Why so serious Katherine? You had a wild, wild life.
Especially when you left middle class Wellington for your boho life in London and found your notoriety writing short stories that became famous. Kicking about with the literary darlings of the day T.S Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Bertrand Russell, D.H Lawrence - what fun! Disgracing your family, marrying, divorcing, annulling, shacking up with then loving both Middleton Murray (your husband) and Ida Baker (your wife) at the same time! How fabulous. I always picture you with your chic bob and long cigarette holder, holding court with and keeping up with the Bloomsbury lot.
I love her. She just had a particular delicate, delightful way with words. My all time favourite short story of hers is Sun and Moon - I read it often and just adore the relationship between the brother and sister and what they observe, as only children can, as their indulgent parents prepare for a party.
Oh! Oh! Oh! It was a little house. It was a little pink house with white snow on the roof
and green windows and a brown door and stuck in the
When Sun saw the nut he felt quite tired and had to lean against Cook.
"Let me touch it. Just let me put my finger on the roof," said Moon, dancing. She always
wanted to touch all the food. Sun didn't.
When I went to Menton, I stood outside the Villa Isola Bella and cried. There are two plaques hanging on the wall outside the little stone house; I peered through the bougainvillea which clung to the gate and wiped away some tears as I read...
Vous trouverez Isola Bella gravée sur mon coeur.'
"you will find Isola Bella engraved on my heart'
something she wrote to her beloved Tig in a letter in 1920
and this one
"Oeuvres de Katherine Mansfield écrites a Isola Bella - 'The Daughters of the Late Colonel', 'The Young Girl', 'The Stranger', 'The Lady's Maid Poison'."
which refers to the prolific writing period she had there and some of the stories she produced.
Happy NZ Book Month!
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