Tuesday September 13, saw the first of two talks by Dr Pat Argar on Writers in Romney Marsh.
She explained: “For the purposes of this talk I am taking a certain liberty, and stretching the confines of Romney Marsh to include the marsh lands that extend as far as Winchelsea and Brede. For purists these areas are not Romney Marsh, so please forgive me for taking such a liberty with your geography.”
The constraints of this report do not allow coverage of all the writers taken in by this talk: Henry James is probably the most famous of them. His work epitomised aspects of Edwardian life that in the words of John Osborne “make their brief little world look pretty tempting. All home-made cakes and croquet, bright ideas, bright uniforms…. High summer, the long days in the sun, slim volumes, crisp linen”.
James did not use Rye or Romney Marsh in his novels but he did show his abiding love for the area in English Hours written in 1905. He describes Winchelsea as “strange, individual, charming” with a “haunted square” a place that dreams and is a “haven on a hilltop” while “an island of rock” is “church-crowned Rye”. This same scene is “quite covered by the westering sun” where in evening “old browns turn to red and its old reds turn to purple” and the whole is “homely English”; Rye becomes a “huge floating boat”.
Yet the Marsh itself evokes a “small thrill” when James sees or recalls “little lonely farms, red and gray, little mouse-coloured churches; little villages that seem made only for long shadows and summer afternoons … when summer deepens, the shadows fall, … you find in the mild English marsh a recall of the Roman Compagna.”
What made the talk so interesting and engaging was Pat’s delivery. It was factual without being tedious and sprinkled with anecdotes which amused the audience. These snippets made one feel a little closer to knowing just what these authors were like. The spats and foibles of each of them came to life in an often humorous way.
Pat continued: “Other perhaps less well-known writers, in awe of James, were drawn to Rye and Romney Marsh. They were never a cohesive set such as the Bloomsbury group but they did socialise, quarrel and on occasion co-operate in writing endeavours.”
There are many more stories and authors to be discussed next week at the Discovery Centre when Pat takes us to the time between the two wars. Rye and Romney Marsh continued to lure writers to this unique corner of the country and some names will be familiar but be prepared to learn about writers new to you.
Wednesday 21 September 3.00pm tickets are selling fast so don’t be disappointed.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .