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Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''
Enemies of Promise ''Enemies of Promise'' is a critical and autobiographical work written by Cyril Connolly first published in 1938. It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of ...
'' (1938), which combined literary criticism with an autobiographical exploration of why he failed to become the successful author of fiction that he had aspired to be in his youth.


Early life

Cyril Connolly was born in
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, Warwickshire, the only child of Major Matthew William Kemble Connolly (1872–1947), an officer in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, by his Anglo-Irish wife, Muriel Maud Vernon, daughter of Colonel Edward Vernon (1838–1913) J.P., D.L., of
Clontarf Castle Clontarf Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chluain Tarbh) is a much-modernised castle, dating to 1837, in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland, an area famous as a key location of the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. There has been a castle on the site since 1172. In mod ...
, Co. Dublin. His parents had met while his father was serving in Ireland, and his father's next posting was to South Africa.Jeremy Lewis, ''Cyril Connolly: A Life'', Jonathan Cape, 1997. Connolly's father was also a malacologist (the scientific study of the Mollusca, i.e. snails, clams, octopus, etc.) and mineral collector of some reputation and collected many samples in Africa. Cyril Connolly's childhood days were spent with his father in South Africa, with his mother's family at
Clontarf Castle Clontarf Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chluain Tarbh) is a much-modernised castle, dating to 1837, in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland, an area famous as a key location of the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. There has been a castle on the site since 1172. In mod ...
, and with his paternal grandmother in Bath, Somerset, and other parts of England.Cyril Connolly, ''Enemies of Promise'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1938. Connolly was educated at
St Cyprian's School St Cyprian's School was an English preparatory school for boys, which operated in the early 20th century in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Like other preparatory schools, its purpose was to train pupils to do well enough in the examinations (usual ...
, Eastbourne, where he enjoyed the company of George Orwell and Cecil Beaton. He was a favourite of the formidable headmistress Mrs Wilkes but was later to criticise the "character-building" ethos of the school. He wrote, "Orwell proved to me that there existed an alternative to character, Intelligence. Beaton showed me another, Sensibility." Connolly won the
Harrow History Prize The Harrow History Prize or the Townsend Warner Preparatory Schools History Prize is an annual history competition for children at British preparatory schools. It currently attracts around 800 entrants each year. History The prize was establish ...
, pushing Orwell into second place, and the English prize leaving Orwell with Classics. He then won a scholarship to Eton, a year after Orwell.


Eton

At Eton, after a traumatic first few terms, he settled into a comfortable routine. He won over his early tormentor Godfrey Meynell and became a popular wit. In 1919 his parents moved to The Lock House on the Basingstoke Canal at Frimley Green. At Eton, Connolly was involved in romantic intrigues and school politics, which he described in ''
Enemies of Promise ''Enemies of Promise'' is a critical and autobiographical work written by Cyril Connolly first published in 1938. It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of ...
''. He established a reputation as an intellectual and earned the respect of
Dadie Rylands George Humphrey Wolferstan Rylands (23 October 1902 – 16 January 1999), known as Dadie Rylands, was a British literary scholar and theatre director. Rylands was born at the Down House, Tockington, Gloucestershire, to Thomas Kirkland ...
and Denis King-Farlow. Connolly's particular circle included Denis Dannreuther, Bobbie Longden and Roger Mynors. In summer 1921, his father took him on a holiday to France, initiating Connolly's love of travel. The following winter he went with his mother to Mürren, where he became friends with Anthony Knebworth. By this time his parents were living separate lives, his mother having established a relationship with another army officer and his father becoming an increasingly heavy drinker and absorbed in his study of slugs and snails. In 1922, Connolly achieved academic success winning the Rosebery History Prize, and followed by the Brackenbury History scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. In the spring, he visited St Cyprian's to report his achievement to his old headmaster before setting off on a trip to Spain with a school friend. Returning moneyless, he spent the night in a kip at St Martins, London. In his last term at Eton, he was elected to
Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...
, which brought him into contact with others he respected, including Nico Davies, Teddy Jessel and Lord Dunglass. He established rapport with Brian Howard, but, he concluded, "moral cowardice and academic outlook debarred him from making friends with Harold Acton, Oliver Messel, Robert Byron, Henry Green and Anthony Powell". Connolly was for years afterwards nostalgic about his time at Eton.


Oxford

Connolly undertook a tour of Germany, Austria and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
before starting at Oxford University. After his cloistered existence as a King's Scholar at Eton, Connolly felt uncomfortable with the hearty beer-drinking rugby and rowing types at Oxford. His own circle included his Eton friends Mynors and Dannreuther, who were at Balliol with him, and Kenneth Clark, whom he met through Bobbie Longden at
Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...
. He wrote: "The only exercise we took was running up bills." His intellectual mentors were the Dean of Balliol, Francis Fortescue Urquhart, often referred to as "Sligger", who organised reading parties on the continent, and the Dean of Wadham, Maurice Bowra. Connolly's academic career languished while his Oxford years were characterised by his travel adventures. In January 1923, he went with Urquhart and other collegers to Italy. In March, he undertook his annual visit to Spain and in September, he went on the annual trip with the college group to Urquhart's chalet in French Alps. On his return, he visited his father, now in a hotel in South Kensington, close to the Natural History Museum. At the end of the year, he went to Italy and Tunis. At Oxford, in 1924, he made a new friend Patrick Balfour, in the spring he went to Spain and in the summer of 1924, he went successively to Greece and Crete, Urquhart's chalet in the Alps and
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
. He spent Christmas with his parents in a rare get-together at the Lock House in Hampshire and at the beginning of 1925, he went with the college group to Minehead with Urquhart. In his last year at Oxford, he was cultivating friendships with younger students Anthony Powell, Henry Yorke and Peter Quennell. In spring he was back in Spain, before returning to Oxford to take his final exams.


Drifting

Connolly left Balliol in 1925 with a third class degree in history. He struggled to find employment, while his friends and family sought to pay off his extensive debts. In summer he went for his annual stay at Urquhart's chalet in the French Alps, and in the autumn went to Spain and Portugal. He obtained a post tutoring a boy in
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
and set sail for the Caribbean in November 1925. He returned to England in April 1926 on a banana boat in the company of Alwyn Williams, headmaster of Winchester College. He enrolled as a special constable in the General Strike, but it was over before he was actively involved. He responded to an advertisement to work as a secretary for Montague Summers but was warned off by his friends. Then in June 1926 he found a post as a secretary/companion to Logan Pearsall Smith, who was based in Chelsea and also had a house called Big Chilling near Warsash in Hampshire, overlooking the Solent. Pearsall Smith was to give Connolly an important introduction to literary life, and he influenced his ideas on the role of a writer with a distaste for journalism. Pearsall Smith gave Connolly £8 a week, whether Smith was around or not, and moreover gave him the run of Big Chilling.


Beginning of literary career

In August 1926, Connolly met Desmond MacCarthy, who had come to stay at Big Chilling. MacCarthy was the literary editor of the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' and was to be another major influence on Connolly's development. MacCarthy invited Connolly to write book reviews for the ''New Statesman''. Later that year, Connolly made a trip to
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
and Eastern Europe and then spent the winter of 1926–1927 in London. Pearsall Smith took Connolly with him to Spain in the spring, and Connolly then set off on his own to North Africa and Italy. They met up again in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, where Kenneth Clark was working with Bernard Berenson who had married Pearsall Smith's sister. Connolly departed for Sicily then returned to England via Vienna, :Prague and
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
. Connolly's first signed work in the ''New Statesman'', a review of Laurence Sterne, appeared in June 1927. In July he set off to Normandy with his mother and then for his last stay at the chalet in the Alps. In August 1927, he was invited to become a regular reviewer and joined the staff of the ''New Statesman''. His first review in September was of ''The Hotel'' by Elizabeth Bowen. Also in September, Connolly moved into a flat at Yeoman's Row with Patrick Balfour. He was working on various works that never saw the light of day: a novel ''Green Endings'', a travel book on Spain, his diary and ''A Partial Guide to the Balkans''. He approached Cecil Beaton to draw the cover design for the last and he received an advance for the work although it was eventually lost. However, he started contributing pieces to various publications that appeared under his own name and various pseudonyms. At this time he developed a fascination with low life and prostitution and spent time in the poorer parts of London seeking them out (while other contemporaries were seeking out tramps). At the same time, he had developed an infatuation with
Alix Kilroy Dame Alix Hester Marie Kilroy, Lady Meynell, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (1903–1999)John Commander. Obituary: Dame Alix "Bay" Meynell, ''The Independent'' (London), 2 September 1999. was one of the first two women to h ...
whom he had met on a train back from the continent and used to wait outside her office for a sight of her. He then made a more positive romantic approach to Racy Fisher, one of a pair of nieces of Desmond MacCarthy's wife, Molly. However, their father Admiral Fisher wanted them to have nothing to do with a penniless writer and, in February 1928, forbade further contact. Sharing a flat with Balfour, Connolly's social circle expanded with new friends like Bob Boothby and
Gladwyn Jebb Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn (25 April 1900 – 24 October 1996) was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Early ...
. However, he was ill at ease and in April 1928 set off for
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, where he met Pearsall Smith and Cecil Beaton and visited brothels posing as a journalist. He went on to Italy, where he stayed with Berenson and Mrs Keppel where he was taken with her daughter Violet Trefusis. Then via
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and East European cities he made his way to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
to meet up with Jebb. Jebb and Connolly stayed with Harold Nicolson in the company of Ivor Novello and Christopher Sykes and then made a tour of Germany. Connolly returned to Paris in May, borrowing money from Pearsall Smith so he could live cheaply in the rue Delambre. In Paris, he met Mara Andrews, a poetic lesbian who was in love with an absent American girl called Jean Bakewell. On the way back to London, Connolly stayed with Nicolson and his wife, Vita Sackville-West, at
Sissinghurst Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called ''Milkhouse Street'' (also referred to as ''Mylkehouse''), Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the sm ...
. In August Connolly set off on his travels again to Germany, this time with Bobbie Longden and Raymond Mortimer and the experience gave rise to the essay "Conversations in Berlin" which MacCarthy published in his new magazine ''
Life and Letters ''Life and Letters'' was an English literary journal first published between June 1928 and April 1935. The magazine was edited from first publication by Desmond MacCarthy after he lost interest in the ''New Statesman''. It had financial backing ...
''. Connolly travelled separately to Villefranche and spent five weeks in Barcelona with Longden before returning to London. Boothby lent him his London flat and he shared Gerald Brenan's fascination with working-class prostitutes with experiences that appeared in his fragment for a novel ''The English Malady''. He spent Christmas at
Sledmere Sledmere is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Driffield on the B1253 road. The village lies in a civil parish which is also officially called "Sledmere" by the Office for National Statistics, although t ...
with the Sykes family. At the beginning of 1929, Connolly went briefly to Paris and just before returning to London, he met Jean Bakewell and stayed an extra night to get to know her. After a while, he was drawn to Paris again and, through Jean and Mara, became acquainted with the bohemian Montparnasse set, including Alfred Perles and Gregor Michonze who was to become the basis for Rascasse in '' The Rock Pool''. He also met
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
about whom he wrote ''The Position of Joyce'' which appeared in ''Life and Letters''. Connolly and Bakewell went to Spain together where they met up with Peter Quennell. Connolly then went to Berlin to stay with Nicolson until the latter managed to remove him as "not perhaps the ideal guest" Unable to return to Big Chilling, he was stuck in Berlin for a month before returning to London. John Betjeman had moved into his room at Yeoman's Row, so he went to stay with Enid Bagnold at Rottingdean before visiting Dorset with Quennell. Bakewell had returned to America in the summer and was planning to return to Paris in the autumn to start a course at the Sorbonne. She had agreed before her departure to marry Connolly and Connolly established himself in Paris in September. They spent most of the rest of the year in Paris, and started their collection of pets, first ferrets and then lemurs. Connolly spent Christmas again at Sledmere.


Marriage

In February 1930, aged 26, Connolly and Bakewell set off for America. They married in New York on 5 April 1930. Jean Bakewell "was to prove one of the more liberating forces in his life... an uncomplicated hedonist, independent, adventurous, celebrating the moment... An attractive personality: warm, generous, witty and approachable...." She provided modest financial support that enabled him to enjoy travels, particularly around the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
, hospitality and good food and drink. The newly married couple lived in various spots in England including the Cavendish Hotel, Bury Street, Bath, and Big Chilling, before in July 1930 settling at Sanary, near Toulon, in France. There their close neighbours were Edith Wharton and Aldous Huxley. Although Connolly admired Huxley, the two men failed to establish a rapport, and the wives fell out. Connolly's bohemian home with the disorder of the lemurs was shunned and with debts rising they were forced to scrounge off Jean's mother. Sometime in 1931, they left Sanary and toured Provence, Normandy, Brittany, Spain,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
and Majorca, before returning to Chagfor, Devon. In November, they found a flat near Belgrave Square, and Connolly made his first contribution to the ''New Statesman'' in two years. Connolly was also approached by John Betjeman of the ''
Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism ...
'' to act as an art critic. Connolly's art critiques appeared in the magazine in 1932, and he visited Betjeman at his home at Uffington. There, he would meet Evelyn Waugh, who delighted in teasing Connolly. The Connollys enjoyed being part of a sophisticated literary social scene in London, but towards the end of the year, Jean had to undergo a gynaecological operation. As a result, she could not have a child, and it was hard for her to control her weight. In February 1933, Connolly took Jean to Greece to recover, where they met Brian Howard. While they were in Athens there was an attempted coup d'état, which Connolly later reported in the ''New Statesman'' as "Spring Revolution". The Connollys then went with Howard and his boyfriend to Spain and the Algarve. After a row in a bar, they were incarcerated in a police cell and were sent back to England with the help of the British Embassy. In June, encouraged by Enid Bagnold, they rented a house at Rottingdean. Writing to Bagnold from Cannes in September, Jean complained that their cheques were being bounced and she asked Bagnold to appeal to her husband Sir Roderick Jones of Reuters for help in work. That was dismissed, and in November, the letting agents for the Rottingdean property wrote an appalling report on the state in which the Connollys had left the place. Early in 1934, the Connollys took a flat at 312A King's Road, where they entertained their friends, including Waugh and Quennell. Elizabeth Bowen arranged a dinner with Virginia Woolf and her husband when Connolly and Virginia Woolf took an instant dislike to each other. During the year, the Connollys went to Mallow and Cork in Ireland. At the end of the year. Connolly met Dylan Thomas at a party and early in 1935 invited him in the company of Anthony Powell, Waugh, Robert Byron and Desmond and Mollie McCarthy. By then, Connolly's father was finding himself short of funds and was no longer prepared to bail out his son. However, Mrs Warner, Jean's mother, funded an expedition to Paris, Juan-les-Pins, Venice,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
and Budapest. In Paris, Connolly spent some time with
Jack Kahane Jack Kahane (20 July 1887, in Manchester – 2 September 1939, in Paris) was a writer and publisher who founded the Obelisk Press in Paris in 1929. He was the son of Selig and Susy Kahane, both immigrants from Romania. Kahane, a novelist, began th ...
, the avant garde publisher, and Henry Miller, with whom he established a strong rapport after an initial unsuccessful meeting. In Budapest, they found themselves in the same hotel as Edward, Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson. In 1934, Connolly was working on a trilogy: ''Humane Killer'', ''The English Malady'' and '' The Rock Pool''. Only ''The Rock Pool'' was completed, the others remaining only as fragments.


First books

Connolly's only novel, ''The Rock Pool'' (1936), is a satirical work describing a covey of dissolute drifters at an end of season French seaside resort, which was based on his experiences in the south of France. It was initially accepted by a London publishing house but it changed its mind. Faber and Faber was one of the publishers that rejected it and so Connolly took it to Jack Kahane, who published it in Paris in 1936. Connolly followed it up with a book of non-fiction, ''
Enemies of Promise ''Enemies of Promise'' is a critical and autobiographical work written by Cyril Connolly first published in 1938. It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of ...
'' (1938), the second half of which is autobiographical. In it he attempted to explain his failure to produce the literary masterpiece that he and others believed that he should have been capable of writing.


''Horizon''

In 1940, Connolly founded the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'', with Peter Watson, its financial backer and ''de facto'' art editor. He edited ''Horizon'' until 1950, with Stephen Spender as an uncredited associate editor until early 1941. He was briefly (1942–1943) the literary editor for '' The Observer'' until a disagreement with David Astor. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he wrote '' The Unquiet Grave'', a noteworthy collection of observations and quotes, under the pseudonym '
Palinurus Palinurus (''Palinūrus''), in Roman mythology and especially Virgil's ''Aeneid'', is the coxswain of Aeneas' ship. Later authors used him as a general type of navigator or guide. Palinurus is an example of human sacrifice; his life is the price ...
'. From 1952 until his death, he was joint chief book reviewer (with Raymond Mortimer) for '' The Sunday Times''. In 1962, Connolly wrote ''Bond Strikes Camp'', a spoof account of Ian Fleming's character engaged in heroic escapades of dubious propriety as suggested by the title and written with Fleming's support. It appeared in ''
London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
'' and in an expensive limited edition printed by the Shenval Press, Frith Street, London. It later appeared in ''Previous Convictions''. Connolly had previously collaborated with Fleming in 1952 in writing an account of the Cambridge Spies
Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...
and Donald MacLean entitled ''The Missing Diplomats'', an early publication for Fleming's
Queen Anne Press The Queen Anne Press (logo stylized QAP) is a small publisher (originally a private press). History It was created in 1951 by Lord Kemsley, proprietor of '' The Sunday Times'', to publish the works of contemporary authors. In 1952, as a wedding ...
.


Personal life

Connolly was married three times. His first wife Jean Bakewell (1910–1950) left him in 1939, moving back to the United States. She later became the wife of Laurence Vail (former husband of
Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with ...
and Kay Boyle) but, following years of health problems, she died of a stroke while on a trip to Paris at the age of 39. Connolly married his second wife,
Barbara Skelton Barbara Olive Skelton (26 June 1916 – 27 January 1996) was an English memoirist, novelist and socialite. Background Skelton was born at The Croft, Ellington Road, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, elder daughter of Eric George Skelton, who had been a Maj ...
, in 1950. His third wife, whom he married in 1959, was Deirdre Craven, a granddaughter of James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, by whom he had two children later in life, including the writer Cressida Connolly (born 1960). After Connolly's death in 1974, his widow married Peter Levi. In 1967, Connolly settled in Eastbourne, to the amusement of Beaton, who suggested he was lured back by the cakes they had enjoyed in school outings to the town. He died suddenly on 26 November 1974, having continued to the end as a ''Sunday Times'' journalist, and was buried in Berwick churchyard, Sussex. His grave bears the inscription ''Intus aquae dulces vivoque sedilia saxo'' (''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
'' book IX: "Within, fresh water and seats in the living rock.") Since 1976, Connolly's papers and personal library of over 8,000 books have been housed at the University of Tulsa.


Assessment

In ''The Unquiet Grave'' Connolly writes: "Approaching forty, sense of total failure:... Never will I make that extra effort to live according to reality which alone makes good writing possible: hence the manic-depressiveness of my style,—which is either bright, cruel and superficial; or pessimistic; moth-eaten with self-pity." Kenneth Tynan, writing in the March 1954 '' Harper's Bazaar'', praised Connolly's style as 'one of the most glittering of English literary possessions.' Dave Mason, in an essay on crime and booksellers, asserts that Connolly had a reputation amongst booksellers as a conniving thief: "That a man so important to modern literature acted so shoddily as to break an honourable code of conduct and steal from booksellers who had trusted him." He continues: "This man, Cyril Connolly, cheated and defrauded booksellers the way despicable conmen prey on elderly innocents, with no regard for basic decency."


References in popular culture

*Cyril Connolly's name appears in a
coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
to the Monty Python song "
Eric the Half-a-Bee "Eric the Half-a-Bee" is a song by the British comedy troupe Monty Python that was composed by Eric Idle with lyrics co-written with John Cleese. It first appeared as the A-side of the group's second 7" single, released in a mono mix on 17 Novem ...
", as a mishearing of the words "semi-carnally". Despite being corrected, the backing vocalists then sing "Cyril Connolly" to the melody of the song.Cleese, Idle, Jones: "Eric the Half a Bee", ''Monty Python's Previous Record'', 1972, Charisma Records. The same comedians made another reference to Connolly in '' The Brand New Monty Python Bok'', which includes a facsimile Penguin paperback, ''Norman Henderson's Diary'', complete with (invented) praise from Connolly. *The critic and publisher Everard Spruce in Evelyn Waugh's '' Sword of Honour'' trilogy is a satire of Connolly. *Ed Spain, "the Captain" in Nancy Mitford's 1951 novel ''The Blessing'' is a satire of Connolly. * Michael Nelson's novel '' A Room in Chelsea Square'' (1958) is a thinly disguised homosexualised account about Connolly's time editing ''Horizon''. * Elaine Dundy's novel ''The Old Man and Me'' (1964) is based on her affair with Connolly. *A film producer in Julian MacLaren-Ross's 1964 thriller ''My Name is Love'' is based on Connolly. MacLaren-Ross repeated many of the descriptions verbatim in his later memoir of Connolly. *Connolly is quoted as saying "Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self" in Season 5, Episode 7 of ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...
''. *Since the film ''A Business Affair'' (1994) is adapted from Barbara Skelton's memoirs of her marriage to Cyril Connolly, Jonathan Pryce's character Alec Bolton in the film is based on Cyril Connolly *Connolly is also fictionalised in
Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...
's novel '' Atonement''. The principal character, eighteen-year-old Briony Tallis, sends the draft of a novella she has written to ''Horizon'' magazine and Cyril Connolly is shown as replying at length as to why the novella had to be rejected, apart from explaining to Briony her strong and weak points and also mentioning Elizabeth Bowen. *Michael Lewis's book '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' cites Connolly at the top of the first chapter – "Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising." (''Enemies of Promise'') *
Donna Tartt Donna Louise Tartt (born December 23, 1963) is an American novelist and essayist. Early life Tartt was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta, the elder of two daughters. She was raised in the nearby town of Grenada. Her fa ...
's novel '' The Secret History'' references Cyril Connolly in Chapter 5-"...Cyril Connolly, who was notorious for being a hard guest to please...". *In
William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), Australian journalist and schoolmaster * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), ...
's James Bond novel '' Solo'' Bond recalls Connolly's description of Chelsea as "that tranquil cultivated ''spielraum''... where I worked and wandered" (Connolly, Boyd and the fictional Bond all lived in Chelsea), although Bond can not remember the author of the quote. *In '' An Englishman Abroad'' (1983) by Alan Bennett, Guy Burgess keeps asking
Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of ''Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...
"How is Cyril Connolly?" *In '' Solomon Gursky Was Here'' (1989) by Mordecai Richler, Moses Berger, sorting his books as an excuse for not writing, finds his copy of ''The Unquiet Grave'' and reads "...the true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece..." Muttering an imprecation, he throws the book across the room, but immediately retrieves it because of his regard for Connolly. *Connolly makes an appearance as the 1940's editor of "Horizon" in Ian McEwan's 2022 novel, "Lessons".


Works

* '' The Rock Pool'', 1935 (novel) * ''
Enemies of Promise ''Enemies of Promise'' is a critical and autobiographical work written by Cyril Connolly first published in 1938. It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of ...
'', 1938 * '' The Unquiet Grave'', 1944 * ''The Condemned Playground'', 1945 (collection) * ''The Missing Diplomats'', 1952 * ''The Golden Horizon'', 1953 (editor; compilation from ''Horizon'') * ''Ideas and Places'', 1953 (collection) * ''Les Pavillons: French Pavilions of the Eighteenth Century'', 1962 (with Jerome Zerbe) * ''Previous Convictions'', 1963 (collection) * ''The Modern Movement: 100 Key Books From England, France, and America, 1880–1950'', 1965 * '' The Evening Colonnade'' 1973 (collection) * ''A Romantic Friendship'', 1975 (letters to Noel Blakiston) * ''Cyril Connolly: Journal and Memoir'', 1983 (edited by D. Pryce-Jones) * ''The Selected Essays of Cyril Connolly'', 1984 (edited by Peter Quennell) * ''Shade Those Laurels,'' 1990 (fiction, completed by Peter Levi) * ''The Selected Works of Cyril Connolly'', 2002 (edited by Matthew Connolly), Volume One: ''The Modern Movement''; Volume Two: ''The Two Natures''


Notes


References

* Clive Fisher (1995): ''Cyril Connolly'', New York: St Martin's Press, * Jeremy Lewis (1995): ''Cyril Connolly, A Life'', London: Jonathan Cape,


External links


Bibliography and critical checklist
*
''Guardian'' profile of Connolly
by
William Boyd (writer) William Andrew Murray Boyd (born 7 March 1952) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. Biography Boyd was born in Accra, Gold Coast, (present-day Ghana), to Scottish parents, both from Fife, and has two younger sist ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Cyril 1903 births 1974 deaths 20th-century English novelists English literary critics English male novelists People educated at Eton College People educated at St Cyprian's School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Coventry British special constables 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers New Statesman people