Saturday 4 March 2023

Valerie Hemingway - Running with The Bulls. My Years with The Hemingways

 Well, hello March!  Can you believe it?  The year is just flying by already.


I am reading this wonderful book by Irish woman, Valerie Hemingway (nee Valerie Danby-Smith).  What tales she has to tell!  At the young age of about 20 or so, during a Summer abroad in Spain, where she was trying to eke a living out as a governess and find inspiration for her writing/journalism, she befriended some people including Ernest & Mary Hemingway. And indeed ended up writing for and sending articcles home to The Irish Times "our friend in Madrid says...."

I am fascinated by a lot of things in his book at just three/four chapters in.  Amongst other items, her memory and recall of situations, people and stories.  And then! How about this.  I was just flabbergasted to hear about her early life before Spain.  She was sent away to boarding school at the age of 4 (until to age of 18) to the Dominican Convent in Cabra.  My school!  This is where I attended 1990-1995.

I look forward to finishing this brilliant read and then passing it on to one of my reader friends here on the island for their thoughts on it too.  Isabelle, in particular, is very talented at succint 8 word reviews on Instagram!

And of course, I need to find out how she became a Hemingway!!


No comments:

Post a Comment