Read The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother, and Me Online
Authors: Sofka Zinovieff
Tate Gallery (Tate Britain) 43
Harrow School 59, 69
Cavendish Hotel (Jermyn Street) 65–6, 182
Jules Hotel (Jermyn Street) 65
Café Royal 67, 183
Savoy Turkish Baths 67–8
‘Clarkson’s Cottage’ 68
Lily Pond tearoom 68
Lyons Corner House 68, 71
43 Club (Gerrard Street) 69
Silver Slipper (Regent Street) 69
Reid & Lefevre Gallery 96–7
Ritz Hotel 129
New Burlington Galleries 141
Sadler’s Wells 146–7, 153, 187, 268
Miss Wolff’s Girls’ School (Park Lane) 167
Sloane House (Chelsea) 167, 168, 181
St Paul’s Girls’ School 168, 173
500 Club 169
Taylor Institution Library (St Giles) 192
Café de Paris 201
Dorchester Hotel 223–5, 244
Heywood Hill Bookshop (Mayfair) 226, 245
Claridge’s 236
Royal Opera House 268
Lady Eden’s School for Girls (South Kensington) 299–300
Purcell Room 322, 394
Royal Festival Hall 394
London Blitz 222, 231–2, 233, 258
London Magazine 295, 296
Longworth (Gerald’s first object of desire) 24, 25
Lorca, Federico García 142, 213
Losch, Tilly 140
Lubbock, Ian 233–4, 243, 380, 383
Lubbock, Lys 232–3
Luke, Michael ‘Mickey’ 264–5, 272–3, 277, 280, 296, 298
Lycett Green, Candida Betjeman 317, 321
Lygon, Lady Dorothy ‘Coote’ (1912–2001)
childhood at Madresfield 99–100
description of 99, 104–5, 321–2
as regular visitor to Faringdon 103–5, 291, 321, 329
as role model for Cordelia in Brideshead Revisited 103
Waugh as ‘flirtatious older brother’ to 103
joins the WAAF 245
post-war life 321
marries Robert 339–42
returns to Lime Tree Cottage 342
at Robert’s funeral 348
continues to visit Faringdon after Robert’s death 354–5
helps to scatter Robert’s ashes at Faringdon 359
death of 388
Lygon family 66, 102, 156, 170, 269
Lygon, Hugh Patrick (1904–1936) 102–3
Lygon, Lady Lettice Beauchamp (1876–1936) 100–10, 103
Lygon, Lady Mary ‘Maimie’ (1910–1982) 99
as regular visitor to Faringdon 103–4
as role model for Julia Flyte in Brideshead
Revisited 103
Waugh as ‘flirtatious older brother’ to 103
description of 104
marriage to Prince Vsevolode 187–8
sexually involved with Robert 240, 354
Lygon, Lady Sibell (1907–2005) 101, 102
Lygon, William, 7th Earl Beauchamp ‘Boom’ (1872–1938) 99, 171
relationship with his children 100
exiled abroad 101–2
homosexual relationships 101
death of 103
Lygon, William, Viscount Elmley (1903–1979) 102, 104
MacLean, Donald 281
Madresfield Court (Worcestershire) 99, 101–4, 170, 171, 354, 388
Magritte, René 140
Manley (Great Dane) 316
Mannini, Tito (Gerald’s cook) 34, 102
Mardie (nanny to Victoria) 278, 281–2, 300
Margaret, Princess, Countess of Snowdon 318
Martin (gardener at Faringdon) 358
Mary Chess Company 201
Mary, Queen 12
Matisse, Henri 96, 150, 231
Maugham, Syrie 12, 84
Messel, Oliver 42, 108, 113, 124
Meyrick, Mrs Kate Nason 68–70
Meyrick, Kathleen 68–70, 156
Mills, John 246
Mimis, Mr (Greek landlord) 346
Minton, John 281, 296
Mitford, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire (b. 1920) 97, 117, 120, 376–7
Mitford, Diana see Mosley, Diana
Mitford, Jessica ‘Decca’ (1917–1996)
told of Passing Fancy’s fall in the Grand National 97
dedicated to Communism 117, 120, 124
comment on the London season 176
Mitford, Nancy (1904–1973) 245
description of Faringdon 29, 84
comment on primogeniture 58
as Nancy the Novelist 117
brief flirtation with Fascism 124
comment on the Evelyns 169
friendship with ‘She-Evelyn’ 170
engagement to Hamish St Clair Erskine 179
as a dandy 181
friendship with the Harrods 204
Foreign Office asks her opinion on her sister
Diana 221
as frequent visitor to Faringdon 226
wartime work 226
comment on children 251
comment on Hamish St Clair Erskine winning the MC 255
involved in mischief-making concerning Hugh Cruddas 267
learns of Jennifer’s liaison with Henry Yorke 276–7
comment on Gerald’s health 282
comment on the 1960s 319
writes letter of possible condolence to Jennifer 380
The Pursuit of Love 5, 13, 84, 133, 204, 269, 311
Wigs on the Green 125
Mitford, Pamela (1907–1994) 117, 122, 254, 257
Mitford sisters 2, 102, 116, 156, 186, 269
Mitford, Tom 226
Mitford, Unity (1914–1948) 117, 119, 120, 123
Monsell, Joan Eyres 203, 203n
Moore, George 127
Morris, Mr (head gardener at Faringdon) 87, 198, 216, 252
Mosley, Diana Mitford (1910–2003) 71
marries Bryan Guinness 116–17
falls in love with (and marries) Oswald Mosley 117, 118–20
friendship with Gerald 117–18, 122, 124–5, 220–22, 267
rejected and ostracised by many 117
obsession with Hitler 119–20, 123–4, 321
description of 120
appalled with Wigs on the Green by Nancy 124–5
comment on Daisy Fellowes 146
comment on Gerald’s wartime anxieties 191
appears in Gerald’s dreams 194
imprisoned under Defence Regulation 18B 220–22
leaves Holloway prison 257
as regular visitor to Faringdon 257, 321
comment on Waugh’s praying for Gerald 271
comments on Gerald’s health 282, 284
attends Gerald’s funeral 286
Mosley, Oswald (1896–1980)
falls in love with (and marries) Diana Mitford 117 118–20
variety of people attracted to his New Party 118–19
holds Blackshirts’ rally in Olympia stadium 121–3
drops the word ‘Fascist’ but continues anti-Semitic
stance 123
briefly supported by Nancy Mitford and satirised
by her 124–5
holds rally in Earls Court 186
joins his wife in prison 222
released from prison 257
Moti (horse owned by Penelope Betjeman) 93–4
Muggeridge, Malcolm 233
Mussolini, Benito 42, 118, 123
Nash, Paul 136, 205
National Hunt (Cheltenham, 1934) 98
National Trust 225
Nazis 124
Nelson, Mrs Dora (Gerald’s cook) 88–9
Newick, Jeremy 326, 327, 329, 343
Nicholas Nickleby (film, 1947) 268
Nichols, Beverley 25–6, 127, 147, 266
Nicolson, Harold (1886–1968)
as junior diplomat 27, 32
description of Gerald 32–8
as puffed-up character in story by Berners 32
‘mis-hears’ Lord Beauchamp’s words to his butler 101
seduced by Fascism 118
friendship with Gerald 125, 133
teased endlessly by Gerald 130, 211
contemplates German victory 191
fearful of ‘being buried under masonry’ 202
provides rationed paper for new Horizon magazine 205
hit by umbrella wielded by Dottie Wellesley 220
as visitor to Faringdon 224
Nifty (whippet) 370
Niven, David (1910–1983)
comment on Jennifer Fry 8
joins the Army Film Unit 246
marries Primula Rollo 246
shares memories with Robert 246–7
as visitor to Faringdon 246
description of 247–8
visits Jennifer and Billa at Oare House 263
gives farewell party at Claridge’s 273
goes to America 273–4
death of his wife Prim 274
Niven, David Jr 246, 263
Niven, Jamie 273
Niven, Primula Rollo (1918–1946)
education 172–3
friendship with Jennifer 172, 178
as visitor to Faringdon 185
marries David Niven 246, 248
as godparent to baby Victoria 253
visits Jennifer and Billa at Oare House 263
gives birth to Jamie 273
death of 274
Nuremberg rally 119
Oare House (Wiltshire) 162–4, 170, 181, 200, 201, 244, 260, 262, 296, 306
Obolensky, Prince Sergei 140
Observer 295
Olivier, Laurence 246
Olympia rally (1934) 121–3
Olympic Games (Munich, 1936) 119
Orwell, George 66, 205
Oxford (city) 200–201, 202–3, 209
St Giles’ 192–3, 209, 216
Randolph Hotel 205
Radcliffe Hospital 210, 216
Oxford Mail 132
Oxford Playhouse 234
Oxford Repertory Players 234–5
Oxford set 67
Oxford Times 235
Oxford University 182–3, 188, 214
Paget, Lady Caroline 292
Pansy Lamb (golden retriever) 108
Papadimitriou, Anna 374, 387
Papadimitriou, Lara 375, 384, 387
Papadimitriou, Vassilis 372–4, 384–8
Pargeter, Don (groundsman at Faringdon) 347, 364, 386
Partridge, Frances 254
Passing Fancy (horse) 97, 185
Peggy (Ward), Countess of Munster 310–11
Percy, William de 51
Peter (homosexual friend of Jennifer Fry) 180
Petty-Fitzmaurice, Charles, 7th Marquess of
Lansdowne 377, 379
Petty-Fitzmaurice, Edward Norman 376–80, 383
Petty-Fitzmaurice, Elizabeth 377, 379
Petty-Fitzmaurice, Henry, 6th Marquess of
Lansdowne 376
Petty-Fitzmaurice, Kitty, Baroness Nairne 377, 379
Piaf, Edith 202
Picasso, Pablo 37, 45, 150, 151
Pink Pigeons Trust 393
Polignac, Winnaretta ‘Winnie’ Singer, Princess de (d. 1943)
description of 44
falls in love with Violet Trefusis 44–5
friendship with Gerald 44–5, 125, 136, 209
leaves Sibyl Colefax’s with Rubinstein 128
Daisy Fellowes as niece of 144, 244
as visitor to Faringdon 155–6, 379
as grand old lady 222–3
spends wartime in London 222
death of 223
Port Lympne (Kent) 43
Porter, Cole 44
Powell, Anthony 183, 190
A Dance to the Music of Time 263
Prieto, Gregorio 213
Proll, Rosa (d. 2010)
description of 3–4, 311, 312–13
takes charge of Faringdon 4, 310, 327–8, 343
culinary talents 310–12, 341, 353, 356, 362, 364
sympathetic towards the Führer 311
devotion to Robert 312
dislikes Hugh Cruddas 312
refuses to give Mr Abel milk 313–14
tries on Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond ring 313
owns a Jack Russell known as a ‘silent biter’ 316
avoids Robert’s young men 317
dislikes Jonathan Burnham 338
objects to Robert’s marriage and leaves Faringdon 341–2
returns to Faringdon when Coote leaves 342
sadness at death of Robert 347
stays on at Faringdon after Robert’s death 347
guides Sofka around Faringdon 349–51
loyalty to Sofka 352–3
becomes increasingly unbalanced 356, 360–63
moves to house in Faringdon town 363–4
death of 388–9
Proust, Marcel 67, 168, 224, 231, 263
Public Order Act (1937) 123
Pye, Henry James 82–3, 353
Quennell, Glur 240, 263
Quennell, Peter 182, 232, 240, 263, 324
Rattigan, Terence 127, 127n
Ravel, Maurice 44
Ravilious, Eric 92, 136, 172, 230, 296
Ray, Man 34, 143
Redesdale, David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron 116
Rentoul, Sir Gervais 122
Rich, Mr (accountant) 315, 351
Robert Heber-Percy Will Trust 368
Rodd, Lilias ‘Lady Rude’ 34
Rodd, Sir Rennell 34
Rollo, Primula see Niven, Primula
Rome 32–5, 39, 47, 117–18, 127, 133, 140, 385–7
Rose, Francis 45, 145, 151
Ross, Alan (1922–2001)
description of 279
education 279
wartime Naval career 279–80
immediate post-war occupations 280
marries Jennifer 280–81
as part of London’s literary life 280
dismisses Mardie 281
loves being a stepfather to Jennifer 281
birth of his son Jonathan 295
failure of his marriage to Jennifer 295–9, 336
literary endeavours 295
love affairs 296–8
suffers severe depression 298–9
attends Victoria’s wedding 304
Ross, Jennifer see Heber-Percy, Jennifer
Ross, Jonathan (b. 1953) 295, 374
Rosslyn, Earl of 179
Rothermere, Lord 39, 118
Rowse, A. L. 78, 217, 234
Roxburgh, J. F. 60–61, 247
Rubinstein, Arthur 44, 128
Russian Revolution (1917) 36
Sackville-West, Vita (1892–1962)
relationship with Violet Trefusis 44
as country-dweller 92
bisexual 101
fictionalised by Virginia Woolf in Orlando 126
called ‘Rye Vita’ by Gerald 130
relationship with Dorothy Wellesley 133
attends Miss Wolff’s Girls’ School 167
contemplates German victory 191
at wartime poetry reading in Bond Street 220
St Clare’s 302
Salvin, Anthony 52
Salzburg 78
Sargent, Malcolm 155
Sassoon, Sir Philip 43
Sassoon, Siegfried (1886–1967)
descriptions of Gerald 13, 17
description of stay at Faringdon and its inhabitants 48
Satie, Erik 44
Saudi Arabia 188, 189, 195–200
Scharrer, Irene 234
Schiaparelli, Elsa 143–4, 272
Scott, Sir Walter 82–3
Second World War 190–91, 201–3, 222–5, 260–61
Sellers, Peter 356
Shell County Guides 92, 136
Shury, Fred 185, 215, 216, 237, 238
Shury, Mrs 300
Sickert, Walter 161, 205
Sisley, Alfred 96
Sissinghurst Castle 133
Sitwell, Edith (1887–1964) 82, 148, 149, 181, 220, 224
Façade 149
Sitwell family 2, 113, 208, 226
Sitwell, Osbert (1892–1969)