The Initials in the Heart

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-initials-in-the-heart-by-lawrence-whistler/

It’s a beautiful portrait of a relationship, cut short by her death five years into their marriage, at the age of 29, shortly after the birth of their second child. Her health was generally weak – Whistler thinks in retrospect that she had lupus, which was much more dangerous in the 1940s than it is today – but even so her death was sudden and unexpected. In their time together they had shared the delights of parenthood, but also the tragedy of a house fire in which they lost most of their possessions. At the end he was separated from her by the war, and several of their close friends (including Lawrence’s brother Rex) died in the conflict. All show more bereavements are tragic, and this is an eloquent description of a couple who expected many years together, but had only a few. show less

Artist and poet Laurence Whistler tells the story of his life with actress Jill Furse, and of their five-year marriage, cut tragically short by her early death. Told in his own words, and through extracts from her letters and diary, this is beautiful, intelligent prose, capturing a brief moment of joy as, against a background of approaching war, the couple live a rural idyll deep in the Devon countryside.

For those interested in Laurence Whistler as an artist, there are occasional passing mentions of engravings made, but the events of this book take place early in his career. There are however insights into his influences, and there is a strong sense of his vision of countryside. His brother, Rex Whistler, does not feature heavily but, show more in one of the most moving passages of the book, Laurence recalls how he came to learn of Rex's death.

This is a book that mixes the joyful and the poignant, love and grief, and that tries to resolve the paradox of passing time, to find the location of a lost, joyful past. show less