Posted by PeterH on July 08, 2006 at 19:49:41 from 86.137.75.3 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: A new AR anecdote? posted by David Bamford on July 08, 2006 at 01:09:23:
I had always thought of her as simply the personification of all the stuffy, pompous attitudes which must have surrounded AR during his youth
I'd say it was a bit more complex than that. It is fairly obvious that the 'model' for the G.A. was Emma Holt, who certainly dressed like the G.A., believed in old-fashioned strict manners, and went for drives in a 'victoria'. However, people who recall meeting Miss Holt (and these include Pauline Marshall and singer George Melly) all agree she had the sweetest temperament imaginable, utterly un-dragon-like. To suit his plot line, AR gave his 'G.A.' a far less pleasant character. Where that character came from one can only guess - perhaps from AR's psyche? Once again, a strictly literal approach to AR's locations and characters just doesn't begin to explain his genius. Can't it be accepted that , like most good writers, he made things up??