Tuesday, March 30, 2021

the last book I ever read (Gluck: Her Biography by Diana Souhami, excerpt two)

from Gluck: Her Biography by Diana Souhami:

The Meteor was inordinately ambitious for both her children, generous, certain of her abilities and proud of their achievements. She made no further reference to ‘the kink in the brain’ but put Gluck’s unconventional behaviour down to artistic licence. The tactics of stonewalling used for Craig were not extended to Gluck’s subsequent grander lady friends such as Constance Spry and Nesta Obermer, both of whom she liked and respected and with whom she happily took lunch and tea. The Meteor believed, or said she believed, that her daughter had a God-given gift and was something of a genius. She also thought her incapable of managing her own affairs. She acted on the slightest hint that Bolton House might need repainting or the car might need new tyres, or that Gluck might want clothes, or special canvases, or errands run or pieces of furniture acquired. After the death of her husband, she let it be known to the other trustees that she favoured generous treatment for her daughter. What Gluck wanted, after her father’s death and before the outbreak of war, in any material sense, she received.



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