Title Details

Francis Partridge's diaries are the record of a woman who not only participated in the lives of the legendary Bloomsbury group, but was the circle’s oldest surviving member until her death in 2004. The Partridge home, called Ham Spray, and Frances's enduring partnership with Ralph are focal points in these beautifully written diaries. Here they were surrounded by the Wiltshire downs, and here a succession of interesting friends visited and were visited in return. While in London there were visits to Cyril Connolly, lunch at The Ivy with Duncan Grant, Julia Strachey, and Clive Bell, followed by meetings of The Memoir Club for those survivors of Bloomsbury. Frances Partridge reveals a life of such warmth, friendship and good fortune that at the close of these diaries it seems almost impossible that death could rob her of the source of such happiness—Ralph.