March 5th, Tuesday.

In garden with Laura discussing plants.
Checked and copied more of Emmie.
Draft of Otmoor sequence for Antigua. Barn[RG] Shrove Tuesday supper at the Fábrica. Thrushes1 & chicken. Thrushes wrapped in cabbage. Champagne. Franciscito slightly drunk. The incident of the two boys who barged into a[RG] Laura on the way. I was out of it. A Son Beltran boy pushed 'Haciendo casas' 2 against Laura who slapped his face; Carl then punched the real offender. Haciendo Casas(aged 15) wept for shame, and had to have his pardon begged and reassured it was not his fault. Agreed for the Fábrica to eat a kid at Canellun on Easter Sunday.
Letter from A.B. [Arthur Barker] suggesting I should write a really great book about Christ & John Bapt. And from a German student whose thesis for a Philologue degree was R.G. as a critic of pre-War culture. Asking my opinion & also books. I wrote, very strongly, that I disliked the idea and would do nothing to further it. 3

Editorial Notes

1They were partridges in fact. KG
2literally: 'doing things' WG
3 Was Graves opposed because he disagreed, or because he disapproved of academic study of his work in general? eds.

Hands Referenced

    • Annotation: ink correction
    • Character: regular
    • Ink: black

Places Mentioned

  • Fábrica

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    Home of Juan (Gelat) and his wife, the Madora. K.G. The ground floor was a nave extended over the equivalent of two more lots. This originally was a factory with an oil press, a flour mill and a soap making machine all run by a steam engine. Gelat replaced steam by fuel-oil and installed an electricity generator. When he put in the turbine at Ca'n Madó he removed the machinery and built a Café in its place (the Sala Concordia). WG

  • Son Beltran

    Llucalcari, Majorca, Sp
    Farm-house near Llucalcari. WG

  • Canellun

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    Laura Riding and Robert Graves' house. Also Canellun (private) road. WG, KG

People Mentioned

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Karl/Carl

    Goldschmidt, Karl
    Karl Goldschmidt, later Kenneth Gay: Graphic artist, friend and secretary of Robert Graves and Laura Riding since 1934. R. G. spells both as Carl and Karl.

  • Franciscito

    Vives, Franciscito
    Gelat's grandson W.G. Son of Anita, Gelat's daughter in Rennes. KG

  • A.B.

    Arthurby

    Barker, Arthur
    Owner and director of Arthur Barker Ltd., the English publisher of I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Arthurby was L.R.'s nickname for him.

  • Robert

    Graves, Robert
    [1st person]. (1895-1985). Poet, novelist, essayist, critic, and author of his diary. eds.

Organizations Mentioned

  • Fabrica

    Gelat's household including: his wife, the Madora, his daughter Magdalena, son Juan and daughter-in-law Anita. Other relations often present were Francisquito, his grandson, and Francesquita, Anita's little sister R.G., eds.

Bibliography

    • Title: Women as People [Emmie was a character in this short story, according to Friedmann 175].
    • Title: "Women as People," The Word "Woman" and Other Related Writings
    • Author: Riding, Laura
    • Title: Antigua Penny Puce
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: Deyá & London
    • Publisher: Seizin & Constable
    • Idno: A46
    • Date: 1936