Oh, I met Dora a couple of times when I was little! My parents knew her well because their best friend was her son Roddy. She came to our house for lunch and I remember both Roddy’s funeral and her own
Now I am thinking perhaps I should give up working on the three(?) books I have on what can hardly be described as the boil, and concentrate on Dora. I’d assumed that someone else had taken up the challenge, tbh, and indeed I thought I’d read that someone had. Or perhaps that was Harriet Martineau? Not that they have anything much in common other than my having had passing obsessions with them (and I suspect Dora would be a far more rewarding subject than Harriet, who became something of an old trout and wrote far too many unreadable books).
Thank you for this reminder of Dora and her wonderful autobiography *The Tamarisk Tree*: it was a life-changer for me in the late 70s when I was feeling trapped in a marriage with young children. I spent a few years thinking I would write her biography, but of course did nothing at all to make that happen….
Look forward to reading more of this, Liz! It’s a very long time since I read her autobiography and what little I know - or think I know - is all muddled up with what I remember my parents saying. I’m sure you know this, but Dora’s papers - or some of them - are available online through a Dutch university.
The autobiography is comprehensive and fascinating but of course like all autobiography it's partial. She writes really well - it’s actually a very easy read. What is extraordinary is the breadth of the people she knew - you could write about her in so many ways.
Oh, I met Dora a couple of times when I was little! My parents knew her well because their best friend was her son Roddy. She came to our house for lunch and I remember both Roddy’s funeral and her own
I’ll have a proper read of this tomorrow!
Now I am thinking perhaps I should give up working on the three(?) books I have on what can hardly be described as the boil, and concentrate on Dora. I’d assumed that someone else had taken up the challenge, tbh, and indeed I thought I’d read that someone had. Or perhaps that was Harriet Martineau? Not that they have anything much in common other than my having had passing obsessions with them (and I suspect Dora would be a far more rewarding subject than Harriet, who became something of an old trout and wrote far too many unreadable books).
Dora was certainly a brilliant and fascinating woman. She merits a biography, without a doubt.
Thank you for this reminder of Dora and her wonderful autobiography *The Tamarisk Tree*: it was a life-changer for me in the late 70s when I was feeling trapped in a marriage with young children. I spent a few years thinking I would write her biography, but of course did nothing at all to make that happen….
Someone should definitely write her biography! Why don’t you?!
Look forward to reading more of this, Liz! It’s a very long time since I read her autobiography and what little I know - or think I know - is all muddled up with what I remember my parents saying. I’m sure you know this, but Dora’s papers - or some of them - are available online through a Dutch university.
The autobiography is comprehensive and fascinating but of course like all autobiography it's partial. She writes really well - it’s actually a very easy read. What is extraordinary is the breadth of the people she knew - you could write about her in so many ways.