French. They bring an interpreter –
the game was up. The
doorman concedes that ‘the young lady’ can wait in a room alone, while the others go in and gamble. My grandmother, drawing herself up, declares: ‘Do you think I would leave my
young daughter alone at a casino in Monte Carlo?’ and they leave, with much mirth. (Anne writes, presumably using an expression learned from her American relations, Gee, we did
have some fun this evening! ) They proceed to Genoa, then Pisa, then Florence, where they receive a telegram – Grandmoods has died suddenly of a heart attack. They return to her
rented villa and Anne’s Aunt Lin, her husband, Suirdale, and Chow arrive from England. It is decided that Grandmoods will be cremated in Golders Green and her ashes scattered on her husband
Michael’s grave in the churchyard at Battle. Anne is allowed to choose whether to return home for the cremation with her mother or to resume the Italian holiday with Aunt Dita, Uncle Jay and
Peggie. (I imagine that Dita did not go to her mother’s cremation because, Peggie told me, her mother was always mean to her.) Not surprisingly, Anne chooses Italy. She does, however, write
in the diary that she is upset by her grandmother’s death, and by the idea of her household and staff being disbanded. She begins to feel ill and her mother tells her that she can still go
home if she wishes. Then, before her mother leaves with Chow, Lin and Lin’s husband, she tells Anne that she need never return to Queen’s Gate School.
I am furious when I read this. What did my grandmother think that she was doing? The diary had made it clear that Anne was doing well at the school, both in her lessons and at games, and had
made several friends. Perhaps it actually suited my grandmother
not
to have her at school; maybe the practicalities of having the child stay up in London five days a week were inconvenient.
Or possibly, like many women of her era, for whom marriage for a daughter was the ultimate aim, she simply did not see the point of Anne having any academic qualifications. Even so, the casualness
with which she delivered the news to Anne of her schooldays being truncated must have given the girl a skewed notion of commitment. Here is Anne’s diary again after Grandmoods’
death:
May 14th 1930. Rome.
Peggie’s very nice to me, I like her awfully. I had a letter from Mum, Yvonne and Nah today, Will has mumps, apparently he was quite ill and
Frank [the chauffeur] and all the children have it. Nah is in quarantine for them. The baby rabbit died and Jerry has bitten lots of people and it is very cold. I heard
today that a bomb big enough to blow the whole building to pieces was found concealed in a lavatory in the Casino at Monte Carlo with a fuse to it, it must have been there when we were there, it is
supposed to be someone inside the building who has done it as no one is allowed to go in with any sort of package and six men have been arrested, it is rather thrilling considering we were there
such a short time ago and it might have been blown up while we were there and our hotel was within a few yards of the Casino.
May 17th. Knowle. We had a lovely crossing and arrived at Folkestone at a quarter to nine, they were very good at the customs and opened nothing. The car met us and
we arrived home at 10.45, pretty good I think. I miss everyone awfully, especially Peggie as she was so awfully nice to me. The garden is lovely, it is being opened to the public on Wednesday next.
I am going in twice a week to Italian Lessons in Tunbridge Wells and a French woman is coming out twice a week to talk French to me, rather more work than I anticipated still never mind, we are
meeting Miss Houghton in London next Monday, what a pity. Everyone is well here which is good, no mumps in the house thank Goodness and the weather is quite warm.
Anne, no longer obliged to study with her peers, spends an enjoyable summer with tennis lessons, tennis
Susan Marsh, Nicola Cleary, Anna Stephens
David Fulmer
Simon Scarrow
Lisa Scullard
Lisa Jackson
Kasey Millstead
Jennifer Comeaux
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, Craig Deitschmann
Barbara McMahon
Karin Slaughter