Everybody Was So Young (62 page)

“mechanically, in profile”:
GCM
, quoted in Hayden Herrera, “Gerald Murphy, An Amurikin in Paris,” Art in America, Sept.-Oct. 1974.

“re-present . . . interior of a watch”:
GCM
, MacAgy/Murphy papers.

[>] By his own admission . . . piano at home: Ibid.

1924 rayograph . . . clock’s works: Man Ray, Untitled, 1924, collection of Arnold Crane, New York, in Turner, Americans in Paris, p. 84.

“never had anything valuable”:
GCM
to
SWM
, 16 Jun. 1915,
HMD
.

As one critic . . . time is king: Hayden Herrera, “Gerald Murphy: An Amurikin in Paris,” Art in America, Sept.-Oct. 1974.

[>] instrument de précision:
GCM
to AMacL, 22 Jan. 1930, LOC;
GCM
to AJ, 13 Jun. 1946, UT.

nightly dinner guest . . . “prettiest girls”:
DOS
, By a Stroke of Luck! pp. 130–31.

Stewart finally . . . Ada MacLeish: Ibid., p. 130.

“was just instinctively”: AMacL, Reflections, p. 42.

[>] “We went . . . later for Noces”: AMacL to John Peale Bishop, 30 Jul. 1924, Letters of Archibald MacLeish, p. 150.

“I must say . . . but Scott”: SWM/Nancy Milford interview, quoted in Milford, Zelda, p. 110.

[>] “I don’t know how”: GCM/Nancy Milford interview, quoted in Milford, Zelda, p. 110.

“He was bronze . . . she didn’t care”: Zelda Fitzgerald, Save Me the Waltz, p. 89.

“It did upset . . . his own fault?”: GCM/Nancy Milford interview, quoted in Milford, Zelda, p. 110.

[>] “locked in my villa . . . [Jozan]”: Milford, Zelda, p. 174.

Gilbert Seldes brought . . . side of the road: Ibid., p. 111.

“unflinching gaze”:
GCM
, quoted in LW, p. 102.

“But Say-ra”: LW, p. 42.

Outside stood Scott . . . “did it on purpose”: Ibid.

When she found out . . . never mentioned again: GCM/Nancy Milford interview, Milford, Zelda, p. 111.

That summer . . . hazed over with smoke: Details from Gertrude Benchley to Nancy Milford, Milford, Zelda, p. 107.

[>] The owner . . . “people I don’t know?”: Blume, Côte d’Azur, p. 77.

Noel Murphy . . . six-cylinder Renault: Noel Murphy/
HMD
interview,
HMD
.

The nearsighted Stewart . . . bull come at him: GCM/CT interview, HMD;
DOS
, By a Stroke of Luck! pp. 132–33.

But Gerald and Sara . . . advertised on the cover:
DOS
, By a Stroke of Luck! p. 134.

Johnny Lucinge . . . Riviera in the summer: Bernard Minoret interview.

“we saw what was happening”: GCM/CT interview,
HMD
.

On the slope . . . near the house: Description of shrubs from personal observation; S&G, p. 19; and Previews Incorporated real estate sell sheet, May 1949, no. 428–33.

[>] “I think . . . own way”:
GCM
to
SWM
, [1915],
HMD
.

“artiste peintre”: Deed is on file at Hotel de Ville, Antibes.

13. “Our real home”

[>] “the Gerald Murphys”: Ada MacLeish to Maurice Firuski, 28 Sept. 1924, Berg Collection, New York Public Library.

“had all his life”: AMacL, “The Intimate Poems of L. T. Carnavel,”
LOC
.

[>] “Gerald was a remarkable . . . very knowledgeable”: AMacL, Reflections, p. 42.

He and Sara had sung . . . “any other way”: LW, p. 29.

Marcelle Meyer . . . baby to be admired:
SWM
scrapbooks,
HMD
.

“les Murphy . . . very important”: Eric Satie to Vincente Huidobro, 28 Jun. 1924, Fondation Erik Satie.

Gerald was a friend . . . quite so close: AMacL, Reflections, p. 45.

“stirred by poetry”: AMacL to Betty Choate, 12 Feb. 1925, in Donaldson, Archibald MacLeish, p. 148.

“A poem should”: AMacL, “Ars poetica,” New and Collected Poems, 1917–1976, pp. 106–107.

[>] “in French terms”: AMacL, Reflections, p. 43.

“very easy . . . see them”: AMacL/Drabeck and Ellis interview transcript, Archibald MacLeish Collection, Greenfield Community College.

“very solid . . . in the spring”: Ada MacLeish to Maurice Firuski, 5 Jan. 1926, Berg Collection, New York Public Library.

“Stripes of mustard . . . sur le chameau”: All quotes from AMacL, 1926, Notes & “Drafts for The Hamlet of A. MacLeish,
LOC
(my translations).

The preceding spring . . . return to New York: Donaldson, Archibald MacLeish, pp. 136–38. William MacLeish, in an interview with the author, said that his father denied having such an affair—at least to him.

[>] perhaps not so coincidentally . . . made notes:
GCM
art notebook,
HMD
. “lace, globe, black stems”: Ibid.

“Sara never lodged”: Unpublished, crossed-out draft of “Portrait of Mme. G——M——,” in Notebook 1924–25, MacLeish Papers,
LOC
.

Her room”: AMacL, “Sketch for a Portrait of Mme. G——M——, New and Collected Poems, 1917–1976, pp. 107–109.

[>] “1000 parties”:
FSF
, Ledger, p. 179.

“weren’t really party people” . . . kept coming back: GCM/CT interview,
HMD
.

“sentimentally disturbed”:
GCM
to CT, [1961],
HMD
.

“in love . . . kiss between friends?”: GCM/CT and SWM/CT interview tapes,
HMD
.

[>] “Sara, look at me”: CT notes,
HMD
.

Once, in a taxi . . . banknotes into his mouth: LW, p. 101.

who used to wash coins: Noel Murphy/
HMD
interview, HMD; also S&G, p. 32.

uninterested in food . . . prewar years: GCM/CT interview notes,
HMD
.

“Scott used to . . . not your roommate”:
ESB
interview.

[>] literary advice: LW, p. 105.

he made Gerald repeat . . . so unlike Gerald: GCM/CT interview notes,
HMD
.

“Are you what they . . . wanted to, always”:
GCM
to CT, [1960],
HMD
.

[>] “I hear a pulsing motor . . . dates you!”: LW, p. 106.

“I’ve been watching . . . buckles and straps”: GCM/CT interview,
HMD
.

“about myself . . . ever invented”:
FSF
to H. L. Mencken, 4 May 1925, The Letters ofF. Scott Fitzgerald, p. 491.

[>] matters had been sticky . . . brother-in-law:
HMD
interview.

“noted for her Enthusiasm . . . Concentration”: Barnes, Ladies Almanack, p. 32.

“an idiot savant”: James Douglas interview.

“on her back in bed” . . . to get relief: Esther Murphy to Muriel Draper, [Aug. 1926], Muriel Draper papers, Beinecke Library.

attachment to Janet Flanner . . . his own sexuality:
FMB
interview.

[>] “our real home”: S&G, p. 15.

Its limestone walls . . . another balcony: Layout described in
HMD
and
FMB
interviews; also in an advertisement for the Villa America by Previews Incorporated, listing no. 428–33), May 1949.

In the main reception . . . completed the look: Descriptions based on photographs and interviews with
HMD
,
FMB
,
ESB
, and Yvonne Roussel Luff.

Sara enlivened . . . found a new home: Linens and furniture listed in Villa America household inventory,
HMD
.

[>] Throughout the house . . . green lace:
HMD
interview.

Gerald had found . . . silver radiator paint:
ESB
interview.

In July they purchased . . . farmhouse: Deed on file at Hotel de Ville, Antibes.

giving each: Yvonne Roussel Luff interview.

Sara wrote . . . plant sweet corn:
SWM
to “Mr. Steinmetz,” undated [1929],
HMD
.

She and Gerald . . . variety of nut trees: Previews Incorporated advertisement,
HMD
.

they acquired two cows . . . chauffeur, Albert:
HMD
interview.

[>] Sara had tried to learn . . . gave up trying: S&G, p. 32.

Vladimir Orloff . . . Englishman called Kipling:
HMD
interview.

“do the things we want”:
GCM
to
SWM
, quoted in LW, pp. 18–19.

In the mornings . . . what needed to be done: Schedule from interviews with
HMD
and Yvonne Roussel Luff.

[>] Sometimes the mornings . . . cut Gerald’s hair: S&G, p. 30.

“Think . . . tender weight, gone!”: LW, p. 94.

There the children . . . toe touches: Exercise sheet in SWM’s handwriting in “Valuable Data” file,
HMD
.

“recondite hors d’oeuvres”:
JDP
, The Best Times, p. 150.

probably the delicious . . . Honoria still remembers: S&G, p. 31.

They ate at the big . . . fresh parsley: Menus from
HMD
interviews,
JDP
, The Best Times, p. 150; and AMacL, Reflections, p. 46.

[>] Once when the Picassos . . . different from girls:
HMD
interview.

“Chere mecie picaso” . . . Guernica:
HMD
to Pablo Picasso, 26 Sept. 1925, Musée Picasso.

Late in the afternoon . . . highest point: S&G, p. 31.

Cannes . . . railroad tracks:
GCM
to
ESB
, 18 Jun. 1950,
GUL
.

“holocausts”: LW, p. 41

“just the juice”:
HMD
interview.

“invented by me” . . . mint in each glass:
GCM
to Alexander Woollcott, 15 Feb. 1939, HU.

[>] These Gerald mixed . . . preparing Mass: S&G, p. 31.

served them ritually . . . drink before dinner: Hester Pickman/
HMD
interview,
HMD
.

Honoria practiced . . . Jimmy Durante’s band: S&G, p. 31.

“there was no one”:
FSF
to John Peale Bishop, [Sept. 1925], The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald, pp. 358–59.

Donald Ogden Stewart . . . Plage de la Garoupe:
DOS
, By a Stroke of Luck! pp. 144–45.

“Most of them”:
SWM
to CT, 1 Jul. 1969,
HMD
.

[>] Manuel Ortiz de Zarate . . . interesting:
SWM
to Pablo Picasso, undated, Musée Picasso.

That night . . . happy she was to be there:
FSF
to Marya Mannes, [Oct. 1925], The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald, pp. 488–89.

In thanks . . . “never been so moved”: GCM/CT interview,
HMD
.

The parties weren’t always . . . complete success:
HMD
interview.

“Life gets a little denser”:
GCM
to EH, 18 Jun. 1927,
JFK
.

[>] “it is the horror”: AMacL to John Peale Bishop, 8 Aug. 1925, Letters of Archibald MacLeish, p. 169.

[>] So in June . . . “STUPIDITY”: Interview with Jacques Livet, friend of Vladimir Orloff; telegram quoted in Jacques Livet to the author, 7 Jul. 1994 (my translation).

“always became a native”: David Pickman/
HMD
interview.

In July . . . Don Stewart:
ESB
interview.

[>] “at first astonishing . . . Cézanne’s apples”: Florent Fels, “Le Salon des Indépendents,” L’Art vivant, vol. 1, no. 6, 20 Mar. 1925, p. 27.

Archibald MacLeish . . . for himself: It’s not clear when MacLeish acquired this painting, but it must have been around this time: a letter to John Peale Bishop dated 3 Feb. 1926 mentions MacLeish’s “Juan Gris &Gerald Murphy bedecked atelier.” (AMacL, Letters of Archibald MacLeish, p. 176.)

“L’Art d’aujourd’hui . . . certainly not European”: Rubin, The Paintings of Gerald Murphy, p. 30.

“Gerald Murphy . . . in Paris”: LW, p. 26.

The writer . . . getting to know them: Reynolds, Hemingway: The Paris Years, p. 325.

when he struck up . . . impressed:
GCM
to CT, 4 Sept. 1960.

14. “The kind of man to whom men, women, children, and dogs were attracted”

[>] “the kind of man”: Hadley Hemingway to Nancy Milford, quoted in Milford, Zelda, p. 117.

“promises to remove him”: Wilson, Paris on Parade, p. 248.

[>] Hemingway often wrote . . . drink or a coffee: EH, A Moveable Feast, pp. 91–92.

“a writer’s job”: EH, quoted in Mellow, Hemingway, p. 187.

“alpha male”: William MacLeish interview.

“he was such an enveloping”: GCM/CT interview notes,
HMD
.

“Sara loved very male”:
FMB
interview.

“nobody is as male”: S&G, p. 21.

[>] “a nice, plain girl . . . carry the burden”:
GCM
and SWM/CT interview (taped),
HMD
.

“swell”: EH to
FSF
, 24 Dec. 1925, EH, Emest Hemingway: Selected Letters, p. 182.

“Picture:—Finish”:
GCM
art notebook,
HMD
.

“that big green”: EH, “My Old Man,” The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, p. 193.

“with rich food”: EH to Bill Smith, 2 Jan 1926, private collection; Reynolds, Ernest Hemingway: The American Homecoming, p. 9.

fly to the Silvretta . . . ski down: EH to Grace Hemingway, 14 Dec. 1925,
JFK
.

toyed with the idea . . . January:
GCM
to
FSF
, 19 Sept. 1925,
PUL
.

And for Ernest . . . friends and family: Reynolds, Ernest Hemingway: The American Homecoming, p. 9.

[>] returned to him, unread . . . Oak Park: EH to Dr. C. E. Hemingway, 20 Mar. 1925, Emest Hemingway: Selected Letters, p. 153.

“You see . . . working toward something”: Ibid.

“Those God-damn . . . promise to yourself”:
GCM
to EH, in S&G, p. 21.

[>] proceeded to read . . . single evening: EH to
FSF
, 15 Dec. 1925, Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters, p. 176.

Sara dozed off . . . applauded its author: LW, p. 27.

“I have known . . . 10th printing”: EH to
FSF
, 31 Dec. 1925, Emest Hemingway: Selected Letters, p. 183.