Strange as fiction

[callmemadam]

I am reading Wild Mary, Patrick Marnham’s biography of Mary Wesley. I recently got rid of all my Mary Wesley books apart from The Camomile Lawn and I have to say Marnham’s book is better than the throw-outs. Mary Wesley’s life was certainly extreme. As a young woman she was presented at court three times, attended the coronation of George VI and was part of a large, wealthy, well connected social circle. After her second husband died she was so poor that by the end of the month she couldn’t afford to buy a postage stamp. She then drew on her own experiences to write books and her first published adult novel came out when she was over seventy. After that it was all success and glory: best selling books, the world wanting to interview her. Does she really merit a biography, though? I confess I can’t like her at all (with a nod at her bravery and stoicism) and consider her books completely amoral. I was interested to learn (not from the biography) that she was determined not to have her life written by ‘someone like Margaret Forster’ who wouldn’t understand her. I can’t help thinking that if she hadn’t slept with so many men, this book would not have been published.

Comments

[minniemoll.livejournal.com]

I read this when it first came out, but was very disappointed - this is what I wrote at the time -

I'd been looking forward to this, and actually got round to reading it just after I bought it, but I was hugely disappointed. MW's life was not without incident, but the author waffles round and round subjects without actually getting to them. There are huge chunks of background to incidental characters, and interesting points are hurried over as quickly as possible, with the exception of Mary's and her second husband's divorces, which are descibed in minute detail. The author's style didn't grip me at all.

I do like her books though, especially Camomile Lawn, Poppy Carew and Part of the Furniture. I should reread some of the others.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing there's still a lot not being told. Her sons are alive and one of them was active in promoting this book. I feel the author gives us far too much history as background but that could be me forgetting that not everyone knows all this stuff. Which interesting points do you think are 'hurried over'? I haven't finished the book yet so can't tell.

I kept The Camomomile Lawn because I have such a thing for books set during the war. I enjoyed reading the others at the time but didn't think I'd want to re-read. And I keep buying more books, in spite of the massive decluttering going on here.

[minniemoll.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the details now - I just remembered that I hadn't enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. And pages and pages of more or less irrelevant details about minor players in the story.