Read The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother, and Me Online
Authors: Sofka Zinovieff
Brooke, Jocelyn 271
Bryars, Gavin 38
Buckland House (Oxfordshire) 83
Budberg, Baroness Moura 144
Burgess, Guy 232
Burnham, Jonathan 337–8
Burton, Richard 313
Burton, Robert, The Anatomy of Melancholy 209
Buscot Park (Oxfordshire) 121, 291, 317
Byrne, John 114–15
Byron, Robert 169, 183
Cadogan, Lady Primrose 308, 322–3
Callas, Maria 299
Canning, Bob, Faringdon Follies 394
Capri, Agnès 202
Caresser, Lord (Trinidadian singer – Rufus Callender) 202
Carter, Howard 158
Casati, Marchesa Luisa (1881–1957)
descriptions of 34, 48–9, 223
friendship with Gerald 34, 222
keeps a python and other exotic animals 35, 49, 222
accepted by Gerald’s mother 48–9
as owner of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice 112
depicted in a mural at Buscot Park 121
visits the zoo with Dalí 138
appears in Gerald’s dreams 194
attracts new, younger set of admirers 222
lives in reduced circumstances in London 222
Casella, Alfredo 38, 40
Castlerosse, Doris Delavigne, Viscountess (1901–1942)
description of 108–9
seduces Cecil Beaton 108–11
friendship with Gerald 109
as inspiration for Amanda in Private Lives 109
sexual ability 109, 110–11
lesbian tendencies 111–12
as ‘Vivian Dorrick’ in The Girls of Radclyff Hall 113
moves into the Dorchester 224–5
commits suicide 225
sexually involved with Robert 240
considered a courtesan by Coote Lygon 354
Castlerosse, Lord Valentine 111, 224–5
Cavalcanti, Alberto 256, 268
Cavendish, Lady Elizabeth 324
Cecil, Lord David 206, 209, 210, 272
Cecil, Rachel 206, 210, 272
Cézanne, Paul 150
Champagne Charlie (film, 1944) 256
Charlton, Tessa 368
Château Résenlieu (Normandy) 27
Cheam prep school (Hampshire) 23, 26
Chesterian music journal 38
Chetwode, Philip, 1st Baron Chetwode 90
Churchill, Clarissa see Eden, Clarissa
Churchill, Clementine 213
Churchill, Pamela Digby 224
Churchill, Randolph 224
Churchill, Winston 144, 206, 213, 223, 224
Clark, Kenneth 190
Clayton Manor (Sussex) 295, 296, 298, 306, 358–9
Clifford, Dorothy Meyrick, Lady de 69
Clyde, Lady Elizabeth Wellesley 236
Cocteau, Jean 37, 45, 67, 74, 143, 202
Cold Blow House (Wiltshire) 172
Colefax and Fowler 127
Colefax, Lady Sybil ‘the Coal Box’ (1874–1950) as society hostess 125
Harold Nicolson’s comment on 126
as easy target for teasing 127, 128, 129
inspiration for various writers of fiction 128
near-calamitous party evening with Edward and Mrs Simpson 128
lives at the Dorchester during the war 223–4
as character in Gerald’s play The Furies 234
Compton Beauchamp House (Oxfordshire) 144, 244
Connolly, Cressida 182, 297, 298, 336, 359
Connolly, Cyril (1903–1974)
comment on post-war generation 63
comment on homosexual trail-blazers 67
co-founder of Horizon magazine 107, 205–6
as regular visitor to Faringdon 156, 224, 272, 283
at Oxford 182–3
continues to gossip at the Cavendish 182
friendship with Jennifer Fry 182, 255, 275
significant friendships 182–3
friendship with Gerald and Robert 183–4, 324
comment on Bowra the boarer 190
considers suicide in wartime 191
friendship with the Harrods 204
comment on Peter Watson 205
friendship with the Cecil’s 206
at the Gargoyle Club 232
falls in love with Lys Lubbock 232–3
compared to Eno’s liver salts by Gerald 258
deeply gloomy about post-war England 267
comments on death 274
enjoys ‘masterminding’ couples 280
vulnerability of 280
writes jokey thank-you letter to Gerald 283–4
his stepson’s involvement with Victoria Zinovieff 358
death of 359
Unquiet Grave 233
Connolly, Lys 255, 272, 283
Connolly, Matthew 297, 298
Constance, Aunt 19
Constantinople 31–2
Cooper, Diana 176, 244, 321
Cooper, Duff 244, 292
Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Camille 96
Country Life 162
Coward, Noël (1899–1973)
Private Lives 109
loves Les Girls 114
charms Edward VII with some of his songs 128
as godfather to David Niven’s son 246
enjoys his visit to Faringdon 255
Cowper, William 105
Crack, Miss 350
Crack, William (chauffeur) 41–3, 122, 123, 194, 218, 286
Cranborne Chase 300–301, 304
Craven, Deirdre
friendship with Jennifer 297–8
has a fling with Alan Ross 297
marries Cyril Connolly 297, 358
Craven, Simon 358–9, 360
Craxton, John 205
Crisp, Quentin 68, 229
Crowden, Andrew 322, 348, 349
Crowley, Aleister 81
Cruddas, Hugh (1906–1993) 278
considers marriage to Juliet Heygate 265
description of 265
joins Gerald and Robert at Faringdon 265–7
relationship with Robert 265–7, 292–3, 312, 314
as butt of jokes 266–7
Waugh’s comment on 288
‘wifely’ role at Faringdon 294–5
relationship with Victoria 300
disliked by Rosa Proll 312
death of 320
Cunard family 83
Cunard, Lady Emerald (Maud Burke) (1872–1948)
as well-known society hostess 125, 126
background and description 126–7
Gerald’s comment on 126
Harold Nicolson’s comment on 127
calls Edward VIII ‘Majesty Divine’ 128
as visitor to Faringdon 155
lives at the Dorchester during the war 223–4
as character in Gerald’s play The Furies 234
death of 283
Cunard, Nancy 127, 181
Cust, Harry 380
Daily Express 88, 111, 123, 134, 290, 339
Daily Mail 118, 123, 213
Daily Mirror 118, 129
Daintrey, Adrian 84, 296
Dalí, Gala 136–9, 283
Dalí, Salvador (1904–1989) 2, 283
description of 136
onanistic fantasies 136
stays at Faringdon 136–8
gives Robert a drawing of a horse and rider 137–8
Penelope Betjeman’s comment on 137
Gerald’s poem on 138–9
attends International Surrealist Exhibition in
London 140–41
is given a moth-eaten polar bear by Edward James 140
arranges grand piano with chocolate eclairs in the
pool at Faringdon 141
diving-suit fiasco 141, 142
reaction to Lorca’s death 142
collaborates with Schiaparelli 143–4
meets many influential people 143
poems dedicated to by Gerald 205
De la Mare, Walter 220
Debussy, Claude 44
Degas, Edgar 96
Diaghilev, Sergei (1872–1929) 34, 36, 67
based in Rome 35
commissions Lambert and Gerald to compose
music for him 38–9, 147
visits Winnie in Venice 44
description of 45
Etonne moi! comment 74
as visitor to Faringdon 208
Dickinson, Peter 322, 394
Lord Berners: Composer, Writer, Painter 14
‘Dig for Victory’ campaign 216
Dimbleby, Nicholas 385
Dodd, Dorothy 50
Dr Strangelove (film, 1964) 356
Driberg, Tom 81, 121, 144, 340
Duff, Charley 292, 382
Duff, E. L. 37
Duff, Lady Juliet 12
Duff, Sir Michael (1907–1980) 70, 89
description of 11–12
as cross-dresser 12
comment on Robert at Faringdon 76–7
stays at Madresfield 102
friendship with Beaton 106
as ‘Miss MacRogers’ in The Girls of Radclyff Hall 113
as King Boris in Cecil Beaton’s book 186–7
as godparent to baby Victoria 253
war service 254
as visitor to Faringdon 291
marries Caroline Paget and adopts a baby boy 292
The Power of a Parasol 77
Ealing Studios 256, 268
Eden, Anthony 292, 299
Eden, Clarissa Churchill, Lady Avon (b. 1920) 262
description of 206
friendship with Gerald 206–7, 209, 218–19
at the heart of Oxford society 207
told that Robert is Gerald’s ‘agent’ 207–8
works for the Foreign Office 209, 218, 244
portrait by Gregorio Prieto 213
as regular visitor to Faringdon 216, 217, 218, 244, 283, 293
convalesces at Faringdon after serious illness 217–18
moves to the Dorchester 224
attends baby Victoria’s christening 253
comment on Hugh Cruddas 266
visits Gerald for the last time 285
marries Anthony Eden 292, 325
comment on Edward Petty-Fitzmaurice 379
Edward VII 139–40
Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) 110–11, 118, 128, 144, 231
Eisenhower, Dwight D. 223
Eliot, T. S. 121, 220
Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Mother) 276
Ellis, Havelock 96
Ernst, Max 142
Erskine, Hamish St Clair 179–80, 255, 275
Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) 34
Eton College 24, 25, 59
Evening Standard 90, 308
Eversly, Alfred, The Furies 234
Fairbairn, John 321
Faringdon, Charles Henderson, 3rd Baron 333
Faringdon Cinema 105
Faringdon Folly 5, 132–6, 215, 392–6
Faringdon, Gavin Henderson, 2nd Baron 121, 291, 317
Faringdon House (Oxfordshire)
dyed doves at 1, 13, 85–7, 89, 94, 140, 347, 357, 370, 386
first view of 1
descriptions of 2–9, 19–20, 81–2, 84–7, 352–6
gardens, pool and fountain 4–5, 28, 85, 87, 216, 252, 267, 315, 317, 327, 329, 333, 357, 360, 372, 374
rented by Julia Tyrwhitt and her new husband 29
bought by Gerald for his mother Julia 41
history of 82–4, 353
famous meals at 87–9, 216–17, 228
visitors and entertainments 99, 104–5, 114, 134, 137, 146, 149–50, 152–4, 207–9, 224, 269, 317–18, 319, 327–33, 335, 337–8, 379
given to Robert by Gerald 135
the summer of 1939 186–8
as part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign 215–17
requisitioned by the Army 215, 227–9
as wartime retreat for friends 216–17, 225–6
windows blown out by American GIs stationed in the ground 229
post-war cut-backs 268
changes made by Robert after Gerald’s death 310–17, 329
dog graves at 315–16
Gerald’s ashes buried at 315
Robert’s ashes scattered at 359–60
burglaries at 362–3, 384–5
changes made to by Sofka and Vassilis 372–4
let to a variety of tenants 386–8
blue plaque unveiled on the Folly 392–6
Faringdon (town) 83–4, 364
Bell Hotel 314, 391–2, 397–9
Fascism 118, 121–5, 142
Fauré, Gabriel 44
Fellowes, Daisy 144, 146, 234–5, 244, 275
Fellowes, Reginald 144
Fermor, Patrick Leigh 231–2
Fielding, Daphne
as Cavendish afficionado 66
comments on Doris Castlerosse 108, 110
comment on the summer of 1939 186
as regular visitor to Faringdon 216, 321
comment on Gerald’s health 284
Firbank, Ronald 46–7, 91
First World War 35, 41, 56–7, 63, 133, 188, 189, 192–3
Fitzgerald, Ella 202
Fitzgerald, F. Scott 151
Fleming, Ann Charteris 323
Fleming, Ian 323
Fonteyn, Margot 147, 150, 268, 379
For Your Convenience: A Learned Dialogue Instructive to All Londoners and London Visitors (Thomas Burke) 68
Forbes, Eda 392–3
Foreign Office 28
Forster, E. M. 92
Fortescue, Julia 157
Fortuny y Madrazo, Mariano 34
Fox, Jack
relationship with Robert 154, 314, 347
becomes gamekeeper, builder and stonemason at Faringdon 237
description of 237
comment on Jennifer’s appearance 243
carries Gerald’s coffin 286
lives in the lodge at Faringdon 291, 359
buries Gerald’s ashes 315
asked to kill the peacock 317
lays out Robert’s body 347
given shooting rights for life 367
hunts for Gerald’s ashes 389–90
Free French 220
Freud, Kitty 277
Freud, Lucian 205, 232, 272, 277, 280
Freud, Sigmund 193
Fry, Alathea Gardner
description of 157, 160–61, 175
family background 157–8
marriage to Geoffrey 157, 159–60, 170
as a reclusive semi-invalid 159–62
relationship with Jennifer 161–2, 164, 230–31, 244–5, 249, 254–5
travels to spas and hotels 164
sends money to her sister Evelyn 170
finds her husband in bed with a boy 171
love-life 175
converts to Catholicism 200
sends provisions from Oare to Jennifer in Oxford 201
at Jennifer’s wedding to Robert 236
offers Oare to Victoria and Peter 306
Fry, Camilla 318, 320
Fry, Geoffrey
education 158
family background 158
obsession with Rupert Brooke 158–9, 172
description of 159, 162, 172, 174
marriage to Alathea 159–60
as private secretary to Bonar Law and Stanley
Baldwin 159, 166, 171
taunts and rejects his daughter Jennifer 159, 164–5, 171, 172, 173
commissions portrait of Alathea from Sickert 161
buys Oare House 162, 164
found in bed with a boy by his wife 171
created 1st Baronet Fry of Oare 172
has a nervous breakdown 200
at Jennifer’s wedding to Robert 236
relationship with his only grandchild, Victoria 263, 278–9
death of 306
Fry, Jennifer see Heber-Percy, Jennifer
Fry, Jeremy 318, 348
Garbo, Greta 325
Gardner, Herbert, Lord Burghclere 157, 168