Straight on Till Morning (48 page)

George Gutekunst proved to be a larger-than-life character whose love for literature and motion pictures (‘the only twentieth-century art-form') knew no bounds. No doubt it was out of concern for Beryl's finer feelings that he edited Hemingway's letter about her, for he left out the following: ‘…and sometimes making them an OK pigpen. But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers.' And later: ‘She omits some very fantastic stuff which would destroy much of the character of the heroine; but what is that anyhow in writing?'
¹³

Whatever George's motives, he was the moving force in this important chapter of Beryl's later years. A question screams to be answered. Why did Hemingway refer to her as ‘very unpleasant' and what is the fantastic stuff that would destroy the character of the heroine? Bearing in mind the fact that Hemingway knew Beryl for only a matter of weeks, whilst he was convalescing in Nairobi from his unfortunate illness, and Beryl was engaged for most of that time in scouting for Blix on the Alfred Vanderbilt safari, he must have gained his impressions mainly from gossip. Hemingway, not renowned for his own saintliness, could surely not have been referring merely to Beryl's reputation for sexual promiscuity? One of the many rumours which abound says that Beryl spurned Hemingway's sexual advances – is this perhaps the reason for his personal condemnation?

In this way, though other people had begun to take an interest in Beryl's book, it was George Gutekunst who – without any personal reward – was the prime mover in its republication. After reading Hemingway's letter he went to his local library to see if they could locate a copy of the book – now, he realized, long out of print.

The librarian searched with the help of a computer and found that one copy of the book did exist within the Marin County library system, but it was lodged in an out-of-town location. Gutekunst immediately jumped into his car and drove to the library in question. He found that the book had been issued only seven times since 1942.

Taking a day off from running his sea-front restaurant, Ondines, at Sausalito, which is a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Gutekunst settled down to read. He sat down at noon with a drink by his side and didn't rise from his chair until he finished reading the book. The next day he read it again just to make sure that his enthusiasm hadn't been misplaced. On the second reading he knew he had rediscovered a literary gem.
¹⁴

Over the previous half-decade there had been occasional perfunctory interest shown in Beryl's book by friends and others who had contacts in the publishing world. Pamela Scott had included it in a list of books recommended for republishing that she sent to a young relative embarking on a publishing career. Petal Allen, daughter of Sir Derek Erskine, had also taken an interest. And during these years Beryl found herself an object of interest from several writers. In particular two women writers, working independently on the biographies of Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton, interviewed Beryl and asked for her recollections about the two lovers. One of them who visited Beryl on a number of occasions read Beryl's book as part of her research programme and was particularly intrigued by it. She suggested to Beryl that something should be done with the property, and Beryl agreed to allow her to investigate film rights. Beryl signed a document agreeing to this course of action, which she later repudiated, claiming that she ‘had been pressurized into signing it when she was ill'.
¹⁵

When Jack took over Beryl's affairs, interest was being displayed in the film rights by another journalist, James Fox.
¹⁶
Several people were by then talking about obtaining the film rights, but Fox purchased a renewable option for a small sum, and renewed the option regularly. In a letter dated 17 September 1982 he advised Beryl that together with Mark Peploe, he had written a ‘movie treatment' and was hoping to get the project off the ground. This was the situation prevailing when George Gutekunst came on the scene in 1982 and when Beryl's book was republished.

Jack Couldrey, who already knew about the proposed resurrection of the book, saw no great income resulting from the matter, but such was Beryl's parlous financial state that ‘every little would help'. Beryl was still surviving on her annuity and on charitable donations from friends, backed up by cheques sent regularly from the Bathurst Norman family now living in England. The upkeep of her horses and her car was a constant drain on her income, but Jack realized that without these Beryl's life would be miserable indeed.
¹⁷

Somewhat to the surprise of both Beryl and Jack, the republication of
West with the Night
was received by critics in the USA with rapture. The risks that North Point Press took in publishing a book so long out of print were many, and their courage was amply repaid by the critics' reaction and subsequent sales. Beryl, interviewed in 1983 by Associated Press journalist Barry Schlachter, who was then based in Kenya, said, ‘I thought it couldn't possibly be as good as all that…but if people like it so much the better.'

The article written about Beryl by Barry Schlachter was syndicated around the world and was taken up by a surprising number of newspapers, some of whom used it as useful background to the story of the republication of
West with the Night
.

At the same time stories began to appear which cast doubt on Beryl's ability to have been the sole author of
West with the Night
. These seem to have been fuelled by telephone calls to North Point Press and
Vanity Fair
by a friend of Raoul Schumacher's, in which the caller stated that Raoul was the author, not Beryl. Following these calls the acknowledgement which Beryl had made thanking Raoul for his ‘constant help and encouragement' was seen by some as more than a mere tribute to an editor.

Precisely how much ‘help and encouragement' Beryl received from Raoul in the writing of
West with the Night
has perplexed many people, but the charge that Beryl may not have been its author is weak. It is based on three tenets:

1. In America, some friends who knew the couple say that Raoul was the writer in the family, not Beryl. ‘Beryl did not appear erudite enough to have written the book,' said one.
   ¹⁸
   ‘Raoul told me he had written the book,' said another, ‘and after Beryl and Raoul separated she never wrote another thing.'
   ¹⁹
   In March 1987 another friend of Raoul's, Scott O'Dell, made a similar claim.
   
2. Among Beryl's acquaintances in Kenya there was disdain for small inaccuracies such as the printing of the word ‘Arab' (as in Arab Ruta) when it should correctly be written
   arap
   , and there are spelling mistakes too in some of the Swahili words used in the text. With Beryl's intimate knowledge of the language and of tribal etiquette, they say, she would not have made such elementary errors.
   ²⁰
   
3. The general belief in Kenya (all part of the great ‘Beryl legend') that because of her upbringing Beryl was virtually illiterate. This appears to be supported by Mansfeld Markham's statement to his nephew that ‘Beryl was almost illiterate, and that the only thing she could understand was signing her name on a cheque'.
   ²¹
   

The few surviving manuscript pages for
West with the Night
consist of typewritten foolscap sheets with handwritten editing amendments which have been identified as Raoul's (compared with a known sample on the flyleaf of a book in which he wrote a message).
²²
In addition there is clear evidence that he advised on the book's content, for there is one page of manuscript among Beryl's papers, on which Raoul's handwritten comments appear scrawled across the page: ‘School at Nairobi. Balmy story. Cut school at Nairobi.' Balmy was the name of one of Clutterbuck's thoroughbreds and there is an anecdote about her in
West with the Night
.

But this proof of editing by Raoul, which some see as evidence that Beryl might not have been the sole author of the book, surely proved
only
that he acted as editor. Indeed his editing may have been responsible for the minor errors such as the title
arap
appearing as Arab. Together with the Americanization of Beryl's anglicized spelling, such changes could well have been standard editorial corrections (by either Raoul or Lee Barker – Houghton Mifflin's commissioning editor) for a work aimed primarily at an American readership.

The incorrect spelling of Swahili words has an obvious explanation. In all cases they are written as Beryl pronounced them. She had learned the language as a child from her African friends but had probably never given much thought to the spelling. Neither Raoul nor anyone at Houghton Mifflin would have known either way.

In his letter to
Vanity Fair
, and in two subsequent telephone conversations with me, Scott O'Dell claimed that after he introduced Beryl and Raoul ‘they disappeared and surfaced four months later', when Raoul told him that Beryl had written a memoir and asked what they should do with it. This is at odds with the surviving correspondence and other archived material which proves that the book was in production from early 1941 to January 1942, and that almost from the start Beryl was in contact with Lee Barker of Houghton Mifflin.

When Raoul told his friend that it was he who had written the book, could the explanation not be that he was embittered by his own inability to write without Beryl's inspiration? That he exaggerated his editorial assistance into authorship to cover his own lack of words as a writer?

From the series of letters between Beryl and Houghton Mifflin, it is clear that Beryl had sent regular batches of work to the publishers from Nassau before Raoul came into the picture. As explained earlier. Dr Warren Austin lived in the Bahamas from 1942 to 1944, was physician to HRH the Duke of Windsor and became friends with Major Gray Phillips. Subsequently Dr Austin lived for a while with Beryl and Raoul whilst he was looking for a house in Santa Barbara. The two often discussed their mutual connections in Raoul's presence. Dr Austin is certain that Raoul had never visited the Bahamas, reasoning that it would certainly have been mentioned during these conversations if he had.
²³
This speaks for itself. If Raoul was not even present when such a significant quantity of work was produced, then that part – at the very least – must have been written by Beryl.

My opinion is that Beryl's acknowledgement of Raoul's help was probably no more than a generous gesture to the man who without any question was responsible for editing the manuscript, and for valued advice regarding content and format. More important, by the time the book was completed he had become her supporter and lover, and it is not beyond credibility that her tribute served a dual purpose, embodying also a public acknowledgement of her love for him.

The argument that Beryl was virtually illiterate because of her upbringing is the weakest of all. She was clearly not illiterate. Her letters reveal a simple elegance in phrasing, her spelling (English) is faultless and she could also type well.
²⁴
From the time of her relationship with Finch Hatton she had consciously directed her mind to educating herself, and her permanent collection of books (which I saw when I visited Beryl in 1986) reveals a wide-ranging literary taste.
²⁵
She was able to acquire a commercial pilot's licence by passing an examination which required considerable mathematical knowledge, and her ability to plot complex navigational courses is beyond question. But is it necessary to labour the point? Has not this controversy already been given more exposure than is warranted by the flimsy evidence?

If Beryl had a problem it was not one of literacy, but a lack of confidence in her own ability. Saint-Exupéry encouraged Beryl to start the book, and Raoul gave her the confidence to complete it.

Conversely, there is no evidence whatsoever that Raoul had the literary ability to produce
West with the Night
. Indeed it is highly unlikely that the man who wrote ‘The Whip Hand' was ever capable of writing in such a stylish manner. That he acted as the book's primary editor is not questioned, and in this respect he was masterful. But a good editor is not necessarily a good writer and the only works ever published under his name were three short stories, the style of which is totally different, and arguably inferior to
West with the Night
and to Beryl's other autobiographical works. It is however very similar to the style of all but one of the fictional works published in Beryl's name and this is almost certainly the truth behind his statement to friends that he was a ghost writer, for there is no evidence of such activity except for the work he did with Beryl. He is not listed in any of the usual sources as having a known pseudonym. His own description of his literary career consists of a sentence in a weekly magazine interview, where he told a journalist that between 1940 and 1945 he ‘wrote short stories and doctored other people's books'.
²⁶
Though several of his friends told me they thought Raoul wrote under a pen-name none knew what it might have been. Scott O'Dell said he thought it might have been a woman's name but even Schumacher's New York literary agents (MacIntosh and Otis) had no knowledge of this.

The American writer Kay Boyle is on record as stating that
West with the Night
is too detailed and too impassioned to have been written at second hand.
²⁷
I agree with this opinion, and find no difficulty in believing that Beryl Markham wrote her book with no more help than any other author receives from an editor.