Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure
By Artemis Cooper.
To be published in the USA Oct 15th, 2013
By New York Review Of Books
I first read one of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s books - A Time Of Gifts - about twenty years ago and
was captivated by the vivid and enchanting portrayal of the people and places
he saw in the first part of his epic journey from Holland right through to
Constantinople. Eventually I discovered two of his books
dealing with remote and ethnologically fascinating parts of Greece - Mani and Roumeli – which were equally
enjoyable.
I knew precious little about him other than what he revealed
in his books and was delighted to get the chance to read this new biography of
him by Artemis Cooper. Flesh is put on
the very bare bones of his personal and family life and a fuller picture of his
quite unbelievable life given. He became acquainted with a vast number of
European notables, academics and aristocrats alike, and made friends easily across
all classes and backgrounds of people wherever he went on his wide-ranging
travels before finally settling in his beloved Greece.
I had absolutely no
idea that Fermor had served in Crete during World War 2 as part of the British
Special Operations Executive working with the Cretan Resistance
movement; he was awarded with the
D.S.O. medal for his vital part in the abduction and capture of General Kreipe who
then spent the rest of the war years incarcerated in the Island Farm prisoner of war camp very close to my home in South Wales.
I have to be honest
and say that I would have actually preferred to read considerably less about
his marked propensity for sowing his wild oats and his numerous liaisons with
women outside of his long-term and very open relationship with the Hon. Joan Rayner, whom he eventually married, but nonetheless,
this is a truly fascinating biography of a remarkable man.
No comments:
Post a Comment