Straight on Till Morning (33 page)
Read Straight on Till Morning Online
Authors: Mary S. Lovell
In one of these [workman's houses] Sergeant Râwas sleeping fully dressed on an iron cot. When he had lighted a candle and had stuck it into the neck of a bottle, and had drawn forth out of the darkness that funereal bed, the first thing that came into view was a pair of clogs. Enormous clogs, iron-shod and studded with nails, the clogs of a sewer worker or a railway track-walker. All the poverty in the world was in those clogs. No man ever strode with happy steps through life in clogs like those; he boarded life like a longshoreman for whom life is to be unloaded.
29
In chapter twenty-two of
West with the Night
Beryl describes her arrival with Blix at a brothel â the only accommodation they were able to find in Benghazi on their journey from Kenya to London in 1936:
A door opened down the yard and a woman came towards us. She had a lighted candle and she lifted it close to our faces. Her own face held the lineage of several races, none of which had given it distinction. It was a husk with eyes. She spoke but we understood nothing. Hers was a language neither of us had ever heard.
â¦She showed us two rooms not even separated by a door. Each contained an iron bed that cowered under a sticky blanket and had an uncovered pillow at its headâ¦Everything lay under scales of filth. âAll the diseases of the world live here,' I said to Blix.
30
Even in these small extracts there is more than a vague similarity. In both cases the author is struck with the poverty of the room which coincidentally includes an iron bed. And the two phrases âAll the poverty in the world was in those clogs' and âAll the diseases of the world live here', are surely the result of something more than coincidence. Beryl was to continue writing in this vein long after Saint-Exupéry had gone from her life, even after his death in 1944, but it seems certain that it was he who taught her how to find her literary voice.
By December 1940 Beryl's financial problems had escalated because the income from her annuity could only be paid into a sterling area due to wartime currency restrictions. Her solicitors, Withers and Co. of London, suggested that Canada or the Bahamas would be a convenient place to make the monthly payments, but she would not be able to transfer the money from there into the United States. A coincidence occurred at this point, for the Duke of Windsor had recently been appointed to the governorship of the Bahamas, and friends of Beryl's who were going to Nassau for a holiday in the spring of 1941, learning of her friendship with the former king, invited her to join them.
In March 1941 Beryl travelled to the Bahamas by way of New York, where she met publisher Lee Barker of Houghton Mifflin. Barker told her that he was certainly very interested in the outline for the proposed memoir which the literary agent (Ann Watkins) had shown him, but he needed to see a chapter or two before he could offer her a contract. Beryl had already left two chapters with Ann Watkins for appraisal, and prior to her departure for Nassau, she arranged for these to be forwarded to Houghton Mifflin.
Beryl's friends had rented a property called The Retreat at Nassau, and the long lazy days of sun worship and swimming in the warm blue sea off white beaches were punctuated by Beryl tapping away on a portable typewriter in the corner of a shady veranda.
31
It is known that Beryl re-established contact with the Duke of Windsor whilst she was on the islands. The extent of their friendship is not known, but Beryl certainly visited Government House on a number of occasions and she could also remember dining with the duke and duchess.
32
It is not unlikely that in Beryl the duke saw a charming reminder of happier times, and, in her concern for him, Wallis too made her welcome often at Government House. The couple's situation was anything but an idyllic sinecure.
The duke's appointment as Governor of the Bahamas was an unprecedented and extraordinary solution to a bizarre problem. No member of the British royal family had ever served as governor of a crown colony. This would have been quite unthinkable, for the royal family were constitutionally required to remain totally aloof from political alliance and any controversy. Furthermore at that time the royal family were not accustomed to expect public criticism nor to have to reply to such. As governor, the duke had to face all these ills and was responsible to the Colonial Office for the running of the colony. It was an intolerable situation for a man who had been groomed for the supreme role of constitutional monarch, but he took it on, undoubtedly fully aware that it was the best he could hope for, and hopeful that it might form a stepping stone to better things after the war. As governor he was held to be popular among the white population (for his presence attracted a great number of American tourists), and among the islanders who referred to him as âde King'.
33
He had, at least, the help and support of the woman he loved, and this help was not inconsiderable. HRH had arrived to take up his post in August 1940 (a month of âsearing humidity and mind-destroying temperatures),
34
and for a while the duke and duchess were brittle and understandably cautious about striking up friendships. But by the time Beryl arrived the initial nervousness had worn off and the duchess was accustomed to entertain often. With her quick, bright energy she had transformed the formerly gloomy residence, overfilled with heavy late-Victorian mahogany pieces, to a bright and comfortable, well-furnished home filled with light and flowers.
35
The duke's aide, Gray Phillips, was a close ally of the duchess and he also became a friend of Beryl during her stay in Nassau.
36
Six and a half feet tall, the Old Etonian classics scholar was charming, resourceful and witty. A bachelor with a strong artistic streak, he was Beryl's dinner partner on several occasions at Government House and elsewhere. The duchess's dinners were said to be extremely amusing for she was very clever and funny and tried always to ensure that her guests were equally entertaining.
37
By the end of June Beryl had sent four batches of typewritten manuscript to her publishers in Boston, totalling 110 pages. On 26 June 1941 the following internal memorandum was sent by Houghton Mifflin executive Paul Brooks in Boston:
Mr LeBaron R. Barker
New York Office,
Dear Lee:
Bob entirely shares my enthusiasm for Beryl Markham's project. He says: âThis is first-rate stuff and I'm all for publishing it.' I gather from you that there is no need to make a contract now, but I think you're safe in giving her a good deal of encouragement. Meanwhile I look forward to seeing the new chapters that you told me are on the way. May we keep the manuscript for the time being?
Yours
PB
38
The reply to this reads:
Dear Paul
Here's a letter from Beryl Markham which pretty well sews up the manuscript. At the same time, as soon as you reach a decision the better. I should advise a small advance on signing and an additional amount on completion: something like $250 and $250. Note the reference to 110 pages and to a brief outline. Is this all on hand at Boston?
As ever
Lee
39
The memorandum was accompanied by the following letter from Beryl:
âThe Retreat'
Nassau, Bahamas
29th June 1941
Lee Barker Esq.
Houghton Mifflin Co.
New York City
Dear Lee:
It was indeed a great pleasure to hear from you. Having had to move from place to place and work hard at the same time, it made me very happy to know that you like what you have seen of my book.
The fourth, not the second batch of material went to Ann Watkins some time ago â the whole totalling one hundred and ten pages. Have you read this last bit?
As to where I expect to finish it, my preference would be somewhere in New York State or Connecticut. On the other hand, I came here only because of the Sterling Area â and can get no part of my very meagre income (now horribly reduced by war taxes) into the States. I must therefore make the best deal I can on the book (the sooner the better) but naturally you would have first crack at it without even asking! You have been so very helpful and believe me, I appreciate it. I certainly promise you that I will accept no other offer without getting in touch with you first.
The weather is due to be unbearable in about two weeks and all my friends are leaving, and so I can't help hoping that some kind soul will give me a contract before the heat wave falls! Luckily, I have my re-entry permit and am still on the quota.
In the mean time the work goes on day by day and will be shipped to New York as long as the postage holds out!
Kindest regards
Beryl
40
The series of letters went on:
âThe Retreat'
Nassau, Bahamas
July 23rd 1941
Dear Lee,
Very many thanks for your encouraging letter. The contract arrived the other day; I signed it and sent it off to my Attorney in New York with instructions to hand it over to Ann Watkins, she must have it by now. My Attorney Eddie Eagan, takes care of everything for me in the States. I was not concerned about your company's part of the contract, but since I have never had a working arrangement with Ann Watkins, as to commission, I thought Eagan might take a look at it, though I know the normal rate is ten percent.
The work is coming along fine, I will let you know as soon as I have settled in the States â because of expense, I may not be able to make New York until a little laterâ¦
41
The tourist season was coming to an end as the temperature soared into the nineties, and with the accompanying high humidity it was difficult to work. Her hosts had left in mid June, but Beryl had nothing to hurry back for and was enjoying a liaison with a Scandinavian journalist.
42
By late July, however, not only had the weather become unbearable, but with the Government House party's departure on a tour of the out-islands there was absolutely no one, including her journalist friend, left in Nassau. Beryl returned to the United States.
43
1941â1944
Beryl's declared preference for New York State or Connecticut as a place to continue her work may have been prescribed by Saint-Exupéry's return to the East Coast, but she obviously changed her mind, for after leaving the Bahamas she travelled directly to California. In Los Angeles she stayed with friends for a few weeks whilst she looked for permanent accommodation, having given up her old apartment before her departure to Nassau. Shortly after returning to California she was introduced to Raoul Schumacher at a party.
The writer Scott O'Dell had for some time been working at Paramount Studios and knew Beryl through her work on
Safari
. He told me, âI invited Raoul along because I thought she might like him. He was very entertaining, extremely handsome and fair-haired â no picture I ever saw of him did him any justice.'
1
Another friend told me, âRaoul was very well-read and remembered anything anybody had ever written, he was a sort of walking encyclopedia.'
2
Schumacher was thirty-four years old, five years younger than Beryl (though for some years Beryl had been hiding her real age, even in formal documents).
3
At the age of twenty he had inherited some money with which he bought a small ranch in New Mexico. This venture was successful, and when he eventually sold out he made a considerable profit. After an extended trip to Europe where he had relatives, he returned to the USA in 1936 and spent some months in New York working as a freelance journalist. When this proved unsuccessful he spent two years ranching in Mexico before moving to Santa Barbara, California, in 1939, and Los Angeles in 1941.
When he and Beryl met in August 1941, Raoul was living in South Spalding Drive, Beverly Hills.
4
Several people recalled Raoul's claims to have been working in Hollywood at the time on one of the anonymous writing teams employed by the major studios, but no record exists of any such employment. An item in the
Santa Barbara News Press
some years afterwards also stated that Raoul âwas for some years actively engaged on scenario writing [in] Hollywood',
5
but he is not listed on any studio employment register or other studio records of the period. He was not registered as a scriptwriter, nor did he belong to a writers' union. Scott O'Dell said he had never heard that Raoul worked for the studios.
Another well-publicized rumour is that Raoul was a ghostwriter. There is no proof of this activity prior to his meeting with Beryl, although in 1945 he told a magazine journalist: âI once ghost-wrote a full-length Western novel on the dictaphone in seven days.' Adding disarmingly, âIt was a worst seller.'
6
His greatest asset was charm and Beryl fell deeply in love with him. Scott O'Dell told me about their meeting: âThere was an instantaneous attraction between them â almost a conflagration. It must have been purely physical because she knew nothing at all about him. Next thing I knew they'd disappeared together and it was about four months before they surfaced again.'
7
During these months Raoul acted as Beryl's editor. The few pages of manuscript for
West with the Night
which survive reveal editing in Raoul's handwriting which certainly added polish, but cannot be regarded as major changes to her own words. It was almost certainly at his suggestion that the design of the book was altered so that it became a series of remembered incidents with no strict chronological order. Pages have been renumbered and chapter headings revised. Small episodes were discarded and the entire manuscript was âtightened up'. âCut school at Nairobi â use Balmy story instead,' he scribbled across one page.
It is impossible to overstress the importance to Beryl of this type of practical support. A close friend of many years standing said, âHelp and encouragement have always been very important to Beryl. She was always able to do things for herself but she needed to know that there was someone to whom she could turn if she needed guidance.'
8
This need for a prop, created by a basic insecurity and a lack of confidence in her own ability, had initially been filled by her father, and subsequently by
arap
Ruta, Denys Finch Hatton, and Tom Campbell Black. Since Tom's death there had been no man in Beryl's life who filled this important role of supporter, until she met Raoul.
Houghton Mifflin were enthusiastic about the work she had so far submitted to them:
September 19, 1941
Dear Miss Markham,
I have just heardâ¦that you are back in California. I also gather the book is nearing completion. All this is very good news. As you know we are very enthusiastic about as much of the manuscript as we've seen so far. The last batch we received through Ann Watkins' office was Pages 110â132 on July 16. Is there more manuscript on the way?
â¦When may we hope to see the complete manuscript? To do a proper promotion job, we like to have a manuscript about six months before publication. So you see, there is no time to be lost.
Sincerely Yours
Paul Brooks
9
12340 Emelita Street
North Hollywood,
California
23rd September 1941
Paul Brooks,
Houghton Mifflin,
2 Park Street
Boston
Dear Mr Brooks:
Very many thanks for your letter, which cleared up a lot of things in my mind. I hope I can maintain your present enthusiasm for the manuscript in the succeeding chapters.
My moving here from Nassau took up a certain amount of time, but in spite of this, I have managed to complete about fifteen thousand words since arriving in California. Ann Watkins has had a good part of this for some time and will receive the remainder shortly. I am, of course, sending her a first and second copy â one for your office and the other for her own use. Margot Johnson suggested that I send the material in large batches, rather than a chapter or so at a time. I would be willing, however, to send it along as I turn it out, should you prefer it. Naturally, I would like to have your opinion of it, as it progresses.
I was interested in your information concerning publication dates in general. I knew very little about any of these things when I was writing to Lee, and I realize more than ever that there's no time to lose.
As to when it will be completed, I hope to have it on your hands by November 1st â at least not later than the fifteenth. That was the approximate date I gave to my agent when I signed the contract.
By the way, I asked Lee if my book had any chance of being considered for one of your fellowship prizes, but so far have had no reply, or is this type of thing not eligible.
My Best Wishes
Beryl
10
Brooks replied that he would prefer the manuscript in âlarge chunksâ¦or complete, rather than chapter by chapter' and telling her that it was too late to consider the book for a Literary Fellowship. âFellowship projects have to be considered as such from the very beginning. In any case, I doubt whether this is just the sort of book to come under that plan.'
By October Beryl had found a more permanent residence in North Hollywood.
11
This was a single-storey house, not large but roomy enough for Beryl and her friend Dorothy Rogers, with whom she shared. The costs of travel and house moving may have been responsible for a request to her publishers for a further advance. An unsigned memo dated 17 October in the Houghton Mifflin files has an interesting addendum. The original typewritten script reads: âMr Linscott would like the Beryl Markham blank back before next Tuesday.' Scrawled on this memo are two short handwritten notes. The first: âDrawing prepared. Author wants money', is capped by a terse query written in another hand. âOr what?'
MEMORANDUM
To Mr Greenslet From RNL Date Oct 20 41
Last June we signed up a non fiction project entitled WINGS OVER THE JUNGLE written by Beryl Markham and sent us through Ann Watkins, with a contract calling for $250 on signing and $250 more on receipt of a satisfactory manuscript. The author has now written us, through Lee Barker (who strongly seconds her request) asking if she can have $100 more at the present time in view of the fact that she has now sent us 199 pages of manuscript and expects to send us the rest next month for publication early in 1942.
Beryl Markham is a famous aviatrix who was brought up on an African ranch, become a professional horse trainer, learned to fly, and for years operated a sort of air taxi service for African hunters during which time she had innumerable adventures. This book is the story of her life, written with really extraordinary vividness and dramatic quality. We gave her a contract on the basis of the first chapter and the material received since more than lives up to our expectation.
Beryl Markham is now in this country, has put aside all other work to finish the book promptly, and has apparently, run out of funds and needs this small amount to tide her over for a month while she completes it.
12
October 23rd 1941
Dear Miss Markham,
Hearing from Lee that you need some small further advance immediately, I have mailed a check for $100.00 to Margot Johnson at Ann Watkins. We continue to like the manuscript better and better. When may we hope to have the whole thing ready for press?
Paul Brooks
Managing Editor
P.S. We all feel that the present title WINGS OVER THE JUNGLE, does not do justice to the book. It applies to only a small portion of it and is also rather conventional. Will you rack your brains and send me some alternative suggestions within a day or two? We want to prepare a selling sample but are stopped until the title is decided.
13
Probably the suggested title originated in the offices of Beryl's agent, Ann Watkins. One can almost sense Beryl's delicate eyebrows being arched in the second paragraph of her reply.
October 25th
Dear Mr Brooks,
Thank you so very much for your letter and your kindness in sending Margot Johnson a cheque for me. I wouldn't for a moment have bothered you, except that things became just a bit difficult in the last couple of weeks.
I am very much encouraged by your comments regarding the latter part of the manuscript, but where in the world did you get the title WINGS OVER THE JUNGLE? It surely is not mine and was never suggested by me in any letter to anybody â it sounds like a title chosen by a protégé of Osa Johnson! (Not to be unkind).
14
The title that I have selected is: THERE FELL MY SHADOW, taken from a line out of the book. It seems to me appropriate in more ways than one, but if you think not, let me know and I will try again.
Yours very sincerely,
Beryl Markham
15
October 27th 1941
Dear Miss Markham,
I don't know where the title came from either, but I had every intention of changing it. THERE FELL MY SHADOW is certainly better, though I'm not sure it's perfect. Could you put on your thinking cap and produce a few alternatives?
Yours sincerely
Paul Brooks
16
October 31 1941
Dear Mr Brooks,
I am still in search of a perfect title, at your suggestion, which I must say is quite a mark to shoot at. I understand that it must be appropriate to the book, and at the same time have appeal to the buying public.
Here, after wearing myself to a thin white centre, is all I am able to offer. If you find none of these to your liking however, please let me know what angle I ought to aim at.
1. STEPS TO THE SKY
2. ONCE IN THE WIND
3. CATCH THE QUICK YEARS
4. KWAHERI MEANS FAREWELL
S. KWAHERI! KWAHERI! (Swahili)
6. ERRANT IN AFRICA
7. STARS ARE STEADFAST
8. NO STAR IS LOST
Sincerely yours,
Beryl Markham
17
November 4th 1941
Dear Miss Markham,
In the absence of Paul Brooks I am writingâ¦to say that our own title preference is for âThere fell my shadow', with a second choice, âOnce in the wind.'
Sincerely,
R. N. Linscott
18
November 12th 1941
Dear Mr Linscott:
Thank you for your letter. I am glad that your choice of a title is the same as my own, though from Paul Brooks' last letter, I gather he thinks a better one might still be found. At this point, however, I have no further suggestions. THERE FELL MY SHADOW seems to apply all through the book also, the title appears in a line from one of the later chapters which I think adds to its authenticity.
Meanwhile the work goes on and I hope to have it ready for you shortly.
Sincerely
Beryl Markham
19
November 18th 1941
Dear Miss Markham,
You're right â I'm still far from content with THERE FELL MY SHADOW. It seems a little pretentious, and the
double entente
[sic] is not evident until one knows a little more about the book. The perfect title would suggest that you are writing about Africa, not as a traveller or an explorer, but as one who has lived there and grown up there. It has been suggested that AFRICA IS MY HOME, while very simple and literal, gets this idea over very well. How does it strike you?â¦We must decide immediately. I wish that you would send me a day letter, at our expense, giving your opinion of the title mentioned above and suggesting other alternatives which accomplish what we have in mindâ¦
Sincerely yours,
Paul Brooks
20
COLLECT DAY LETTER NOV
22
ND
41
NORTH HOLLYWOOD
PAUL BROOKS
.
MOST ANXIOUS CO-OPERATE BUT FEEL SUGGESTED TITLE NON INCLUSIVE COLOURLESS AND HAS MISSIONARY FLAVOUR
.
OFFER FOLLOWING ALTERNATIVES
.
RETREAT TO FLIGHT
.
THIS TOO IS AFRICA
.
AFRICAN MOSAIC
.
PAGE OF A LIFE
.
STILL TRYING HARD IF UNACCEPTABLE
.
BERYL MARKHAM
.
21
