leginten Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 One sad piece of news from the end of last week was the death, at the age of 96, of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, writer extraordinaire, adventurer, war hero and hellenophile. Walked from Holland to Constantinople aged 19; was involved in one of the greatest escapades of WWII when he organised and executed the capture of the German commander on Crete, General Kreipe; wrote travel books (which are so much more than just travel books) in wonderful, erudite, beautifully crafted English; swam the Hellespont at the age of 70. Dashing, handsome, brilliant, and he led a life that one can only envy and admire. The Cretan exploit was filmed as Ill Met By Moonlight and starred Dirk Bogarde as Leigh Fermor. Obituary here: http://www.telegraph...igh-Fermor.html Some of his books: Any Leigh Fermor fans out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 One sad piece of news from the end of last week was the death, at the age of 96, of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, writer extraordinaire, adventurer, war hero and hellenophile. Walked from Holland to Constantinople aged 19; was involved in one of the greatest escapades of WWII when he organised and executed the capture of the German commander on Crete, General Kreipe; wrote travel books (which are so much more than just travel books) in wonderful, erudite, beautifully crafted English; swam the Hellespont at the age of 70. Dashing, handsome, brilliant, and he led a life that one can only envy and admire. The Cretan exploit was filmed as Ill Met By Moonlight and starred Dirk Bogarde as Leigh Fermor. Obituary here: http://www.telegraph...igh-Fermor.html Some of his books: Any Leigh Fermor fans out there? Very much so: a truly great writer as you say. 'A Time of Gifts' and 'Between the Woods and the Water' are two of my favourite books of any genre, never mind travel books. Whilst I was sad to hear the news of his death (although what a life he had lived!) I'm intrigued as to whether the long-awaited third book of his journey to Constantinople will now surface and be published posthumously. From what I understand, much (or all) of the material for this exists*, but Leigh Fermor was unwilling to submit it for publication whilst alive due to it containing further details of his affair with the married woman, who was a member of the Hungarian nobility, mentioned in 'Between the Woods and the Water'. Now that all of the people involved are (presumably) deceased, it might clear the way for this book to emerge. I certainly hope so. W Stanley Moss' book 'Ill Met by Moonlight' is also very much worth reading, for its portrait of PLF and also as an illustration of the outstanding bravery of all concened and the sheer audacity of the operation itself. (*Exerpts from that part of his journey appear in his last book, the anthology 'The Words of Mercury'.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Never heard of him but am fascinated so will look some of his books out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Never heard of him but am fascinated so will look some of his books out. Don't bother with the novel he wrote: 'The Violins of Saint-Jacques'. It's um... "interesting" , but isn't at all representative of his other writing and is definitely not his best work! Pretty much everything else he wrote, depending on what you find most interesting yourself, is superb though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Very much so: a truly great writer as you say. 'A Time of Gifts' and 'Between the Woods and the Water' are two of my favourite books of any genre, never mind travel books. Whilst I was sad to hear the news of his death (although what a life he had lived!) I'm intrigued as to whether the long-awaited third book of his journey to Constantinople will now surface and be published posthumously. From what I understand, much (or all) of the material for this exists*, but Leigh Fermor was unwilling to submit it for publication whilst alive due to it containing further details of his affair with the married woman, who was a member of the Hungarian nobility, mentioned in 'Between the Woods and the Water'. Now that all of the people involved are (presumably) deceased, it might clear the way for this book to emerge. I certainly hope so. W Stanley Moss' book 'Ill Met by Moonlight' is also very much worth reading, for its portrait of PLF and also as an illustration of the outstanding bravery of all concened and the sheer audacity of the operation itself. (*Exerpts from that part of his journey appear in his last book, the anthology 'The Words of Mercury'.) I've just started re-reading Between the Woods and the Water. It really is fantastic stuff, and all the more interesting for its depiction of the post-imperial nobility in Hungary and Romania that was about to be swept away forever. It will be interesting to see how the third part of the trilogy turns out - I'm sure it will appear in some shape or form. I've read Stanley Moss' book about the Kreipe incident and agree that it's very worthwhile. Also interesting is George Psychoundakis' The Cretan Runner, a great book about the work of the resistance on Crete. It includes an account of the Kreipe kidnapping and numerous other references to Leigh Fermor (who translated the book into English). It's almost inconceivable that someone still in his twenties could carry something like this off. I could hardly tie my shoelaces at that age. I'll be doing my best to raise a glass of Ardbeg to the memory of the great man most evenings this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I've just started re-reading Between the Woods and the Water. It really is fantastic stuff, and all the more interesting for its depiction of the post-imperial nobility in Hungary and Romania that was about to be swept away forever. It will be interesting to see how the third part of the trilogy turns out - I'm sure it will appear in some shape or form. I've read Stanley Moss' book about the Kreipe incident and agree that it's very worthwhile. Also interesting is George Psychoundakis' The Cretan Runner, a great book about the work of the resistance on Crete. It includes an account of the Kreipe kidnapping and numerous other references to Leigh Fermor (who translated the book into English). It's almost inconceivable that someone still in his twenties could carry something like this off. I could hardly tie my shoelaces at that age. I'll be doing my best to raise a glass of Ardbeg to the memory of the great man most evenings this week. Cheers for that: I'll look out for it. (Psychoundakis - what a great name! Hope he was actually a bit of a nutter... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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