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• John Julius Norwich (W...
John Julius Norwich (1929-2018) was an English popular historian, travel writer and television personality. He is the author of histories of Norman Sicily, the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire and 'The Popes: A History'. [Listener: Christopher Sykes]
TRANSCRIPT: He [Evelyn Waugh] and my mother were basically, of course, great friends and he put my mother into several of his novels. She's called Mrs Stitch and she drives this little car. My mother did drive a little car wildly all over the place and he actually has her driving it down into the Tube station and out the other side, and things like that. But he has lovely sort of pictures of her. She used to spend the morning in bed, but full of activity, I mean, not... not drowsy, sitting bolt upright, because bed was the bridge, bed was where she operated from. That was where the writing paper was, where the telephone books were, by the dresser, you know. This was, I say, her centre of operations. And he has a lovely sort of picture in one of them. I can't remember which book it is now, might be Scoop, of my mother in... in full action in bed in the morning, with me aged about five doing the 'Times' crossword puzzle. So unlikely.