Pentimento
j...@radidelmex.net
to see an example of pentimento, direct (nay order) your browser to:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/
CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG834
The chequered floor is visible through the skirt of the servant to the right.
Does anyone know if the woman Julia in the book was a real person, or a
composite character? My favorite character in the book was Tallulah with the
cocaine eyedrops. Next is Arthur W.A. Cowan, a man too fantastic to make up.
In the back of the old paperback they mention "Julian" by Gore Vidal, which
looks like a fun read. One of the pleasures of reading an old paperback is
the links to other books, fresh at the time, now forgotten in the rush
(nay slush?) of the new.
Charles Blair
>Does anyone know if the woman Julia in the book was a real person, or a
>composite character? My favorite character in the book was Tallulah with the
>cocaine eyedrops. Next is Arthur W.A. Cowan, a man too fantastic to make up.
The consensus seems to be that Hellman never had anything like this
experience (including the train trip), and that she based some of Julia's
resistance activity on Muriel Gardner, who survived the second world
war to write about her experiences in CODE NAME MARY, published before
PENTIMENTO. Gardner says she never met Hellman.
This is one of those issues in which people's political views
influence the conclusions they want to reach.
j del col
> I've just finished "Pentimento" by Lillian Hellman, and if anyone is curious
> to see an example of pentimento, direct (nay order) your browser to:
>
> http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/
> CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG834
>
> The chequered floor is visible through the skirt of the servant to the right.
>
> Does anyone know if the woman Julia in the book was a real person, or a
> composite character?
Hellman was a chronic liar. She fabricated her adventures with Julia.
Yes, there was a real person who served as a model for Julia, but
she never met Hellman.
My favorite character in the book was Tallulah with the
> cocaine eyedrops. ....
Cocaine used to be anesthetic of choice for ophthalmic work. It still
would be if it weren't for its other uses.
Why Ms Bankhead wished to numb her eyes is anybody's guess.
J. Del Col
Henry Churchyard
j del col <del...@ab.edu> wrote:
>j...@radiDELMEx.net wrote in message news:<afi646$p3a$2...@news1.Radix.Net>...
>> I've just finished "Pentimento" by Lillian Hellman, and Does anyone
>> know if the woman Julia in the book was a real person, or a
>> composite character?
> Hellman was a chronic liar. She fabricated her adventures with
> Julia. Yes, there was a real person who served as a model for
> Julia, but she never met Hellman.
The only Hellman that I've read was the first 20 pages or so of
"Scoundrel Time", which I picked up ultra-cheap at a used bookstore
more than 15 years ago, only because of a vague interest in the
politics of the '50's (without knowing exactly who Hellman was).
I didn't learn anything about the 1950's, but I did find that I was
rapidly developing a violently antagonistic antipathy toward the
narrator of the book -- so that if I didn't stop reading the book, I
would in pretty short order probably start cheering on Joe McCarthy or
anyone else who could get this Lillian Helman character whom I was
coming to despise. At that point, I threw the book across the room,
and haven't read anything by Hellman from that day to this.
--
Henry Churchyard chu...@crossmyt.com http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/
j...@radidelmex.net
> so that if I didn't stop reading the book, I
> would in pretty short order probably start cheering on Joe McCarthy or
> anyone else who could get this Lillian Helman character whom I was
> coming to despise. At that point, I threw the book across the room,
> and haven't read anything by Hellman from that day to this.
For some reason Lillian had a problem with McCarthy's. I understand
she also had a longstanding feud with Mary McCarthy (of "The Group" fame),
but I am not interested enough in old feuds to suss out what it was all
about. Probably because she's a lefty and I tilt sinister I am indulgent
with her prevarications.
Louis Katorz
>Hellman was a chronic liar. She fabricated
>her adventures with Julia.
>Yes, there was a real person who served
>as a model for Julia, but she never met
>Hellman.
_Pentimento_ was made into a movie in 1977 called "Julia". It starred
Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards Jnr.
Unfortunately, there is a real JaneFonda.
j...@radidelmex.net
> _Pentimento_ was made into a movie in 1977 called "Julia". It starred
> Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards Jnr.
> Unfortunately, there is a real Jane Fonda.
On the plus side, I think the movie introduced Meryl Streep. I'm still
waiting for Meryl to do a nude scene. To hell with artistic integrity!