People, Places, Things

Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
LIGHT......Page 36
Modern Lighting......Page 37
The 1938 Academy: An Unprofessional View......Page 39
Christmas at Bowen's Court......Page 43
The Light in the Dark......Page 48
Ecstasy of the Eye......Page 51
New Waves of the Future......Page 53
PLACES......Page 58
Britain in Autumn......Page 59
By the Unapproachable Sea......Page 67
Foreword to The Cinque Ports......Page 70
The Idea of France......Page 72
Paris Peace Conference: 1946. An Impression......Page 77
Paris Peace Conference – Some Impressions 1......Page 82
Paris Peace Conference – Some Impressions 2......Page 85
Paris Peace Conference – Some Impreesions 3......Page 89
Prague and the Crisis......Page 92
Hungary......Page 96
Without Coffee, Cigarettes, or Feeling......Page 103
Regent's Park and St. John's Wood......Page 111
New York Waiting in My Memory......Page 116
PEOPLE......Page 122
Miss Willis......Page 123
Paul Morand......Page 125
Mainie Jellett......Page 126
Foreword to Olive Willis and Downe House......Page 132
HOUSES......Page 138
The Christmas Toast is “Home!”......Page 139
Opening up the House......Page 142
Home for Christmas......Page 146
Bowen's Court......Page 151
IRELAND......Page 162
Letter from Ireland......Page 163
Ireland Makes Irish......Page 166
How They Live in Ireland: Conquest by Cheque-Book......Page 172
Ireland......Page 175
Introduction to The House by the Church-yard......Page 180
THINGS......Page 188
Toys......Page 189
Calico Windows......Page 193
Introduction to The ABC of Millinery......Page 197
The Teakettle......Page 200
On Giving a Present......Page 204
The Art of Giving......Page 208
Mirrors Are Magic......Page 212
WRITERS AND THEIR BOOKS......Page 218
Jane Austen......Page 219
Introduction to Pride and Prejudice......Page 228
What Jane Austen Means to Me......Page 236
Persuasion......Page 241
Introduction to No One to Blame......Page 246
James Joyce......Page 250
New Writers......Page 259
Guy de Maupassant......Page 260
Foreword to Tomato Cain and Other Stories......Page 261
Foreword to Haven: Short Stories, Poems and Aphorisms......Page 264
Introduction to The Stories of William Sansom......Page 268
A Matter of Inspiration......Page 274
Introduction to An Angela Thirkell Omnibus......Page 279
A Passage to E. M. Forster......Page 283
Introduction to Staying with Relations......Page 295
FAIRY TALES......Page 300
Comeback of Goldilocks et al.......Page 301
Introduction to The King of the Golden River......Page 306
Enchanted Centenary of the Brothers Grimm......Page 308
ON WRITING......Page 316
What We Need in Writing......Page 317
The Short Story in England......Page 321
Introduction to Chance......Page 326
Introduction to The Observer Prize Stories......Page 329
English Fiction at Mid-Century......Page 332
Rx for a Story Worth the Telling......Page 336
Preface to Critics Who Have Influenced Taste......Page 340
AGE......Page 346
Modern Girlhood......Page 347
Teenagers......Page 353
Mental Annuity......Page 356
The Case for Summer Romance......Page 361
The Beauty of Being Your Age......Page 366
Was It an Art?......Page 369
WOMEN......Page 376
An Enormous Channel of Expectation......Page 377
Enemies of Charm in Women, in Men......Page 380
Woman's Place in the Affairs of Man......Page 388
Outrageous Ladies......Page 390
VARIOUS ARTS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS......Page 396
A Way of Life......Page 397
The Forgotten Art of Living......Page 402
The Art of Respecting Boundaries......Page 408
The Virtue of Optimism......Page 412
Disappointment 1......Page 415
Disappointment 2......Page 421
How to Be Yourself – But Not Eccentric......Page 423
The Thread of Dreams......Page 427
Notes......Page 429
Works Cited......Page 476