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Mit Chatwin
The celebrated author of such beloved works as In Patagonia and The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin was a heartfelt nomad whose desire for adventure and enlightenment was made wholly evident by his writings. A great storyteller with a superbly original eye, Chatwin had achieved international literary stardom before his death from AIDS in 1989, at the age of forty-eight. In With Chatwin, Susannah Clapp also sheds light on some of the controversies surrounding the author's legend, and presents the lavish and difficult contradictions of his life.
As his first editor and one of his literary executors, Clapp was uncommonly close to both Chatwin's life and work. Here, she calls upon Martin Amis, Edmund White, Salman Rushdie, and Chatwin's wife, among others, to re-create the elusive realm in which he lived. The Chatwin that emerges in this portraiture is one whose imagination and passion will be cherished by generations of readers.
254 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 8, 2026
Un libro stupendo che per tanti anni ho ignorato, stupidamente, pensando che le chiacchiere da bar e i pettegolezzi non si addicevano alla mia fantastica opinione di Chatwin.
Come tantissimi curiosi lettori ho vissuto l'ascesa di questo totem letterario come in un sogno. Ricordo le case che ho abitato da studente universitario nelle quali le copie Adelphi de In Patagonia o La Collina Nera o Le Vie dei Canti erano sempre in bella vista e con i miei amici facevamo notte fonda, tra erba e vino scadente, a raccontarci i brani più iconici dei libri che avevamo appena divorato.
Ma il libro di Susannah Clapp non è affatto una raccolta di pettegolezzi, tutt'altro. È un racconto sentito e appassionato di un genio dell'arte di conversare, di studiare, di leggere, di osservare. Aldilà delle convenzioni, delle scuole, delle accademie.
Il giovanissimo Bruce, appena diplomato viene assunto dalla famosa casa d'aste Sotheby e nel giro di pochi anni diventa un esperto riconosciuto di arte africana e primitiva. Quasi contemporaneamente comincia a viaggiare (nei primi anni '60) per valutazioni e acquisizioni di collezioni.
Questo suo particolare talento, riconoscere i capolavori in un mare di brutture, gli torna molto utile quando, dopo pochi anni lascia Sotheby per iscriversi al corso di Archeologia dell'Università di Edimburgo, dove si mantiene agli studi comprando e vendendo opere d'arte.
Ma anche lo studio, dopo un pò lo stufa, perciò accetta di tornare a Londra per lavorare nella redazione del neonato Sunday Times, la costola illustrata del prestigioso quotidiano. Come sempre circondato di ottime amicizie e un'aura di leggenda, moltiplica i suoi viaggi in tutto il mondo e comincia la stesura del suo primo libro che diventerà leggendario e in brevissimo tempo farà di lui un mito.
Clapp è stata amica di Chatwin, ma soprattutto la sua prima editor, che ha lavorato insieme a lui alla stesura e limatura di In Patagonia e altri libri di Chatwin.
Ricco di preziose testimonianze e diversi "dietro le quinte" divertenti e illuminanti sul carattere unico e giocoso di questo genio scomparso troppo presto, che sul letto di morte progettava libri, opere liriche, teatrali, studi, canzoni.
Chissà cos'altro ci avrebbe regalato se l'AIDS non se lo fosse portato via a 48 anni...
Come tantissimi curiosi lettori ho vissuto l'ascesa di questo totem letterario come in un sogno. Ricordo le case che ho abitato da studente universitario nelle quali le copie Adelphi de In Patagonia o La Collina Nera o Le Vie dei Canti erano sempre in bella vista e con i miei amici facevamo notte fonda, tra erba e vino scadente, a raccontarci i brani più iconici dei libri che avevamo appena divorato.
Ma il libro di Susannah Clapp non è affatto una raccolta di pettegolezzi, tutt'altro. È un racconto sentito e appassionato di un genio dell'arte di conversare, di studiare, di leggere, di osservare. Aldilà delle convenzioni, delle scuole, delle accademie.
Il giovanissimo Bruce, appena diplomato viene assunto dalla famosa casa d'aste Sotheby e nel giro di pochi anni diventa un esperto riconosciuto di arte africana e primitiva. Quasi contemporaneamente comincia a viaggiare (nei primi anni '60) per valutazioni e acquisizioni di collezioni.
Questo suo particolare talento, riconoscere i capolavori in un mare di brutture, gli torna molto utile quando, dopo pochi anni lascia Sotheby per iscriversi al corso di Archeologia dell'Università di Edimburgo, dove si mantiene agli studi comprando e vendendo opere d'arte.
Ma anche lo studio, dopo un pò lo stufa, perciò accetta di tornare a Londra per lavorare nella redazione del neonato Sunday Times, la costola illustrata del prestigioso quotidiano. Come sempre circondato di ottime amicizie e un'aura di leggenda, moltiplica i suoi viaggi in tutto il mondo e comincia la stesura del suo primo libro che diventerà leggendario e in brevissimo tempo farà di lui un mito.
Clapp è stata amica di Chatwin, ma soprattutto la sua prima editor, che ha lavorato insieme a lui alla stesura e limatura di In Patagonia e altri libri di Chatwin.
Ricco di preziose testimonianze e diversi "dietro le quinte" divertenti e illuminanti sul carattere unico e giocoso di questo genio scomparso troppo presto, che sul letto di morte progettava libri, opere liriche, teatrali, studi, canzoni.
Chissà cos'altro ci avrebbe regalato se l'AIDS non se lo fosse portato via a 48 anni...
May 19, 2009
The problem with this book is that it has nothing on Nicholas Shakespeare's Bruce Chatwin: A Biography. Clapp uses the memoir format to create a disjointed thematic picture of Chatwin rather than a chronological one. Many of the stories are the same as in Shakespeare's book.
This is a good book if you know little of Chatwin and want a short read, but it only gives a shade of his self, rather than a complete picture. At times it feels as though Clapp is ripping off Chatwin's prose to describe him. The usual anecdotes stand in for actual investigation. The stories of Chatwin are one-sided, always ending with the punchline.
The unfortunate end effect is that this "memoir" characterizes Chatwin rather than explain his writing process, his thoughts, his normal interactions. You'd expect this from an editor. It's as if she succumbs to the mythology surrounding Chatwin, even though she would have been one of the chief insiders.
It's a bit of a shame. It is well written and sometimes the thematics work. Perhaps its unfair to compare it to the comprehensive biography. But as a Chatwin fan, I was left wanting, and only wanted to finish it and move on to wider horizons.
This is a good book if you know little of Chatwin and want a short read, but it only gives a shade of his self, rather than a complete picture. At times it feels as though Clapp is ripping off Chatwin's prose to describe him. The usual anecdotes stand in for actual investigation. The stories of Chatwin are one-sided, always ending with the punchline.
The unfortunate end effect is that this "memoir" characterizes Chatwin rather than explain his writing process, his thoughts, his normal interactions. You'd expect this from an editor. It's as if she succumbs to the mythology surrounding Chatwin, even though she would have been one of the chief insiders.
It's a bit of a shame. It is well written and sometimes the thematics work. Perhaps its unfair to compare it to the comprehensive biography. But as a Chatwin fan, I was left wanting, and only wanted to finish it and move on to wider horizons.
September 20, 2025
A unique memoir, both biographical and critical, describing the painstaking effort of editing the legendary Bruce Chatwin (who sounds rather insufferable - how fortunate we are, for all the chroniclers of cultural icons who have endured these egos at close range!).
Susannah Clapp is a felicitous prose stylist in her own right, and the passages here that aren't bogged down in literary summary offer sharply observed firsthand accounts, and dish some revealing gossip, carefully qualifying much of this as hearsay. Her approach invites readers to come to their own conclusions on the enigmatic (or was it just acutely socially anxious?) Chatwin.
As an editor, Clapp was instrumental in the decision to number, rather than title, the sections of IN PATAGONIA, which is one key to its narrative drive and its impression of being "journaled"; she also pruned its unrulier tangents, while maintaining Chatwin's trademark digressiveness, which she had the foresight to value. While Chatwin takes the spotlight, the unassuming Clapp emerges as an unexpectedly compelling figure. One conclusion we can draw is that many brilliant editors remain under-recognized as collaborators.
Susannah Clapp is a felicitous prose stylist in her own right, and the passages here that aren't bogged down in literary summary offer sharply observed firsthand accounts, and dish some revealing gossip, carefully qualifying much of this as hearsay. Her approach invites readers to come to their own conclusions on the enigmatic (or was it just acutely socially anxious?) Chatwin.
As an editor, Clapp was instrumental in the decision to number, rather than title, the sections of IN PATAGONIA, which is one key to its narrative drive and its impression of being "journaled"; she also pruned its unrulier tangents, while maintaining Chatwin's trademark digressiveness, which she had the foresight to value. While Chatwin takes the spotlight, the unassuming Clapp emerges as an unexpectedly compelling figure. One conclusion we can draw is that many brilliant editors remain under-recognized as collaborators.
February 19, 2023
Citaat : De leemten waaraan Theroux zich stoorde in In Patagonië lijken gerelateerd aan de zaken - verklaringen en overgangen - die hij het vaakst wegliet, omdat hij ze 'vervelend' vond, en aan omissies van gegevens die niet vervelend waren maar die zijn relaas totaal zouden hebben veranderd. Er werd geen melding gemaakt van zijn vrouw, zijn beroep, zijn herkomst; het was alsof hem niets was overkomen tussen zijn kindertijd en het moment dat hij een rugzak omdeed en vertrok naar Zuid-Amerika.
Review : Bruce Chatwin was zeker één van de literaire iconen uit de Angelsaksisische literaire wereld van de jaren zeventig. Hij werd geadoreerd omwille van zijn knap uiterlijk en kreeg daardoor ook mensen aan het lezen die nooit of te nimmer een boek van hem zouden opengedaan hebben moest hij lelijk en/of oud geweest zijn. Bij zijn dood zochten de autogrammenjagers een ander idool en brachten zijn boeken naar een tweedehandsboekenwinkel, maar in de literaire en de academische wereld is de mythe Bruce Chatwin blijven voortbestaan. Tien jaar na zijn dood wordt er over hem nog evenveel geschreven als tijdens zijn leven en worden zijn boeken nog altijd heruitgegeven. Zowel voor biografen als voor journalisten blijft vooral het privéleven van Bruce Chatwin nog altijd een delicatesse.
Natuurlijk heeft Bruce Chatwin met alle liefde en plezier de mythe rondom hem gecreëerd en ook alles in het werk gesteld om die in stand te houden. Daarom is het ook erg moeilijk om een ernstig boek over hem te schrijven. Je stuit overal op de cultus die hij zelf geschapen heeft. Eén van de mensen die erg goed in geslaagd is om de mythe te doorprikken is Susannah Clapp, momenteel theatercriticus voor The Observer en medewerkster van de BBC, maar indertijd jarenlang Chatwins redacteur bij de Britse uitgeverij Jonathan Cape. Zij heeft een uiterst knappe verhandeling gemaakt die zowel de mythe, de schrijver, de reiziger als de mens Bruce Chatwin belicht.
Uit het reizen is zijn liefde voor het boeken schrijven ontstaan. Aan zijn eerste boek In Patagonia uit 1977 heeft hij hij op aanraden van Susannah Clapp heel wat moeten herschrijven. Hij volgde de aanwijzingen van zijn redacteur uiterst nauwkeurig op en herschreef, schrapte of voegde dingen in met dezelfde flair waarmee hij zich door het leven bewoog. In Patagonia werd van meet af aan een internationale bestseller en is dat ook altijd gebleven. Nog altijd verschijnen er in alle mogelijke talen eerste drukken of herdrukken van dit schitterend boek. In het Nederlands alleen al bestaan er verschillende uitgaven van dit boek.
Het oeuvre van Bruce Chatwin is niet heel omvangrijk, maar wel erg gewaardeerd door publiek en kritiek. Hij was niet alleen goed in het reisverhalen schrijven, ook zijn twee romans On the Black Hill uit 1982 en Utz uit 1988 brachten hem veel roem en succes.
Hij wist zijn uiterst verfijnde en hoogstaande literatuur heel boeiend te houden door stevige structuren te gebruiken. Toch werd hem vaak verweten, ondermeer door globetrotter en collega Paul Theroux, dat hij veel te afstandelijk was in zijn reisverhalen en ook te weinig details gaf. Bruce Chatwin was een eigenzinnig schrijver. Hoe toegeeflijk hij kon zijn tegenover zijn redacteurs, zo koppig was hij tegenover recensenten, journalisten en zijn lezers.
Met Chatwin is een zeer degelijk boek dat duidelijk met liefde en respect voor de schrijver geschreven werd. Het vergt wel een degelijke voorkennis van zijn werk en als je die hebt is het zelfs een aanvulling op zijn werk. Susannah Clapp schetst een duidelijk portret van een man die gevleid werd om zijn mooie uiterlijk, zijn welbespraaktheid en zijn scherp verstand. Ontsnapt aan de taboewereld van zijn strenge christelijke opvoeding wou hij de absolute vrijheid bereiken door deze drie gaven tot het uiterste uit te putten.
Review : Bruce Chatwin was zeker één van de literaire iconen uit de Angelsaksisische literaire wereld van de jaren zeventig. Hij werd geadoreerd omwille van zijn knap uiterlijk en kreeg daardoor ook mensen aan het lezen die nooit of te nimmer een boek van hem zouden opengedaan hebben moest hij lelijk en/of oud geweest zijn. Bij zijn dood zochten de autogrammenjagers een ander idool en brachten zijn boeken naar een tweedehandsboekenwinkel, maar in de literaire en de academische wereld is de mythe Bruce Chatwin blijven voortbestaan. Tien jaar na zijn dood wordt er over hem nog evenveel geschreven als tijdens zijn leven en worden zijn boeken nog altijd heruitgegeven. Zowel voor biografen als voor journalisten blijft vooral het privéleven van Bruce Chatwin nog altijd een delicatesse.
Natuurlijk heeft Bruce Chatwin met alle liefde en plezier de mythe rondom hem gecreëerd en ook alles in het werk gesteld om die in stand te houden. Daarom is het ook erg moeilijk om een ernstig boek over hem te schrijven. Je stuit overal op de cultus die hij zelf geschapen heeft. Eén van de mensen die erg goed in geslaagd is om de mythe te doorprikken is Susannah Clapp, momenteel theatercriticus voor The Observer en medewerkster van de BBC, maar indertijd jarenlang Chatwins redacteur bij de Britse uitgeverij Jonathan Cape. Zij heeft een uiterst knappe verhandeling gemaakt die zowel de mythe, de schrijver, de reiziger als de mens Bruce Chatwin belicht.
Uit het reizen is zijn liefde voor het boeken schrijven ontstaan. Aan zijn eerste boek In Patagonia uit 1977 heeft hij hij op aanraden van Susannah Clapp heel wat moeten herschrijven. Hij volgde de aanwijzingen van zijn redacteur uiterst nauwkeurig op en herschreef, schrapte of voegde dingen in met dezelfde flair waarmee hij zich door het leven bewoog. In Patagonia werd van meet af aan een internationale bestseller en is dat ook altijd gebleven. Nog altijd verschijnen er in alle mogelijke talen eerste drukken of herdrukken van dit schitterend boek. In het Nederlands alleen al bestaan er verschillende uitgaven van dit boek.
Het oeuvre van Bruce Chatwin is niet heel omvangrijk, maar wel erg gewaardeerd door publiek en kritiek. Hij was niet alleen goed in het reisverhalen schrijven, ook zijn twee romans On the Black Hill uit 1982 en Utz uit 1988 brachten hem veel roem en succes.
Hij wist zijn uiterst verfijnde en hoogstaande literatuur heel boeiend te houden door stevige structuren te gebruiken. Toch werd hem vaak verweten, ondermeer door globetrotter en collega Paul Theroux, dat hij veel te afstandelijk was in zijn reisverhalen en ook te weinig details gaf. Bruce Chatwin was een eigenzinnig schrijver. Hoe toegeeflijk hij kon zijn tegenover zijn redacteurs, zo koppig was hij tegenover recensenten, journalisten en zijn lezers.
Met Chatwin is een zeer degelijk boek dat duidelijk met liefde en respect voor de schrijver geschreven werd. Het vergt wel een degelijke voorkennis van zijn werk en als je die hebt is het zelfs een aanvulling op zijn werk. Susannah Clapp schetst een duidelijk portret van een man die gevleid werd om zijn mooie uiterlijk, zijn welbespraaktheid en zijn scherp verstand. Ontsnapt aan de taboewereld van zijn strenge christelijke opvoeding wou hij de absolute vrijheid bereiken door deze drie gaven tot het uiterste uit te putten.
August 12, 2022
I have read all of Bruce Chatwin's books and regard him as one of the most fascinating writers of the 20th century. Susannah Clapp's With Chatwin: Portrait of a Writer is a shortish and fascinating biography of the man. She knew him well, as a result of working with him to edit his first book, In Patagonia.
Although Chatwin was a little less than honest in writing his non-fiction, he was a master story-teller, so I don't mind. As a bisexual who died young of AIDS, he led a strange life; but then, don't all great authors?
Although Chatwin was a little less than honest in writing his non-fiction, he was a master story-teller, so I don't mind. As a bisexual who died young of AIDS, he led a strange life; but then, don't all great authors?
December 16, 2023
Picked this up cheap in a secondhand bookshop somewhere and as I'd recently read "Songlines" by Chatwin, I thought this an opportune moment to read a biography of the author. Clapp knew Chatwin and many of the people we encounter in her biography. In a Chatwin manner she describes the work involved in his works, their background and the characters who enter and exit Chatwin's life. As an editor Clapp has a really good handle on Chatwin and his writings and she dodges logically all over the place and presents people and stories well - in a Chatwin manner. One comment I thought captured the man - he was a "collector of collectors" who was haunted by the love of the nomad experience. His unpublished thoughts on nomads - his great unrealised work - appeared scattered throughout his published works as Clapp helpfully points out.
For those who like Chatwin's writings but don't feel they know the man - and he kept himself quite hidden - this book is a really good overview
For those who like Chatwin's writings but don't feel they know the man - and he kept himself quite hidden - this book is a really good overview
July 12, 2017
The author was the literary editor of 4 of the 6 books Chatwin wrote. She had access to his private files and countless close friends. Certainly a very privileged starting point for a biography. She makes quite a bit of it with her sensitive approach, her meandering -chatwinesque- style and her sense of humor. However, in turn her personal proximity to the author hinders her from criticizing, where critique is called for. So often times this is more of an eulogy than a biography.
If you're interested in Chatwin and have read most of his works, you will very much enjoy this portrait. However this work doesn't stand on it's own. If you only read one or two of his books and want to know more about him, you should probably get a classical biography.
If you're interested in Chatwin and have read most of his works, you will very much enjoy this portrait. However this work doesn't stand on it's own. If you only read one or two of his books and want to know more about him, you should probably get a classical biography.
October 31, 2023
An odd, but enjoyable biography of the closeted gay travel writer and former Sotheby's art and antiquities expert, Bruce Chatwin. Instead of following a traditional time-line, author Susannah Clapp, the former editor of two of Chatwin's books, collects people and places involved with Chatwin in chapters that are not always linear, but usually very interesting.
November 25, 2018
Loved it, what a talent, how the hell did anyone keep up with him, has given me so many more books and other references to explore.. wonderful snapshot of London's literary and art world during Bruce's all too short life
November 12, 2022
Pulled off the shelf decades after purchase this well written remembrance bright back so much of what I loved reading Chatwin. If you are a fan, this portrait of a writer will fill in much you wish you knew. If not a fan, move along.
February 13, 2021
This was a re-read. Not as good as other biographies of Chatwin that I have read, but still interesting.
September 30, 2013
I read this book because it's rare to read anything written by an editor, especially an editor who worked with so unruly an author as Bruce Chatwin.
It's not a sycophantic read, if you don't like Chatwin (and I am no fan), you'll like him even less after reading this, but you'll get plenty of insights about how and why he became so successful as a writer.
This book is like a time capsule, from a time when eccentric English travel writers wrote fascinating insights about indigenous peoples of the world. Now, such information can increasingly be sourced from writers who are from those indigenous communities.
Which makes "On the Black Hill" Chatwin's only lasting legacy, IMHO.
Clapp got plenty of flack for writing "the other Chatwin biography", while Nicholas Shakespeare was working at the same time as her, but, apart from publishing before Shakespeare's Chatwin biog, I suspect Clapp wanted to ensure the record was correct: Chatwin was not, it seems, sheer genius, he was captured genius. Clapp and her sister Chatwin editors deserve credit for taking unbridled Chatwin and shaping him into a literary success story.
It's not a sycophantic read, if you don't like Chatwin (and I am no fan), you'll like him even less after reading this, but you'll get plenty of insights about how and why he became so successful as a writer.
This book is like a time capsule, from a time when eccentric English travel writers wrote fascinating insights about indigenous peoples of the world. Now, such information can increasingly be sourced from writers who are from those indigenous communities.
Which makes "On the Black Hill" Chatwin's only lasting legacy, IMHO.
Clapp got plenty of flack for writing "the other Chatwin biography", while Nicholas Shakespeare was working at the same time as her, but, apart from publishing before Shakespeare's Chatwin biog, I suspect Clapp wanted to ensure the record was correct: Chatwin was not, it seems, sheer genius, he was captured genius. Clapp and her sister Chatwin editors deserve credit for taking unbridled Chatwin and shaping him into a literary success story.
February 12, 2017
Bruce Chatwin caught my interest after I read his book "Songlines". His portrait by Susannah Clapp is somewhat tedious, good natured, and thorough, but never as fun as Chatwin's writing. Worth reading if you are curious about Chatwin.
October 10, 2010
In spite of the overlap between the content of this book and Nicholas Shakespeare's wonderful biography I believe the stylish prose that is reminiscent of Chatwin's (if that is possible) makes this book worth reading. The title of the first chapter, "Chatwinesque" says it all and I delighted in the retelling of the stories of his life. Susannah Clapp's book is not a biography, but collects her own memories of Chatwin and those of his friends, acquaintances and colleagues, with the aim of producing a chronology of the author's life and, more important, of illuminating particular fields of interest. This is not merely a celebratory volume, but a investigatory one, illustrated with photographs of and by Bruce Chatwin. She brings her memories to life on the page creating a great short read about a wondrous storyteller.
December 3, 2007
OK, I'm fascinated with Chatwin and love the messy, gorgeous, inconsistent world of his writing. Clapp writes of their relationship, which began as professional and editorial, and expanded into friendship. He sounds charming, infuriating, child-like, vain, a mythomaniac.
I want him at a dinner party. I want him to show me his collection of netsuke.
And I very much wish that AIDS hadn't taken him, as it did so many bright constellations in the 80s/90s.
I want him at a dinner party. I want him to show me his collection of netsuke.
And I very much wish that AIDS hadn't taken him, as it did so many bright constellations in the 80s/90s.
August 9, 2014
If you want a complete biography, and a superb one, read Nicholas Shakespeare's book on Chatwin. Clapp actually edited Chatwin's books, most especially Utz, and the book is more her impression of the man's life, but above all, of how Chatwin wrote. Interesting if you have read Chatwin as another take on this fascinating (and supremely annoying) author.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews