Biography of patrick leigh fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Life in Letters
Though hardly known in this country, in his native England Patrick Leigh Fermor is practically a cult figure, often said to be the best travel writer of the 20th century. But Fermor — or Paddy, as he was known to just about everyone — was also a famous vacillator and procrastinator, always distractable, unable to meet a deadline, and much of the effort he might have put into books and articles went into letters instead. Adam Sisman, the editor of this volume, guesses that in the course of his very long life (Fermor died in , at 96) he might have written as many as 10, Sisman has selected fewer than , but they do add up to a biography of sorts — or, rather, a scrapbook of a rich, fascinating life lived mostly out of a suitcase and in a race to the post office. Until he was almost 50, and finally owned a house, Fermor seldom stayed in one place longer than a month. From the time he bolted college at 18 and hiked across Europe, sometimes sleeping in fields, but more likely than not in some of the finest homes and castles laid open to his youthful good-nature and charm. I am sure Bruce Chatwin, a more contemporary travel writer, took many techniques from his style and pages. Living on wits, tavern songs, an appreciation for good drink and exaggerations and lies.
The Fermor who emerges in these letters (and in a conventional biography published in by Artemis Cooper, granddaughter of Lady Diana Cooper, one of his most favored correspondents) was a bundle of contradictions. He was a man of letters but also, like his hero Byron, a man of action — a war hero and a restless adventurer, who even swam the Hellespont when he was He never finished school — his headmaster called him “a dangerous mixture of sophistication and recklessness” and tossed him out for holding hands with a shopkeeper’s daughter — but was prodigiously learned, conversant in at least eight languages and able to recite hours of poetry by heart. He
Patrick Leigh Fermor
British author and soldier (–)
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh FermorDSO OBE (11 February – 10 June ) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greatest living travel writer, on the basis of books such as A Time of Gifts (). A BBC journalist once termed him "a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene".
Early life and education
Leigh Fermor was born in London, the son of Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, a distinguished geologist, and Muriel Aeyleen (Eileen), daughter of Charles Taafe Ambler. His mother added the "Leigh" before "Fermor" in his surname, although it was not a true double-barrelled name. Shortly after his birth, his mother and sister left to join his father in India, leaving the infant Patrick in England with a family in Northamptonshire: first in the village of Weedon, and later in nearby Dodford. He did not meet his parents or his sister again until he was four years old. As a child Leigh Fermor had problems with academic structure and limitations, and was sent to a school for "difficult" children. He was later expelled from The King's School, Canterbury, after he was caught holding hands with a greengrocer's daughter. At school he also became friendly with another contemporary, Alan Watts.
His last report from The King's School noted that the young Leigh Fermor was "a dangerous mixture of sophistication and recklessness". He continued learning by reading texts on Greek, Latin, Shakespeare and history, with the intention of entering the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Gradually he changed his mind, deciding to become an author instead, and in the summer of relocated to Shepherd Market in London, living with a few friends. Soon, faced with the challenges of an author's life in Londo
Tom on the Costa da Morte, Galicia,
My name is Tom Sawford and I live in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
I first became aware of Paddy quite late in life; I guess he is an acquired taste. A strongly developed vocabulary is vital when reading his work; or at least a dictionary. Of course now with access to Google it is possible to quickly research some of the more obscure topics that Paddy assumes mere mortals will be aware of. I remember the first time I read A Time of Gifts and being amused that Paddy clearly expected his readers to have at least a schoolboy/girl grasp of Latin as phrases pour out with no explanation or translation.
But surely that is the attraction of his work. He does not compromise, and if you like what you read it drags you along with it, drinking from the cup of knowledge that Paddy offers.
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor DSO OBE lived a full life, and had experiences that few others will likely ever have again. He&#;d done much even before the second world war, even living with a Romanian princess who was older than he, and during that war he applied his skills to fighting behind German lines, and achieved the capture, with &#;Billy&#; Moss, of the German Garrison Commander of Crete, Major General Kreipe. After the war he travelled, wrote, married, developed long-lasting friendships, probably had numerous affairs, and built a house in Greece.
The purpose of my blog is to bring the life and work of Paddy, and his many friends and colleagues, to the attention of a wider audience, and to create an archive of on-line material that can be used for research and enjoyment. He and his friends deserve to be recognised and remembered in a world that changed much during their lives, but would be the poorer without them.
If you would like to help with the blog, contribute an article or anything else, please contact me atsawford[at].
or join me on Facebook.
Please visit my other blog on the subject of Byzantium; it too is full of in The handsome and adventurous Patrick Leigh Fermor, who died in June , was a distinguished travel writer and leading authority on modern Greece. He had lived there before World War II and returned as a British officer in Special Operations. After the British were driven out of Greece he remained behind to fight alongside the guerrillas during the German occupation. On Crete in he put on a Nazi uniform, set up a roadblock and boldly captured the German commander. The general turned out to be a cultured captive, well versed in the Classics, and they had many lively talks before the prisoner was sent to a camp in Canada. Twenty years after the war they appeared congenially together in a Greek television programme. Paddy’s heroic exploit, still famous all over Greece, inspired a novel, Ill Met by Moonlight, and a film of that name with Dirk Bogarde. I corresponded with Paddy while writing a biography of Errol Flynn. The two men were kindred spirits. During his early years in New Guinea Flynn had been a gold prospector, slave recruiter, bird trapper, plantation manager, copra trader, boat captain, pearl diver and diamond smuggler. Paddy had written the screenplay of one of Flynn’s best movies, The Roots of Heaven (), and been on the scene during the disastrous filming in French Equatorial Africa. Flynn, Trevor Howard and Paddy were all drinking heavily, and there was some conflict when Paddy fell in love with the French singer, Juliette Gréco, the co-star and mistress of his boss and producer Darryl Zanuck. In a vivid letter of 5 May , Paddy described the horrendous conditions – heat, disease, swarming insects and dangerous animals – while making the movie in the tropics. He got on well with the flamboyant Flynn, enjoyed his conversation and gave a perceptive account of his character: Errol seemed distinctly more intelligent than the run of actors. Full of original tangents, a great narrative gift, and a great sense of humour. He often referred to his lea