
9.TheFamily Reunion, The1956 Phoenix Theatre revival;k1Peter Brook congratulated on;a2n revivalBrook, Petercongratulated by TSE for 1956 Family Reunion revival;a1n of The Family Reunion, at the Phoenix Theatre, directed by Peter Brook, opened on 7 June 1956.
TSE to Peter Brook, 12 July: ‘I am extremely happy with this production, which certainly does everything possible to elicit the merits and conceal the defects of this play. First of all I was most impressed by the diction, both its clarity, and the attention paid to the verse rhythms. I suspect that having Sybil Thorndike to set the pace must have been a great help to you in this respect, and the way she speaks the opening lines of the play set a standard to which the others have kept up very well. Of course, Sybil has such an unusually beautiful voice that it sets a difficult standard, but I thought the elocution was all very good indeed.
‘SybilThorndike, Sybileventually plays Amy;a8 Thorndike has the best part and deserves every bit of the praise that has been given to her, but one must recognise, on the other hand, that it is by no means one of the more difficult parts. InScofield, PaulFamily Reunion's finest Harry;a2 this respect, I must praise both Paul Scofield and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies. Paul Scofield is, in my experience, the first actor who has been able to make the part of Harry both plausible and acceptable, and I think this is primarily due to his success in giving the impression from the very beginning, of a man who is haunted and hagridden. Unless an actor can put this over successfully, the character is apt to appear self-centred and unsympathetic. I am not sure, however, in spite of the great difficulties of the part of Harry, whether the part of Agatha is not so difficult as to be almost impossible – I mean that Agatha who utters those sibylline (with a small “s”) remarks that make her sister want to scream, is the same Agatha who is to have a violent quarrel with Amy. There is a combination of the human and the inhuman in her makeup which indicates the inexperienced dramatist. I think that Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies coped with her difficulties very well indeed, though it would take a very powerful personality to stand up to Sybil Thorndike in the quarrel scene.
‘Amongst the other characters, I should like to give particular praise to Horne as Uncle Charles and to Corbett as Downing. These two seem to me done to such perfection that I do not believe a better interpretation of either part is possible. But all of the characters are good.
‘The only criticism I should make of the production as a whole is that I do not feel that you have really provided a solution to the problem which I have always thought insoluble, that of the appearance of the bogies. One cannot have everything, I know, and every possible device has its own drawbacks, but on their second appearance it seemed to me that the Eumenides, appearing symbolically with more illumination, were too obviously inanimate, and invited comparison with mounted butterflies or with kites set on end. But I really am extremely happy with this production, and I think you have made everything of the play that can be made, and I am more than grateful to you.’
Thorndike to TSE, 8 June 1956: ‘My ambition is fulfilled – to be in one of your plays …’
4.LewisCasson, Lewis Casson (1875–1969): noted British actor and director; husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.
4.RevdCheetham, Revd Eric Eric Cheetham (1892–1957): vicar of St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, London, 1929–56 – ‘a fine ecclesiastical showman’, as E. W. F. Tomlin dubbed him. TSE’s landlord and friend at presbytery-houses in S. Kensington, 1934–9. See Letters 7, 34–8.
6.HarryCorbett, Harry H. H. Corbett (1925–82): British actor on stage, film and TV, and comedian – who had served during WW2 with the Royal Marines in the Far East, before taking up acting – was to become a household name as the character Harold Steptoe in the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son, 1962–5, 1970–4 (which sadly typecast him).
2.Will Eliot (1866–1956), of Portland, Oregon, andEliot, Ruth Kayser (TSE's cousin) his daughter Ruth Kayser Eliot (1899–1994).
3.WilliamEliot, William Greenleaf, Jr. (TSE's cousin) Greenleaf Eliot, Jr. (1866–1956), who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, served for twenty-eight years as Minister of the Church of Our Father (Unitarian), in Portland, Oregon, 1906–34.
8.OliveGregg, Olive Gregg (1925–2003): South African-born British actor and voice artist.
5.EleanorHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin) Holmes Hinkley (1891–1971), playwright; TSE’s first cousin; daughter of Susan Heywood Stearns – TSE’s maternal aunt – and Holmes Hinkley: see Biographical Register.
5.DavidHorne, David Horne (1898–1970): British character actor on film and stage.
7.PaulScofield, Paul Scofield (1922–2008): renowned British actor; awarded Best Performance by a Leading Actor in the 1962 Tony Awards for his performance in the Broadway production of A Man for All Seasons (he received too the Academy Award for Best Actor for his reprisal in the movie, 1966). Many other accolades included Best Actor in a Supporting Role (BAFTA) for his performance in The Crucible (1996). Appointed CBE, 1956; CH, 2001.
2.TheodoraSmith, Theodora ('Dodo') Eliot (TSE's niece) Eliot Smith (1904–92) – ‘Dodo’ – daughter of George Lawrence and Charlotte E. Smith: see Biographical Register. Theodora’sSmith, Charlotte ('Chardy') Stearns (TSE's niece) sister was Charlotte Stearns Smith (b. 1911), known as ‘Chardy’.
9.SybilThorndike, Sybil Thorndike (1882–1976): acclaimed British actor of stage and screen, she was a dominant presence in productions of Shakespeare and the Classics – arguably the greatest tragedienne of the twentieth century. George Bernard Shaw felt such a regard for her talent that he wrote Saint Joan (1924) specifically for her. In 1938–9 there were discussions with a view to staging the premiere of The Family Reunion, to be directed by John Gielgud (who was eager to play the hero, the tormented Harry), with Thorndike as Agatha. But Thorndike is reported to have advised Gielgud, ‘You know, Eliot’s not going to let you have his play – he says you have no faith.’ In Peter Brooks’s revival of the play at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in June 1956, she was the matriarch Amy (with Paul Scofield as Harry). Thorndike to TSE, 8 June 1956: ‘My ambition is fulfilled – to be in one of your plays …’ Created a Dame of the British Empire in 1931, in 1970 she was appointed as a Companion of Honour.