Diana Athill (21 December 1917 – 23 January 2019) was a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the greatest writers of the 20th century at the London-based publishing company Andre Deutsch Ltd.

Early life

Diana Athill was born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, London, during a World War I

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

bombing raid. Pattullo, Polly (24 January 2019)
"Diana Athill obituary"
in ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 24 January 2019. She was brought up in the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, in

Ditchingham Hall Ditchingham Hall is an English country house, near the village of Ditchingham in south Norfolk, England, which is set in about of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown. The Hall is about northwest of Ditchingham off the B1332 road between B ...

, a country house. Her parents were Major Lawrence Athill (1888–1957) and Alice Carr Athill (1895–1990). She had a brother, Andrew, and a sister, Patience. Her maternal grandfather was biographer William Carr (1862–1925). Her maternal grandmother's father was

James Franck Bright James Franck Bright (29 May 1832 – 23 October 1920) was a British historian and Master of University College, Oxford. Biography James Franck Bright was born in London, the son of the physician Richard Bright, who described Bright's disease, ...

(1832–1920), a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Athill graduated from

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...

, Oxford, in 1939 and worked for the BBC throughout the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Career

After the war, Athill helped her friend

André Deutsch André Deutsch (15 November 1917 – 11 April 2000) was a Hungarian-born British publisher who founded an eponymous publishing company in 1951. Biography Deutsch was born on 15 November 1917 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of a Jewish dentis ...

establish the publishing house Allan Wingate, and five years later, in 1952, she was a founding director of the publishing company that was given his name. She worked closely with many Deutsch authors, including

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel '' St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even ...

, Jean Rhys, Gitta Sereny, Brian Moore,

V. S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienati ...

Molly Keane Molly Keane (20 July 1904 – 22 April 1996),Who's Who 1987 Mary Nesta Skrine, and who also wrote as M. J. Farrell, was an Irish novelist and playwright. Early life Keane was born Mary Nesta Skrine in Ryston Cottage, Newbridge, County Kilda ...

Stevie Smith Florence Margaret Smith, known as Stevie Smith (20 September 1902 – 7 March 1971), was an English poet and novelist. She won the Cholmondeley Award and was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. A play, '' Stevie'' by Hugh Whitemore, ba ...

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian an ...

Charles Gidley Wheeler Charles Gidley Wheeler (1938–2010), also known as Charles Gidley, was a television screenwriter and historical novelist whose work has been acclaimed in ''Publishers Weekly'', ''The Washington Post'', ''Kirkus Reviews'', and ''The New York Time ...

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

, and David Gurr. Athill retired from Deutsch in 1993 at the age of 75, after more than 50 years in publishing. She continued to influence the literary world through her revealing memoirs about her editorial career. The first book of her own writing to appear was the short story collection ''An Unavoidable Delay'' (1962), and she published two further works of fiction: a novel entitled ''Don't Look at Me Like That'' (1967) and in 2011 another volume of stories, ''Midsummer Night in the Workhouse''. She was best known, however, for her books of memoirs, the first of which was ''Instead of a Letter'' in 1963. These memoirs were not written in chronological order, ''Yesterday Morning'' (2002) being the account of her childhood. She also translated various works from French. She appeared on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' in 2004 at the age of 86 and selected a recording of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

's '' The Creation'' as the most valued of the eight records and

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and th ...

's ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'' as the book. In 2008, she won the Costa Book Award for her memoir ''Somewhere Towards The End'', a book about old age. For the same book, she also received the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

for services to literature. In June 2010, she was the subject of a BBC documentary, ''Growing Old Disgracefully'', part of the '' Imagine'' series. In 2013, she was listed as one of the 50 best-dressed over-50s by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. In 2011 Granta Books published ''Instead of a Book: Letters to a Friend'', a collection of letters from Athill to the American poet Edward Field chronicling their intimate correspondence spanning more than 30 years (he kept all her letters, she kept none of his). Granta Books published two further titles by her: ''Alive, Alive Oh!: And Other Things That Matter'' in 2015 and ''A Florence Diary'' in 2016.

Personal life

According to journalist Mick Brown, "She attributes her flight from convention to her first love, Tony Irvine, an RAF pilot with whom she fell in love at the age of 15, and who was blessed, she says, 'with a very open approach to life.'"Brown, Mick (23 September 2011)
"Diana Athill on letters, lovers & letting go"
''The Telegraph''. Retrieved 21 August 2012. The failure of her relationship with Irvine (referred to as Paul in ''Instead of a Letter''),Cochrane, Kira (5 January 2009)
"Not bad for 91"
''The Guardian''. her "great love", "blighted" many years: "My affairs after that, I kept them trivial if I possibly could. I was frightened of intensity, because I knew I was going to be hurt." Irvine went to war in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, and eventually stopped replying to Athill's letters, then two years later requested an end to their

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

. At age 43, Athill suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemica ...

. She called herself a "sucker for oppressed foreigners", an inclination she characterized as a "funny kink" in her maternal instinct: "I never particularly wanted children, but it came out in liking lame ducks." One lover, the Egyptian author Waguih Ghali, a depressive, committed suicide in her flat. Her most remarkable affair, about which she later wrote a book, was "a fleeting, and distinctly odd" relationship with

Hakim Jamal Hakim Abdullah Jamal (born Allen Donaldson; March 28, 1931 – May 1, 1973) was an American activist and writer. He was an associate of Michael X and wrote ''From the Dead Level'', a memoir of his life and memories of Malcolm X. During his life, ...

, an American Black radical who asserted he was God and was a cousin of

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

. Jamal's other lover,

Gale Benson Gale Ann Benson (née Plugge; 4 November 1944 – 2 January 1972) was a British model, socialite and daughter of Conservative MP Leonard Plugge. She was stabbed and buried alive in Trinidad and Tobago. Life Benson was born 4 November 1944 in ...

, was murdered by Trinidadian Black Power leader

Michael X Michael X (17 August 1933 – 16 May 1975), born Michael de Freitas, was a Trinidad and Tobago-born self-styled black revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and Abdul Malik. Convi ...

. Jamal was killed by others a year later. Athill's account of these events was published in 1993 as ''Make Believe: A True Story''. Her longest relationship was with the Jamaican playwright

Barry Reckord Barrington John Reckord (19 November 1926 – 20 December 2011), known as Barry Reckord, was a Jamaican playwright, one of the earliest Caribbean writers to make a contribution to theatre in Britain. His brother was the actor and director Lloyd ...

. The affair lasted eight years, but he shared her flat for forty. She described it as a "detached" sort of marriage. She moved into a flat in a north London residence for the "active elderly" at the end of 2009, saying about this decision: "Almost at once on arrival at the home I knew that it was going to suit me. And sure enough, it does. A life free of worries in a snug little nest....". Even during her old age, she reemphasized that she had no regrets about not having her own children, saying: "I dearly love certain young people of my acquaintance and am happy to have them in my life, but am I sorry that they are not my descendants? No...." Athill died at a hospice in London on 23 January 2019, aged 101, following a short illness. Her nephew and heir, the art historian Philip Athill, is managing director of the dealership and gallery,

Abbott and Holder Abbott and Holder is an art gallery and dealership in London, England, that specialises in low-price, 19th- and 20th-century English paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints. The gallery has been located at 30 Museum Street, London WC1 si ...

Selected bibliography

Fiction

* 1962: ''An Unavoidable Delay'', short stories * 1967: ''Don't Look at Me Like That: a novel''. London:

Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

. New edition, Granta Books, 2001. * 2011: ''Midsummer Night in the Workhouse'', short stories. London:

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. The ...

Autobiography

* 1963: ''Instead of a Letter''. London: Chatto & Windus. New edition, Granta Books, 2001. * 1986: ''After a Funeral'' – winner of the

J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography PEN Ackerley Prize (or, J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography) is awarded annually by English PEN for a literary autobiography of excellence, written by an author of British nationality and published during the preceding year. The winner receiv ...

. London:

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

. * 1993: ''Make Believe''. London:

Sinclair-Stevenson Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd is a British publisher founded in 1989 by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson. Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson became an editor at Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 ...

. Reprinted, Granta Books, 2012. * 2000: ''Stet: a memoir'', London: Granta Books. * 2002: ''Yesterday Morning: a very English childhood''. London: Granta Books. * 2008: ''Somewhere Towards the End'' – winner of Costa Prize for Biography. London: Granta Books. * 2009: ''Life Class: the Selected Memoirs of Diana Athill''. London: Granta Books. * 2011: ''Instead of a Book: Letters to a Friend''. London: Granta Books. * 2015: ''Alive, Alive Oh!: And Other Things That Matter''. London Granta Books. * 2016: ''A Florence Diary''. London Granta Books.

References

External links

* Correia, Arlindo. Profile of Diana Athill; a selection of her articles extracted from various British and American publications *
Profile; articles, pt. 1
*

Complete Review
Short BBC interview with Fiona Bruce
BBC News, 18 January 2009 * , 15 June 2009 * Interview with

Jenni Murray Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's ''Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020. Early life Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorks ...

"Being 90
– Diana Athill and

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the longe ...

discuss what it's like to have reached their ninth decade", ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...

'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

, 22 May 2009
Diana Athill tells her life story
at

Web of Stories Web of Stories is an online collection of thousands of autobiographical video-stories. Web of Stories, originally known as Science Archive, was set up to record the life stories of scientists. When it expanded to include the lives of authors, mov ...

Interview with Jonathan Derbyshire
''

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 ...

'', 20 August 2012
Lucy Scholes, "Diana Athill on How to Age Gracefully"
The Daily Beast, 30 April 2012. *

' at Persephone Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Athill, Diana 1917 births 2019 deaths 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century British women writers Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford BBC people British autobiographers British book editors British centenarians British literary editors British memoirists British short story writers British women memoirists British women novelists British women short story writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Ditchingham Women centenarians