Discovering the real King’s Speech

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‘Let me just ask, who here has seen the film The King’s Speech?’

We look around and see a show of hands bar two – shame on them.

‘And who has read the book The King’s Speech?’

We sheepishly look into our laps, not one hand is raised – shame on us.

‘Ah well luckily, we have a table over there full of them, ready for you to purchase…’ jokes Peter Conradi, co-author of the book The King’s Speech, which is the subject of our talk tonight.

We’re seated in the beautiful River Suite in the Montague on the Gardens Hotel, Bloomsbury, wine in hand, ready to hear the true story behind the film that caught the public’s imagination this year, winning an abundance of awards. There was of course much more to the story about the extraordinary friendship of King George VI and Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helped him to overcome the stammer which had been a source of great turmoil throughout his life.

Joining Peter is Mark Logue, the grandson of Lionel, whose search to find the truth of his grandfather’s incredible story has led him to make public one the most fascinating stories in recent history.

They begin by telling us the background behind the writer of the screenplay, David Seidler’s ambition to write a fictionalised account of a story which had captured his imagination ever since he was a young boy.  Seidler himself had battled with a stammer, and was inspired by listening to King George’s speeches on the wireless during the Second World War.

He carried this affection with him for many years, until he decided write a play about the subject. Naturally he thought it best to contact the Royal family about his project, as he did not want to cause any offence or upset. He was right to do so, as the Queen Mother came back with the response: ‘Please not in my lifetime. The memories of these events are still too painful’.

Wanting to respect the Queen Mother’s wishes, the play was not written for many years. Valentine Logue, Lionel’s son whom Seidler had originally contacted had sadly passed away in this time. As Seidler had now written a film script for the project, the producers came to get in touch with Mark who still had his grandfather’s diary and collections of letters of correspondence between Logue and the King. It was through this that he began to research into his grandfather’s extraordinary life, and how he came to move from Australia to England and in just two years became the King’s speech therapist.

The book is not only an account of the two men’s professional life together, it is also a tale of a dear friendship which lasted over twenty years, which is not made as apparent in the film. The book is littered with snippets of letters of correspondence between the two, of the King thanking Logue for his help with his speech and friendship, and a fascinating insight of royal life from an outsider’s point of view. For example Mark’s tells us of a diary entry of Logue’s where, during the war years, he had Christmas dinner with the Royal family.

Whilst what we see in the film is largely from the imagination of Seidler (sadly the King did not shout out expletives, although Colin Firth does it so brilliantly) there were strangely some scenes which he spookily got right. The scene for example where Lionel and his children recite Shakespeare was something that Mark remembers doing with his own Father. Seidler had no way of knowing this, but amazingly it was a chance imagining that was spot on.

It is apparent that not only do Mark and Peter work well as a creative team, they also bounce off each other and they have a fascinating repertoire when talking about this subject, which they are both clearly passionate about. After the talk they kindly signed books for our members, and then we spent the course of our delicious dinner mulling over the incredible story we had just heard.

King George VI was thrust into a role he did not want to take, but as Mark and Peter’s book shows he had a good friend to guide him and stand with him whilst he addressed the nation and supported them through a dark period in history. It is such a pleasure that this old friendship has been brought to light again so we can learn more about this extraordinary story.

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‘The pen is mightier than the sword…’

It’s 11am on a Sunday morning in August, and we gather in the Grand Reception Hall of Knebworth House in Hertfordshire for our exclusive tour by the current owner and occupant, the Hon Henry Lytton Cobbold, who will be taking us on a walk through 500 years of Lytton family history.

 Today we are focusing on the writer and politician, Edward Bulwer Lytton who lovingly made Knebworth House his gothic ancestral home. Still need to be enlightened? Well the name does not exactly jump off the page in the way his contemporaries, Dickens and Tennyson do. Yet in his day Edward (The First Baron Lytton) was a celebrated novelist and playwright. He will be better remembered for the quote ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ and the famous opening line ‘It was a dark and stormy night’, than for his novel The Last Days of Pompeii.

 Let’s face it none of us knew quite what to expect. We knew the rooms at Knebworth House would be grand and glorious, and there are two dedicated to Bulwer Lytton’s life and works. Meeting the Hon. Henry Lytton Cobbold was a surprise. In spite of the title, haughty good looks and aristocratic manner, he hasn’t lost the common touch. Far from it – he was interesting, funny and we could have almost gone without Sunday lunch if our tummies hadn’t complained.

 We were spellbound as he regaled us with entertaining anecdotes about his ancestors- life as it was certainly had its moments of humour. It was interesting to learn that Edward’s good friend, Charles Dickens, turned the grand Banqueting Hall into a theatre for he and his fellow amateur actors and that this same room was used for filming in the recent film ‘The King’s Speech’. The two hours flew by and he seemed to enjoy it as much as we did! Our tour ended with a delicious three-course lunch accompanied by wine which the chef had prepared especially for us.

“I’ve taken my fun where I’ve found it – Kipling’s life and verse.’

What link could there possible be between the author, poet, short-story-teller and friend of royalty, Rudyard Kipling, and the splendid Royal Horse Guards Hotel in Whitehall? Well more than you think. It is a military hotel and Kipling was a man of the empire with a taste for all things military. More importantly, it is just a stone’s throw from Villiers St where the young author took rooms towards the end of the 19^th century.

All that remains of that fine old house is a plaque to his memory Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936.  Not a great deal is known about Kipling’s time in Villier’s Street, which lies close to the Thames embankment. It was towards the last decade of the nineteen-century that his formidable literary talent was just beginning to be recognised.

That is why we find ourselves having traditional afternoon tea in the sumptuous Chelsea Suite of this Whitehall hotel on a sunny Sunday afternoon in July with its private terrace and gardens, overlooking the river. Tea is served on three tiered china platters. We gorged ourselves on every variety sandwich, scones, cakes and constant refills of tea prior to the presentation of Kipling by actor Colin Pinney.

We move to the adjoining room where the red padded seats are laid out theatre style in anticipation of Pinney’s performance. He was not to disappoint. A Kipling look alike, with inimitable moustache and glasses. A convincing performance, Pinney takes us through the author’s life and verse going into character at intervals. He delivered passages from works such as The Jungle Book, Puck of Pucks Hill and the Just So Stories, which throw light on Kipling’s amazing ability to identify with children. On a sadder note he brought in how his son Jack was killed during his first day of action, at the Battle of Loos in 1915. As Kipling pulled strings to get Jack into the army in spite of his bad eyesight, the author never got over it, as was reflected in his later writing.

The show couldn’t possibly finish without alluding to his greatest poem If, which held us spellbound from beginning to end. Feeling uplifted, with the inspirational words of If still ringing in our ears, we step out into the early evening sun, Villiers Street is no more, but Kipling and his works live on.

Austen’s Women – A dream fulfilled, June 12th 2011

Here, at The Living Literature Society, we make every effort to ensure that each of our events has a uniqueness and that little something special that you might not necessarily find anywhere else.  Obviously, we don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but we’d like to think that our last event truly had a little bit of this… we’ll stop bragging now.

Actress Rebecca Vaughan, has toured extensively with her one-woman show ‘Austen’s Women’ but until tonight had never had the opportunity to perform it at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, the home where many of these creations were born and evolved. As Rebecca says herself, “It’s such a privilege to produce and present a play about Jane Austen in the very home where she lived and wrote her greatest works – it’s the icing on the cake.” Adapted by Rebecca from the famous author’s words, it tells the plight of thirteen of the female characters in Jane Austen’s novels, and their role in society and attitude toward their sex in the regency era.

Having put a lot of effort into the event, unfortunately there was one detail we couldn’t fix as it turned out that Mother Nature was obviously having a rough day, so we weren’t far off actually sailing to Chawton. However despite the rain, the garden party turned into a ‘historic kitchen’ party, and a bit of squeezing and lots of ‘excuse me’s’ we all got to know each other a little better. Along with lots of delicious canapés and wine – it all turned out to be rather cosy!

After the drinks reception, we were invited to have a look around the house itself.  It’s a beautiful cottage, crammed full of artefacts from Austen’s time there, with embroidery, drawings and books to name but a few.  One of the many highlights included her writing table and a gorgeous quilt which was made by Jane and her mother and sister. There is also modern memorabilia, such as costumes from the many film and television adaptations that have been made over the years. Unfortunately not Colin Firth’s white shirt (swoon), but a lovely dress worn by Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility, and a bonnet worn by Emma Thompson in the same film. It’s amazing to think that so many of her famous characters were brought to life in this humble cottage in the heart of Hampshire.

We soon gathered for the performance. As we took our seats, we noticed a woman poised at her dresser writing. Her hair curled and clad in 18^th century dress, all of a sudden she addressed the audience. ‘Austen’s Women’ had begun. Playing a range of characters in age, class and personality, she inhabited each role with such enthusiasm, humour and gusto; it was a joy to watch.

After the performance we headed off to The Greyfriars, across the road from the house for some well-deserved food – they certainly did us proud!

It was truly a unique experience to see such famous characters such as Lizzie Bennett and Marianne Dashwood come alive in the place where they were created, and that their opinions and views are still so relevant to women today. It allowed us to get to know our favourites, as well as rediscover those who might have not received the recognition they deserve. One step closer to becoming Janeites…

Forster Country and Howard’s End Revisited

We gathered in the gardens in front of Rook’s Nest House, the house on which author EM Forster based his novel Howard’s End, and where he spent his beloved childhood years from four to fourteen. We were privileged to be invited by the owner Ann Newman, as this literary gem is not open to the public.  He is also the author the equally acclaimed Room with a View, Where Angels Fear to Tread and Passage to India.

It was one of those classic British ‘summer’ days where ominous grey clouds seem to hang around, ready to burst any second until suddenly they change their mind, and the sun peeks through as if it has been hiding there all along. We were about to discover the beating heart of Forster country that captivated and inspired the author in the way the Lake District stayed with Wordsworth forever.

Practically hidden from view from passers by, the charming, rosy-bricked house with dormer windows nestles in between the manicured lawns of the large garden and a tall natural screen of evergreens and shrubs. It is easy to see why Forster loved his time here at Howards End in his favourite county of Hertfordshire. As he said ‘I was brought up as a boy in a district which I still think the loveliest in England…hedges full of clematis, primroses, bluebells, dog roses and nuts.’

Our afternoon walk with historian Margaret Ashby retraced the young author’s footsteps. Past the white building of Rook’s Nest Farm where the spooky Miss Avery (from the book) lived, we saw the garden where he grew poppies as a child, then on to the church and cemetery on which Howards End is based. Margaret pointed out all the places Forster knew and loved and where they appear in the book.  When the Forsters moved, they sold the house to long-standing family friends called the Postons, who were the models for the Wilcox family in Howards End. Elizabeth Poston, the late composer and Forster became life-long friends.

A member with the plaque dedicated to composer Elizabeth Poston

The beautiful church of St Nicholas which Forster describes in his book

From the churchyard, we ambled through the narrow lanes and fields retracing the paths Forster walked as a young child. We finally find ourselves standing in front of the modern sculpture ‘Only Connect’ taken from the subtitle of Howard’s End, which commemorates The Friends of the Forster Country’s work- 1994 was the year when Forster Country was first taken into the Green Belt.

Forster enthusiast, Helena discovers the modern sculpture 'Only Connect'

Margaret, author of Forster Country and co-founder of TFFC has spent years learning about the goings on at Rook’s Nest and also campaigning to keep the countryside around it as beautiful as it was in Forster’s time.

Back at the house, in true garden party style, was a sumptuous spread of wine and canapés and lots of talk about Forster and the best bits of the walk. Still immersed in the writer’s life, we gather in the Fosters’ former living room (now Ann Newman’s comfortable lounge) for the presentation, which included many anecdotes and some great pictures of the house and the family. One intriguing story about Forster’s early years at Rook’s Nest House: for instance, how as a four-year old, he nearly fell from the top of the house to the bottom through the meat smoking chimney. A lucky escape for our budding writer!

Ann had also laid out some memorabilia that had been left to the house by Forster himself and other enthusiasts. These included a dress that Forster wore as a young child, some of his building blocks and a Japanese copy of Howard’s End, which some tourists had donated to the house.

A memorable day and such a privilege to have explored the very house and countryside that inspired EM Forster to write his novel, Howards End.

Members retrace Forster's footsteps