Memoirs of a Private Man

by Winston Graham

Winston Graham’s career spanned more than forty novels, among them the celebrated Poldark series, which won him the hearts of millions of readers. When he eventually found the time to tell the story of his own life, he produced this lovely book, rich in charm and intelligence. Witty, eccentric, and intimate by turns, Memoirs of a Private Man offers a glimpse into the world of the novelist who rose from remote Cornwall, with its cottages and gardens, to the glittering film scene of London.

Genres: Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Winston Graham was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote contemporary thrillers, period novels, short stories, non-fiction, and plays. Born in Victoria Park, Manchester, he moved to Perranporth, Cornwall in 1925 and lived there for 34 years. Graham published his first novel, The House with the Stained Glass Windows, in 1934 and married Jean Williamson in 1939, who inspired the character Demelza in Poldark. During World War II, he joined the Auxiliary Coastguard Service. Graham became a member of the Society of Authors in 1945, serving as chairman from 1967 to 1969, and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, receiving an OBE in 1983. His Poldark series began with Ross Poldark in 1945 and concluded with Bella Poldark in 2002. He wrote 30 additional novels, short stories, and non-fiction works, including the acclaimed thriller Marnie, adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1964. Several other novels, including The Walking Stick and Fortune Is a Woman, were adapted for film. Graham also wrote plays, some adapted from his novels. His works have been translated into 31 languages, and his autobiography, Memoirs of a Private Man, was published posthumously in 2003.

Reviews

[ZaRi · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I rely on hearsay for everything that has happened in the world before I was born, and the world as I know it, till end on the day I die. When I become part of ‘the dull, the indiscriminate dust’ there is nothing to prove to me that anything will still go on, any more than that anything existed before I opened my eyes and blinked up at my doting parents. Nothing can prove to me that the world and all it appears to contain has an objective reality. I know it has a subjective reality but no more … I burn my finger and I feel the pain. I feel nothing of the horrible pains of a thousand martyrs who have been -. it is said – burned at the stake for their beliefs, or disbeliefs. Even among my nearest and dearest there is no transference — can be no transference — of experience. One can feel empathy for someone suffering, but one cannot feel the suffering. We are all alone — desperately alone."

[N N · Rating 3 out of 5]

The consensus always seems to have been that writers make the worst sort of fictional protagonists: they live in the mind, not in their actions. Personally I always felt this was a fallacy, but Winston Graham's autobiography, although not fiction, could serve as an argument for the majority view. Yet it's not the lack of action that lets the book down; when I try to put my finger on it, I think it's something like a lack of warmth. I was tempted to find an astrological reason for this until I realized that Graham shared his Sun sign with Alec Waugh, the warmest of biographers. Still, a book like this can't fail to include some interesting snippets along the way. Worth the price of the book alone is an extraordinary passage about Graham's disbelief in objective reality, complete with a refutation of Johnson's refutation of Berkeley. There is a nice little bit on the depredations of homosexuality against language, and one of the best rude jokes ever committed to print - as if straight out of Simon Raven. For trivia lovers it is nice to know that Graham, who has long misled the compilers of Who's Who about his birth date, was born on the day of the Tunguska event.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. He wrote Marnie and Poldark. The name Poldark is from an acquaintance of the author who died young; his name was Palgreen. He met Gregory Peck, Hitchcock, and other celebrities.

Entertaining and light reading.

One line that really resonated with me "....opened up to me a world that before I had only groping to find - a world in which conversation was no longer chatter, in which anecdote was not gossip, in which wit and fun and intellectual debate were all".

O how earnestly I seek such company!

[Donna (Currently Busy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all of Mr. Graham's Poldark series and liked them very much. (Looks like I gave a lot of them five stars.) His memoir has me considering reading some of his other work.

This book has lots of fun facts in it. For example, Mr. Graham is named after Winston Churchill - who was his grandfather's cousin's running mate for Parliament. Also loved that Graham's kids agreed to name their first dog Garrick (a pet character in the Poldark series.)

Would love to visit Cornwall some day.

[Liz Fenwick]

An interesting, if at time rambling memoir...more like sitting down and having chats with an older person. There are some wonderful insights into the writing process and also on how the Poldark novels as well as his others. There also lovely glimpses into his life in Cornwall. Over all an enchanting read (especially if you scan the bits about his various cars!)

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

An endearing memoir by a man, who, by sheer determination and hard work, became a skilled & successful writer, best known for his "Poldark Series" of historical novels, and "Marney" --- as well as a scriptwriter.

[Ju · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one lives a life like this anymore.

[D.J. Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

My edition ISBN 978 1 4472 5675 5 does have this cover and it is published by Bello but it is a paperback not a Kindle edition. I'm discovering that memoirs are not written chronologically. Graham admits he has not: "This, I hope readers will have realized has not been intended as a chronological memoir." Nice to know on page 259, two pages from the end of the book! Yet, each memoir I've read this year has been this same way. I surmise two thoughts from Graham's statement and the reading of the other memoirs: 1) Perhaps there is a theme to each chapter (although I'm not sure what it is in some chapters, so it could be a memoir is just written in whichever way an author remembers while he or she is writing), and 2) chronological memoirs exist.

First on Graham's mind as he prefaces this book is that he has not committed any of the "fashionable sins". He mentions murder, burglary, among other "sins" that I had to look up in the dictionary. His friend thought maybe Graham had committed simony, and Graham had to ask what that was. I've started a few memoirs like that, generally of the Hollywood vein, and never finished them.

I find it difficult separating whether I actually liked the book or whether the draw of reading about the making of the Poldark series kept me reading. Yes, this is the author of that series.

I found the book to be a lovely and an easy read. I don't know that I would give it 5 stars, usually a number I give to books I buy and I did buy this one, but it is a grudgingly 4 star book (ha, I still can't forgive Graham for not being chronological). For a complete review of this book, see my post at https://englishpoiema.blogspot.com/20...

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing. For such an incredibly gifted writer, he led a selfish and wasteful life. His love for his wife and for the Poldark landscape must be what fed his writing, but he seemed to spend all his time swimming and partying when not writing. I don’t know what I expected from his personal life, but it wasn’t so much lightheartedness and crass. His writing of the Poldark novels definitely approaches a soap opera effect, especially when put into TV script, but the elegant behavior of his characters (even when crass at heart) and their very real life dilemmas led me to believe he led a similarly classy (for lack of a better word) life. Boy was I wrong. I suppose an author is allowed to digress from his craft when writing his own biography! I was just surprised at its casual nature. It sort of cheapened his writing. I will probably never read an author’s autobiography again. Apparently I need to let the work stand alone.

[Barbara Nabb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not one for autobiography usually

This was a really interesting insight into a man as nd his work - how the work lead the life in many directions which lead to the triggers for the books. Super.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read over 1/2 of the Poldark novels and watched both TV series, I enjoyed hearing of Mr Grahams life, with a little name dropping sprinkled through.

[Rebecca Dartnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham documents his life story in semi-chronological order, but with his own witty observations, side anecdotes, and wonderful writing style. Not only does he share about his family members, he documents his entry into the world of television and film-making, famous actors, directors, writers, etc etc. Through it all he also -most satisfying!- he shares the development of some of his works, and the real life people from whom he drew to create his memorable characters in his novels. He even includes some very insightful commentary about the art of the novel and the craft of writing - I will want to dip back into this book again, just to re-read these bits. It covers his beginnings (including the Victorian era of his young parents) all the way to his last year of life - a thorough autobiography.

[Bea Alden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobiography of the writer Winston Graham, who was hugely popular from the 1960s to the 1980s, several of whose books were made into successful films.