Despite the fact that Diana Athill was 101 – I was genuinely sad when I heard on the radio news this morning that she had died. You can read her Guardian obituary here.
I enjoyed reading several of her books and watched a BBC documentary about her. Then she was 99 and striding out confidently on the streets of London. She was far from perfect as I’m sure she would have agreed, but she was hugely entertaining and reminded me of a friend of mine who had been from the same era.
Katrina,
I read the lengthy obituary in the Books section of The New York Times yesterday and thought of you, because I only know about her through your comments about the books you’ve read by her.
I hope she will continue to be read. Unconventional lives are always the most interesting.
Do you have a favorite of hers that you’ve read?
Judith,
I think you would really like her book – Stet – about her life as an editor at Andre Deutsch . He treated her really badly but it was the days when women were just happy to have a job like that, so she never complained.
Oh, absolutely, Katrina–I remember now.
I would love Stet, in addition to the fact that I worked for many years as an editor as well as a writer. Wow.
Will check it out.
Thanks.
Judith,
While I was reading it I was thinking that you would like it as I knew you had been an editor at one point.