What do you think?
Rate this book
Joan: The Remarkable Life of Joan Leigh Fermor
The daughter of wealthy, well-connected parents, Joan Eyres Monsell defied convention by earning a living as a photographer, travelling to Russia and America, and conducting a series of affairs. In wartime Cairo she met Patrick Leigh Fermor; their love would last until her death in 2003. Drawing on Joan's personal archive, this first biography brings her out from the shadow of her famous husband, and sheds light on the mores of the wartime generation, determined to live life at full tilt.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published October 5, 2017
13 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 30, 2017
This first authorised biography of Joan. I love the works of her husband Patrick Leigh Fermor, so of course I was looking forward to this biography. Because Joan was such a private person, I believe that Simon Fenwick managed to write really detailed and fascinating biography. Much has been written about Joan's family, especially about her brother, Graham, with whom she was very close throughout life. A lot of details about her personal life (she was not deprived of male attention and had many love affairs) and life with Paddy. This biography gives a great overview of life in the aristocracy of the 20th century. Definitely recommend reading!
October 28, 2017
This summer, when I was visiting Greece, I read Mani - Patrick 'Paddy' Leigh Fermor's account of travelling through the southern Pelopponese in the 1950s. Amidst the dense thicket of Greek history, geography and legend were some colourful accounts of Fermor's adventures, accompanied by a 'partner' who was only occasionally referred to. The elusive partner was Joan Eyres Monsell, the woman who was not yet Fermor's wife, although they did marry many years later in 1968.
'Elusive' will be one of my lasting impressions of Joan. Her biographer Simon Fenwick (who I heard speak about his subject at Daunt Books in Hampstead) mentioned that she didn't keep diaries or journals, nor did she keep many of her letters. She was a professional photographer who hated to be photographed. She was a fixture of the London society pages in the 1930s, but she seems to have been a very private person who eschewed both the limelight and notoriety. Unfortunately, even after reading this biography devoted to her, I felt that I still only had the sketchiest sense of both her character and the major events of her life.
One of the best summaries of her character, and particular appeal, comes from John Craxton and appears at the very end of the book. 'Like all adorable people Joan had something enigmatic about her nature, which combined with her wonderful good looks, made her a very seductive presence. Even in a crowd she maintained a deep and private inner life'. Craxton also spoke of her 'elegance, luminous intelligence, curiousity and her underring high standards that made her such a perfect muse'. Although the biography includes a number of photographs of Joan and her friends and her two husbands, none of them really captured that beauty and 'elegance' that made her such a favourite with so many of the famous men of her generation. She was obviously well-read, and she was surrounded by many famous writers of the day, but her intelligence is more alluded to than revealed by the contents of the biography. (I did appreciate little nuggets of information; for instance, Joan's love of chess - even if she had play by herself.)
This book appealed to me because I'm fascinated by mid-20th century British history and literature. Some of the famous figures of the period who appear in this book include such intimates as John Betjeman, Lawrence Durrell, Maurice Bowra, Evelyn Waugh, Lady Dorothy 'Coote' Lygon (whose family inspired Brideshead Revisted), the Mitford sisters and their husbands - particularly Deborah Devonshire, who was a great friend of Paddy's - many more. Additionally, there are allusions to many, many more of the bohemians, aesthetes, war heroes and adventurers who were a part of British society, both in England and abroad. Joan was in the thick of intellectual Oxford, bohemian London, the aristocratic country house set and the more glamorous outposts of World War II (Madrid and Cairo) - not to mention her exotic travels in places like Greece, Turkey and Kurdistan. Unfortunately, all of the 'names' which appear in the book make up the majority of its narrative; and if the reader doesn't have a lot of context for the period, I think the narrative will be difficult to follow.
Ultimately, although I was convinced that 'Joan' had a fascinating life, I still did not feel I had got to know her very well. Elusive to the end . . .
'Elusive' will be one of my lasting impressions of Joan. Her biographer Simon Fenwick (who I heard speak about his subject at Daunt Books in Hampstead) mentioned that she didn't keep diaries or journals, nor did she keep many of her letters. She was a professional photographer who hated to be photographed. She was a fixture of the London society pages in the 1930s, but she seems to have been a very private person who eschewed both the limelight and notoriety. Unfortunately, even after reading this biography devoted to her, I felt that I still only had the sketchiest sense of both her character and the major events of her life.
One of the best summaries of her character, and particular appeal, comes from John Craxton and appears at the very end of the book. 'Like all adorable people Joan had something enigmatic about her nature, which combined with her wonderful good looks, made her a very seductive presence. Even in a crowd she maintained a deep and private inner life'. Craxton also spoke of her 'elegance, luminous intelligence, curiousity and her underring high standards that made her such a perfect muse'. Although the biography includes a number of photographs of Joan and her friends and her two husbands, none of them really captured that beauty and 'elegance' that made her such a favourite with so many of the famous men of her generation. She was obviously well-read, and she was surrounded by many famous writers of the day, but her intelligence is more alluded to than revealed by the contents of the biography. (I did appreciate little nuggets of information; for instance, Joan's love of chess - even if she had play by herself.)
This book appealed to me because I'm fascinated by mid-20th century British history and literature. Some of the famous figures of the period who appear in this book include such intimates as John Betjeman, Lawrence Durrell, Maurice Bowra, Evelyn Waugh, Lady Dorothy 'Coote' Lygon (whose family inspired Brideshead Revisted), the Mitford sisters and their husbands - particularly Deborah Devonshire, who was a great friend of Paddy's - many more. Additionally, there are allusions to many, many more of the bohemians, aesthetes, war heroes and adventurers who were a part of British society, both in England and abroad. Joan was in the thick of intellectual Oxford, bohemian London, the aristocratic country house set and the more glamorous outposts of World War II (Madrid and Cairo) - not to mention her exotic travels in places like Greece, Turkey and Kurdistan. Unfortunately, all of the 'names' which appear in the book make up the majority of its narrative; and if the reader doesn't have a lot of context for the period, I think the narrative will be difficult to follow.
Ultimately, although I was convinced that 'Joan' had a fascinating life, I still did not feel I had got to know her very well. Elusive to the end . . .
December 19, 2017
Patrick Leigh Fermor has been described as one of our greatest travel writers. His walk across Europe in 1933 from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople as well as his books on Greece and the Caribbean have rightly become classics. Apart from the most fleeting of mentions, what was missing from his books though was his companion of almost 60 years, Joan.
Joan Eyres Monsell was a member of the lower aristocracy and second daughter to Viscount Monsell who in his time was an MP and First Lord of the Admiralty. Their family home was Dumbleton in Worcestershire. She grew up as most of her contemporaries did at the time, became a debutante and moved in privileged circles and mixed with the 1930s bohemian set. Even though her family were wealthy and well-connected, she differed from those around her because she earned her own living as a photographer. This was to take her America and Russia, earning her more column inches in the gossip columns.
She first came across Paddy, as he called himself, in 1944 during the Second World War when she was working as a cypher clerk in Cario, where he was lauded for his success in kidnapping General Kreipe. At this moment in time, she was still married to John Rayner, but the marriage by that point had hit the rocks. They were to fall deeply in love with each other. They travelled widely together and separately and spent a fair amount of time back in her family home of Dumbleton, but they were to put down deep roots and make their home together in a house that PLF designed in the village of Kardamyli, southern Greece. It was a place that drew others for parties, discussions, companionship and where Paddy and others were to write books that have now become classics.
It is a revealing biography of a bold and confident woman who never stood in the shadow of Leigh Fermor, but was his soul mate and closest confident until her death in 2003. Her income supported them both as he became better known as a writer and it was her inheritance that enabled them to build their dream home. Fenwick has managed to draw material from her archive to give us a sense of her character, her fears, the society that she was born into and her desire of wanting a family and to settle down with the man that she loved. Even though we know more than ever about Joan, she still manages to defy categorisation and still remains a little aura of mystique. Excellent biography of Joan Leigh Fermor, a woman no longer unknown. 4.5 stars
Joan Eyres Monsell was a member of the lower aristocracy and second daughter to Viscount Monsell who in his time was an MP and First Lord of the Admiralty. Their family home was Dumbleton in Worcestershire. She grew up as most of her contemporaries did at the time, became a debutante and moved in privileged circles and mixed with the 1930s bohemian set. Even though her family were wealthy and well-connected, she differed from those around her because she earned her own living as a photographer. This was to take her America and Russia, earning her more column inches in the gossip columns.
She first came across Paddy, as he called himself, in 1944 during the Second World War when she was working as a cypher clerk in Cario, where he was lauded for his success in kidnapping General Kreipe. At this moment in time, she was still married to John Rayner, but the marriage by that point had hit the rocks. They were to fall deeply in love with each other. They travelled widely together and separately and spent a fair amount of time back in her family home of Dumbleton, but they were to put down deep roots and make their home together in a house that PLF designed in the village of Kardamyli, southern Greece. It was a place that drew others for parties, discussions, companionship and where Paddy and others were to write books that have now become classics.
It is a revealing biography of a bold and confident woman who never stood in the shadow of Leigh Fermor, but was his soul mate and closest confident until her death in 2003. Her income supported them both as he became better known as a writer and it was her inheritance that enabled them to build their dream home. Fenwick has managed to draw material from her archive to give us a sense of her character, her fears, the society that she was born into and her desire of wanting a family and to settle down with the man that she loved. Even though we know more than ever about Joan, she still manages to defy categorisation and still remains a little aura of mystique. Excellent biography of Joan Leigh Fermor, a woman no longer unknown. 4.5 stars
May 18, 2018
I picked this up because I have already read a lot about Patrick Leigh Fermor and most of his circle. His wife is an obvious gap though and as this biography notes, Joan Eyres Monsell was very far from the little woman at home - intelligent, adventurous and fiercely solitary, she declined to live on her domineering father's allowance, developed a career as a freelance photographer and lived life on her own terms. She also seems to have been the more dominant person in the relationship with Leigh Fermor - she was certainly the one with more money, he being famously spendthrift.
As a side issue, one thing that always irks me about this era is the way in which these adventurous gentlefolk, appalled by the idea of living on their stuffy families' money but unable to conceive of anything so appalling as an actual job, gaily decide to make a living through writing or photography and actually DO. I can only assume that either they traded on their connections or the world was a lot more tolerant of mediocre talent in those days, because not all of them seem to have been terribly good at their chosen trade. (Perhaps I'm being unfair here - Paddy Leigh Fermor was certainly a very good writer. But not all his published friends were.)
The book is briskly-moving and entertaining enough, but if I have one objection, it's that it feels a little fact-bound. Paddy and Joan go here and there, do this and that, and write about their experiences, faithfully reproduced here. Their friends and family members do the same. In a pre-digital age in which many people wrote lots of letters and kept long diaries and kept these as paper records for posterity, it's not all that difficult to piece together a life. What feels missing for me is a sense of insight.
Perhaps that's unfair too. How can a biography bring genuine insight about its subject unless it's written by a near relative or close friend (in which case there's all the problems of subjectivity) or the author indulges in a lot of imagination? Perhaps it's the latter I'm missing, which is doubly unfair.
A much more petty complaint is that surely a biography about a woman who occupied an important place in a very literary set and was a pretty good writer of letters herself could have benefited from a more creative title. Using your subject's first name is always reckless unless they are by some way the most famous owner of that name, hardly the case here. In any case, the biography uses many extracts from Joan's letters and diaries and references quotations from other writers she admired, any of which might have made a lovely title.
At any rate, for those who are interested in Paddy Leigh Fermor, and in the lives of adventurous women who refused to be dictated to by the conventions, this book is an enjoyable addition to his life and a unique resource on Joan's. It also has some great photographs and the hardback edition has an attractive dustjacket.
As a side issue, one thing that always irks me about this era is the way in which these adventurous gentlefolk, appalled by the idea of living on their stuffy families' money but unable to conceive of anything so appalling as an actual job, gaily decide to make a living through writing or photography and actually DO. I can only assume that either they traded on their connections or the world was a lot more tolerant of mediocre talent in those days, because not all of them seem to have been terribly good at their chosen trade. (Perhaps I'm being unfair here - Paddy Leigh Fermor was certainly a very good writer. But not all his published friends were.)
The book is briskly-moving and entertaining enough, but if I have one objection, it's that it feels a little fact-bound. Paddy and Joan go here and there, do this and that, and write about their experiences, faithfully reproduced here. Their friends and family members do the same. In a pre-digital age in which many people wrote lots of letters and kept long diaries and kept these as paper records for posterity, it's not all that difficult to piece together a life. What feels missing for me is a sense of insight.
Perhaps that's unfair too. How can a biography bring genuine insight about its subject unless it's written by a near relative or close friend (in which case there's all the problems of subjectivity) or the author indulges in a lot of imagination? Perhaps it's the latter I'm missing, which is doubly unfair.
A much more petty complaint is that surely a biography about a woman who occupied an important place in a very literary set and was a pretty good writer of letters herself could have benefited from a more creative title. Using your subject's first name is always reckless unless they are by some way the most famous owner of that name, hardly the case here. In any case, the biography uses many extracts from Joan's letters and diaries and references quotations from other writers she admired, any of which might have made a lovely title.
At any rate, for those who are interested in Paddy Leigh Fermor, and in the lives of adventurous women who refused to be dictated to by the conventions, this book is an enjoyable addition to his life and a unique resource on Joan's. It also has some great photographs and the hardback edition has an attractive dustjacket.
April 20, 2018
Finished: 20.04.2018
Genre: biography
Rating: D
Review:
This book was worth reading if you are interested
in the circle of social and literary friends that swirled around this British socialite.
There is a great deal of name dropping.
The historical (WWII) back round provided that intersected with her life was elementary.
I think more could be gained from reading Paddy Leigh Fermor's biography.
Conclusion: I hoped to discover 'behind every great man is a greater woman'
but was very disappointed.
Genre: biography
Rating: D
Review:
This book was worth reading if you are interested
in the circle of social and literary friends that swirled around this British socialite.
There is a great deal of name dropping.
The historical (WWII) back round provided that intersected with her life was elementary.
I think more could be gained from reading Paddy Leigh Fermor's biography.
Conclusion: I hoped to discover 'behind every great man is a greater woman'
but was very disappointed.
January 17, 2021
As much as I enjoyed reading this, I did wonder if a female biographer could have brought Joan closer to the fore. It's inevitable that there is also an awful lot about Patrick Leigh Fermor and, lordy, after describing their wonderful house, I was surprised/frustrated to find no photographs of the 'big' room. However, I love reading accounts of people's lives during the war and their travels and I also love reading about writers. Halfway through, I found myself querying Fenwick's need to write this biography. I couldn't quite see the attraction of Joan as a subject but I still enjoyed the book.
January 3, 2018
Born to upper class wealthy parents at the beginning of the 20th century, Joan was presented at court in the traditional manner and then pursued a charmed life with a highly accomplished circle of literary friends. Ultimately she married Patrick Leigh Fermor. The book was interesting for its lists of famous names and an account of their pursuits, but Joan, whilst clearly a very interesting friend to have, didn’t really merit a whole book. Nevertheless an enjoyable read.
October 13, 2018
An interesting romp around the upper class before and after WWII. It is centered around Joan daughter of Lord Monsell and her relationships especially Patrick Leigh Fermor whom she eventually marries. I read this primarily because of her long relationship with PLF. He is my favourite travel writer and so I was very interested in his complex personal life.
January 3, 2022
Fenwick has done as best as one could with a subject who was guarded and who did not leave much to work with. As the book progresses, it is as least as much about PLF as about Joan, surely because he wrote more letters and didn't burn his papers, as she seems to have. Much here about their circles, which fills out the picture of their lives.
June 15, 2018
Blog review here: https://theselittlewords.com/2018/06/...
I read this pretty quickly on holiday, and it was enjoyable but the author makes even the most interesting parts of the story seem dull; he also doesn’t really get in touch with Joan’s character and talks more about the people around her than her. You can tell he is an expert on Paddy Leigh Fermor, and then decided to write about Joan. Overall quite disappointing.
I read this pretty quickly on holiday, and it was enjoyable but the author makes even the most interesting parts of the story seem dull; he also doesn’t really get in touch with Joan’s character and talks more about the people around her than her. You can tell he is an expert on Paddy Leigh Fermor, and then decided to write about Joan. Overall quite disappointing.
January 11, 2019
An interesting view of a privileged, vanishing world and an upper-class bohemian demi-monde. Unfortunately, Joan herself is the least interesting thing in it. Her great beauty doesn't make the impression in the grainy photographs, or Fenwick's words, that they clearly did on her many admirers. Passing mentions of lovers don't suggest the zest for life and love she apparently had. The many friends and acquaintances are brought better to life. By the time Joan's only letter to the papers, as an old lady unappealingly supporting fox hunting, is printed I had lost any real sympathy for or interest in her. Even her husband and the reason for her fame, Paddy Leigh Fermor, isn't as interesting here as he is in his own writings or other biographies.
February 17, 2019
This was an excellent read for me. I usually know it worked for me when I’m nearing the end of the book and feel sad at It departure from my attentions. This book brought together many threads and stories having read many of Paddy’s books and still working my way through them.
This also reiterated the loss of not investing in children and that with out them we are all very soon dust and forgotten memories.
This also reiterated the loss of not investing in children and that with out them we are all very soon dust and forgotten memories.
July 6, 2021
A good read of an interesting woman. I did think it could have gone deeper into her character.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews