Everybody Was So Young (57 page)

LOC
Archibald MacLeish papers, Library of Congress

LW Living Well Is the Best Revenge (Calvin Tomkins)

AMacL Archibald MacLeish

GCM
Gerald Clery Murphy

PFM
Patrick Francis Murphy

SWM
Sara Wiborg Murphy

ALM
Alice Lee Myers

REM
Richard Myers

DP Dorothy Parker

DaP Dawn Powell

DOS
Donald Ogden Stewart

TITN
Tender Is the Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

CT Calvin Tomkins

UTo University of Toronto Rare Book and Manuscript Library

ASW
Adeline Sherman Wiborg

FBW
Frank Wiborg

Prologue: Antibes, May 28,1926

[>] “hard and lovely . . . a remarkable experience”: F. Scott Fitzgerald,
TITN
, pp. 6–7, 18–19, 27

“I used you again and again”:
FSF
to
SWM
, 15 Aug. 1935,
HMD
.

“I hated the book”:
SWM
to CT, 26 Nov. 1961,
HMD
.

[>] “I know . . . any beauty”:
GCM
to
FSF
, 31 Dec. 1935,
PUL
.

May 28, 1926: For the precise date of these events, and for other chronological details in this chapter, I’m indebted to Michael Reynolds, specifically to his Hemingway: The American Homecoming, p. 38.

But Gerald saw . . . of the sand: GCM/CT taped interview,
HMD
.

In fact . . . not speaking to him:
FSF
to Ludlow Fowler, undated, summer 1926, PUL; Donaldson, Archibald MacLeish, p. 159.

[>] who . . . opium habit: Carr, Dos Passos, p. 203. who swathes . . . germs: Donnelly, S&G, p. 32; HMD/Noel Murphy interview,
HMD
. Sara also made the children wear white gloves for traveling.

[>] Edouard Baudoin . . . French Miami: Blume, Cote d’Azur, p. 90.

Fresh caviar . . . development: GCM/CT interview,
HMD
.

“Viking madonna”:
TITN
, p. 33.

“stage manag[ing] . . . should tell”: David Pickman interview.

“you drank” . . . that summer:
ZSF
to
FSF
, late summer/early fall 1930,
PUL
.

[>] He finds a small throw rug . . . fun: GCM/CT interviews,
HMD
.

Early in the novel . . . “Christmas tree”:
TITN
, p.34.

[>] “the golden couple”: Marian Seldes to author, 25 Jun. 1996 (postmark).

“No one has ever . . . ask me how”: AMacL, “The Art of Poetryinterview in The Tans Review, vol. 14, no. 58, p. 70.

1. “My father, of course, had wanted boys”

[>] Her father, Frank Bestow Wiborg: Information on FBW’s origins comes from interviews with HMD; from S&G, p. 123; from Charles Theodore Greve, Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens, vol. II; and from FBW’s obituary in the Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 May, 1930.

[>] the beautiful Misia Natanson: Gold and Fizdale, Misia, p. 41.

Major Hoyt Sherman: Greve, Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens; S&G.

“After an awful struggle”:
FBW
diary, 1883,
HMD
.

“My father, of course”:
SWM
, untitled, unpublished memoir,
HMD
.

The new house . . . “and remain unseen”: Details from Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Feb. 1965 (“Historic Mansion Yields To Wreckers”) and 9 Dec. 1906.

[>] They attended Miss Ely’s . . . “pale and shaken”:
SWM
, untitled, unpublished memoir,
HMD
.

At Miss Ely’s . . . in the pasture: Dachshunds and wolfhounds mentioned in Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Feb. 1965; other details from
SWM
diary for 1896.

At other times . . . King Arthur: 1896
SWM
diary,
HMD
.

“I think drawing . . . Thursdays!!!”: 9 Jan. 1896 diary,
HMD
.

[>] “It’s raining on mel”:
HMD
interview. exacting but fair: Greve, Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens, p. 819.

“kissed us all around”:
SWM
to “Aunt Helen,” 23 Jul. 1897,
HMD
.

At the palace . . . tried to help him:
SWM
, unpublished memoir: “Our Visit to the Kaiser,” 21 Feb. 1898,
HMD
.

[>] Perhaps, as her granddaughter:
HMD
interview. only two years previously . . . Boxer Rebellion: Lord, The Good Years, p. 37. the rather advanced . . . household accounting: Edmondson, Profiles in Leadership, pp. 9–10.

[>] “so harmful”:
SWM
to
GCM
, 10 Feb. 1918,
HMD
. trip started out badly: Details from
SWM
travel diary (1904),
HMD
.

[>] In 1895 Frank Wiborg . . . exponential increase in value: Description of house,
HMD
interview and Pease &Elliman real estate advertisement

[1940]. Other details, 1902, 1916, and 1930 surveyors’ maps of East Hampton, courtesy of David Goddard.

[>] sound of the surf:
HMD
interview.

“based on a community . . . New York society”: Sd’G, p. 122.

“the women all had tiny waists”: Mrs. Paul Mellon interview.

[>] “a wise old Aunt”:
SWM
to
GCM
, [Sept. 1908],
HMD
.

2. “Gerald’s besetting sin is inattention”

[>] graduated in 1875 . . . fashionable shopping venue: All information about
PFM
and Mark Cross comes from GCM’s unpublished memoirs, written in response to Douglas MacAgy’s questions and collected as the Murphy/MacAgy papers in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

GCM
birth date: Registry Department of the City of Boston; ARM’s alteration:
HMD
interview and S&G, p. 11.

“a stagnant community . . . educated mispronunciation” :
GCM
to
SSW
, 7 Jun. 1915,
HMD
.

[>] He rented premises . . . Clarence Mackay:
GCM
, Murphy/MacAgy papers. But Anna Murphy refused . . . packed and followed: S&G, p. 124.

“close relationships”:
GCM
to Esther Murphy, 1957,
HMD
.

He seemed to think . . . standing guard: GCM’s recollection, MacAgy/Murphy papers.

“some other gray-haired . . . Sweet Adeline”: Wilson, The Twenties, p. 192. Whether this was meant as a melodic tribute to Mrs. Wiborg is an unanswered question.

[>] He also possessed . . . arms of a chair: GCM/CT interview notes; Hester Pickman/
HMD
interview,
HMD
.

At Mark Cross . . . United States:
GCM
, To Be Continued . . . : The Mark Cross Story (company history of the Mark Cross Company), Mark Cross archives.

“A woman with a Cross bag . . . woman she likes least”:
PFM
, advertising copy in Mark Cross Company files.

“Give a woman . . . harvest of regrets”: Excerpts from PFM’s speeches, collected as “Wit and Humor of New York’s Famous After-Dinner Speaker,” commemorative pamphlet (unpublished),
HMD
.

“Impromptu speeches”: “Mr. Patrick F. Murphy Talks on Speechmaking,” Paris Herald, undated,
HMD
.

He evolved . . . laughter and applause:
GCM
, Murphy/MacAgy papers, “didn’t believe in being sick”:
HMD
interview.

He disdained overcoats . . . year round:
GCM
to
JDP
, 12 Sept. 1963,
UVA
.

[>] one winter afternoon . . . finished their walk: LW, p.13.

“devoted, possessive, ambitious”:
GCM
to Esther Murphy, 1957,
HMD
. When he took Fred . . . “her glove”: Noel Murphy/
HMD
interview,
HMD
.

Gerald had been attending . . . Dorothy Parker: Meade, Dorothy Parker, pp. 14–15; Sister Rita King, Order of the Sisters of Charity, interview.

[>] took him to the woodshed: LW, p. 13.

Gerald now began to spell: 1907 Mischianza (Hotchkiss yearbook). join the adults in the library . . . “interest in painting”:
GCM
, MacAgy/Murphy papers.

“rebelled and chose”:
GCM
to AMacL, 4 Sept. 1964,
LOC
.

“I will not put up . . . bilious temperament”: All quotations are from letters from
ARM
to Huber Buehler, Hotchkiss School archives.

[>] “a defect over which . . . incapable of a full one”:
GCM
to AMacL, 22 Jan. 1931,
LOC
.

On Friday evening . . . down to coincidence: Program from Mrs. Clymer’s Regrets,
HMD
.

[>] squire about with some frequency:
HMD
interviews, Richard Preston interview.

Yale Glee Club’s concert: Cincinnati Enquirer [Dec. 1905]. he told her how much:
SWM
to
GCM
, Sept. 1908,
HMD
.

[>] “helped a lot . . . Here I am!!!—H”: Postcard from Sara, Mary Hoyt, and Olga Wiborg to
GCM
, Feb. 1907,
HMD
.

“the likeness of popularity and success”:
GCM
to AMacL, 22 Jan. 1931,
LOC
.

“social light”: 1907 Mischianza (Hotchkiss yearbook).

3. “New clothes, new friends, and lots of parties”

[>] “what a job . . . lots of parties”:
SWM
untitled, unpublished memoir,
HMD
. On December 30, 1905 . . . some green liquid: Cincinnati Enquirer.

[>] “dressed to the teeth”:
SWM
untitled, unpublished memoir,
HMD
.

After a ritual unmasking . . . to her guests: Cincinnati Enquirer, 31 Dec. 1905.

[>] “the 1st real grief . . . weeping for 2 days”:
SWM
untitled, unpublished memoir,
HMD
.

“very feminine”:
ESB
interview.

“they told her not to wear”:
HMD
interview.

[>] “Palatial domicile . . . Little H. &Sara W”:
SWM
to
GCM
, 18 May 1907,
HMD
.

So it was a momentous . . . foreign secretary: “Court Circular,” The Times (London), 7 Jun. 1907.

Frank even thought . . . reelection in 1910: Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 and 7 Dec. 1909.

[>] Olga in her turn: “Young American Women Presented at Court of St. James’s,” New York Tribune, Jun. 1909. The Tribune was betraying its ignorance: the Court of St. James’s is where ambassadors present their credentials, while ladies are presented to the king or queen at the royal residence, traditionally Buckingham Palace.

“Miss Sara’s chic . . . delicate fairness”: “Is She A Lord’s Most Beautiful?” New York World, May 1911.

A favorite showstopper . . . suggestively: LW, p. 10.

Their act was so polished : “Shock for Misses Wiborg,” New York Tribune, 1 Jul. 1913.

“Our girls are so thoughtless”:
FBW
diaries, 1913,
HMD
.

Sara’s behavior . . . digestive upsets: Details from
SWM
diary, 1910–1915,
HMD
.

[>] “This is a word . . . miss out again”:
SWM
to
GCM
, Sept. 1908,
HMD
. Andover was a notion . . . instead of Yale: This is the version of events presented in S&G, p. 126.

[>] The 407 members . . . Connecticut: Yale Daily News, 16 Oct. 1909.

On his first evening . . . sauve qui peut: Details come from Yale University, History of the Class of 1912, pp. 8–9.

“a general tacit Philistinism”: LW, p. 14.

crossing the campus in riding clothes:
GCM
to CT, undated,
HMD
. finished up his freshman year . . . failure: Yale College—Scholarship Record, Gerald C. Murphy, Class of 1912, courtesy of the Registrar’s Office, Yale University.

[>] “go free of care”:
ARM
to
GCM
, [Jul. 1909],
HMD
.

“mak[ing] Fred look after”: Ibid., 20 Jun. 1909,
HMD
.

“They always appeared”: Edwin M. Woolley to CT, 26 Dec. 1961,
HMD
. Patrick and Anna took . . . European specialist:
ARM
to
GCM
, 1 Aug. 1909,
HMD
.

“the belle of the ship . . . persecutor”: Ibid., [Jun. 1909],
HMD
.

“Tess is a wonder . . . ‘genius’”:
PFM
to
GCM
, 26 Jul. 1909,
HMD
.

[>] “Your environment”: Ibid., 21 May 1909,
HMD
.

“the aesthetic side”: Yale College, History of the Class of 1912. reputation for wit . . . go more smoothly: Class rankings, Yale College, History of the Class of 1912.

Robert Gardner . . . make it correct: Robert Gardner told Sara this story in a letter after her engagement to Gerald in 1915; the undated note was enclosed in a letter from
SWM
to
GCM
, 18 Oct. 1915,
HMD
. in late November . . . “to his studies”: Report from the Office of the Dean, Yale College,
HMD
.

[>] “Come, brace up . . . office for me?”:
PFM
to
GCM
, 20 Nov. 1909,
HMD
.

“I can still see” . . . brought down the house:
GCM
, quoted in LW, pp. 15–16.

[>] Glee Club appeared at the Waldorf-Astoria: Yale Daily News, 5 Feb. 1911. Wiborg girls didn’t come . . . in the evenings:
SWM
diary, 1910–1915: 21 Feb., 22 Jun., 26–28 Jun., 28 Jul., 1–3 Aug., 23 Aug., and 31 Aug., 1911,
HMD
.

Gerald was one of the eight organizers: Yale College, History of the Class of 1912, p. 27.

“Galahad the Pure”: Robert Gardner to
SWM
, enclosed in
SWM
to
GCM
, 18 Oct. 1915,
HMD
.