Lesley Blanch,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(6 June 1904, London – 7 May 2007, Garavan near

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

, France) was a British writer, historian and traveller. She is best known for '' The Wilder Shores of Love'', about

Isabel Burton Isabel Burton (née Arundell; 20 March 1831 – 22 March 1896), later known as Lady Burton, was an English writer, explorer and adventurer. She was the wife and partner of explorer, adventurer, and writer Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890 ...

(who married the Arabist and explorer Richard),

Jane Digby Jane Elizabeth Digby (3 April 1807 – 11 August 1881) was an English aristocrat, famed for her remarkable love life and lifestyle. She had four husbands and many lovers, including Lord Ellenborough, Governor-General of India, King Ludwig ...

el-Mezrab (Lady Ellenborough, the society beauty who ended up living in the Syrian desert with a Bedouin chieftain),

Aimée du Buc de Rivéry Aimée, often unaccented as Aimee, is a feminine given name of French origin, translated as "beloved". The masculine form is Aimé. The English equivalent is Amy. It is also occasionally a surname. It may refer to: Given name Aimée * Aimée ...

(a French convent woman captured by pirates and sent to the Sultan's harem in Istanbul), and

Isabelle Eberhardt Isabelle Wilhelmine Marie Eberhardt (17 February 1877 – 21 October 1904) was a Swiss explorer and author. As a teenager, Eberhardt, educated in Switzerland by her father, published short stories under a male pseudonym. She became interested ...

(a Swiss linguist who felt most comfortable in boy's clothes and lived among the Arabs in the Sahara).Fowler, Christoper. ''The Book of Forgotten Authors'' (2017), pp. 27-29

Life and career

Blanch attended

St. Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

from 1915 to 1921, went on to study at the

Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, and began her career as a scenery designer and book illustrator. Between 1937 and 1944 she was features editor of the UK edition of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. In April 1945, she married the French novelist-diplomat

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

. Life in the French diplomatic service took them to the Balkans, Turkey, North Africa, Mexico and the USA. In the USA they associated with

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

and with Hollywood stars such as

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

.McGuinness, Mark. "An eccentric romantic's life: Lesley Blanch (1904–2007)", ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', Weekend Edition, 19–20 May 2007, p. 53 Gary left her for American actress

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...

. Lesley Blanch and Gary were divorced in 1963. Blanch continued to travel from her home in Paris, and saw old friends

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...

Violet Trefusis Violet Trefusis (''née'' Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English socialite and author. She is chiefly remembered for her lengthy affair with the writer Vita Sackville-West that both women continued after their respective marria ...

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

and the Windsors. She was a close friend of

Gerald de Gaury Gerald Simpson Hillairet Rutland Vere de Gaury MC (1 April 1897 – 12 January 1984) was a British military officer, Arabist, explorer, historian and diplomat. He served in the Hampshire Regiment in the First World War, where he fought at the So ...

, who gave her insights into middle eastern customs and culture.Fox, Margalit. 11 May 2007. Lesley Blanch, 103, a Writer, Traveler and Adventure-Seeker, Dies. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' The society photographer

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

was also a lifelong friend. The best known of her 12 books is '' The Wilder Shores of Love'' (1954), about four women who all "followed the beckoning Eastern star." The book also inspired the American artist

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced you ...

, who named a painting after the novel. Blanch's love of Russia, instilled in her by a friend of her parents whom she simply called The Traveller, is recounted in ''Journey into the Mind's Eye, Fragments of an Autobiography'' (1968, reissued 2018) which is part travel book, part love story. As well as awakening her to sex, he whetted her appetite with exotic tales of Siberia and Central Asia. The Traveller was possibly identified as

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Комиссаржевский; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his car ...

. Her trip to Iran and meeting Empress Farah Pahlavi in April 1975 resulted in a biography of the empress named "Farah, Shahbanou of Iran" on 1978 Lesley Blanch considered her best book to be ''The Sabres of Paradise'' (the biography of

Imam Shamyl Imam Shamil ( av, Шейх Шамил, Şeyx Şamil; ar, الشيخ شامل; russian: Имам Шамиль; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in ...

and history of Tsarist Russian rule in early 19th century

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

Awards and honours

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Lesley Blanch was appointed

in 2001, and in 2004 the French government awarded her the medal of Officier de l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

Death

She celebrated her 100th birthday in 2004. She died just one month shy of 103.

Publications

*1954: ''The Wilder Shores of Love'' London: Phoenix Press , New York: Simon & Schuster *1955: ''Round the World in 80 Dishes, the World Through the Kitchen Window'' (cookbook) London: Grub Street *1957: ''The Game of Hearts:

Harriette Wilson Harriette Wilson (2 February 1786 – 10 March 1845) was the author of ''The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself'' (1825). Wilson was a famed British Regency courtesan who became the mistress of William, Lord Craven, at the age of ...

and her Memoirs'' (edited and introduced by Lesley Blanch) *1957: ''Harriette Wilson's Memoirs'' (selected and edited by Lesley Blanch). London: Phoenix Press, 2003 *1960: ''The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus'' (a biography of

and history of Tsarist Russian rule in early 19th century Georgia and the Caucasus), London: BookBlast ePublishing *1963: ''Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star, Travels and Travellers'' *1965: ''The Nine Tiger Man, a Tale of Low Behaviour in High Places'', London: BookBlast ePublishing *1968: ''Journey into the Mind's Eye, Fragments of an Autobiography'' London: Eland Books *1974: ''Pavilions of the Heart, the Four Walls of Love'' *1978: '' Farah, Shahbanou of Iran'' *1983: ''

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica El ...

: Portrait of an Escapist'' *1989: ''From Wilder Shores, the Tables of my Travels'' (a collection of travel and food writings) *1998: '' Romain, un regard particulier''; traduit de l'anglais par Jean Lambert. Arles: Actes Sud *2015: ''On the Wilder Shores of Love: A Bohemian Life'' London: Virago

References

External links

*
ILA, translation rights

Guardian Online Review Profile article by Joe Boyd, 9 July 2005 * Lesley Blanch Papers. James Marshal and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanch, Lesley 1904 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English biographers English centenarians English expatriates in France English journalists English memoirists English non-fiction writers English travel writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Members of the Order of the British Empire Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Vogue (magazine) people British women travel writers British women memoirists Women centenarians