March 25 Monday

Lined Laura's jewel case with velvet and plush & silk. Pasted her black oil-cloth fish-horse 1 on brown paper. Another very hot day. Read the Thin Man2.
Went to Lluchalcari with Laura, Carl, Salamon3. They, tea, I, beer. Laura went over What Then? with me; made suggestions.
Letter from H.S. [Harrison Smith]4 about film version of Claudius; offered 10% royalty on ×××× book. I replied would contract to write one film story: and second, if Korda does Agrippa film. Terms 10%, 12% at $20,000, 15% at $40,000. 1000 dollars advance on signing contract. If he didn't like that let him leave it; I was bored with Claudius. Wrote to Times Morgue: declining to do T.E. [T.E. Lawrence] memoir 5
Gelat had seen a number of people who might help getting money from Germany.
Salamó has had a cold in his eyes for the last three days. Wrote to Banco Hispano6 Palma asking them to wire todo arreglado 7.
At Lluchalcari took cuttings of snowball plant and black patterned-leafed[RG] geranium plant. The first probably won't grow: too far advanced, and wrong phase of the moon.
Sent off Second Leaf to Oxford, Cambridge, British Museum, Congress Library 8, Manchester, 3 to Ethel Herdman. See March 10th.

Editorial Notes

1 sea-horse KG
2by Deshiel Hammett. K.G.
3also known as Solomon, Salamó: RG's bull-dog. eds
4U.S. publishers WG
5The Times wrote to RG asking him to write an obituary of T.E. for their file which Graves declined to do and referred to T.E. RPG pp. 228-9. eds.
6Spanish bank eds.
7everything arranged. KG
8Sent to these depository libraries for copyright reasons. KG

Hands Referenced

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

Places Mentioned

  • Llucalcari

    Llucalcari, Majorca, Sp
    Hamlet with hotel some three kilometres from Deyá on the way to Soller. WG. RG spells it "Lluchalcari" in the Diary.

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.

  • Gelat

    Más, Juan Marroig
    Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.)

  • Ethel Herdman

    Herdman, Ethel
    James Reeves' sister RPG; Assistant warden of Ashbourne Hall, Manchester University KG; nicknamed "Ether" by RG and LR, Sept 1937 eds.

  • Korda

    Korda, Alexander
    Director of the film version of I Claudius.

  • T.E.

    Lawrence, T. E.
    'Lawrence of Arabia.' Met Robert in Oxford in the early twenties. Made Robert his biographer and had him write "Lawrence and the Arabs." WG

Organizations Mentioned

  • Harrison Smith and Robert Haas

    R.G.'s American publisher for I, Claudius and Claudius the God. eds.

Bibliography

    • Title: Second Leaf [poem]
    • Author: Riding, Laura
    • PubPlace: Deyá
    • Publisher: Seizin
    • Date: 1935
    • Title: I, Claudius [novel]
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: London
    • Publisher: Arthur Barker
    • Idno: A42
    • Date: 1934
    • Title: What Then? [poem: became Historical Particulars. June 25, 1935 R.G.]
    • Author: Graves, Robert
    • Title: Times [newspaper]
    • PubPlace: London
    • Publisher: Times Newspapers