The House of Elrig

Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland had thirteen children, six of whom were daughters, and only one of the bakers’ dozen died in infancy. I put that down to the bracing Alnwick air.

Only two of the daughters married. Lady Mary married Aymer Maxwell and she is Gavin Maxwell’s mother. So Gavin had three maiden aunts to dote on him. (One maiden aunt died before he was born.) One can only speculate as to why they did not marry. Gavin’s father was killed at Antwerp in October 1914 when he was three months old so, like Bertie Wooster, his childhood was governed by aunts.

While I wait for Douglas Botting’s biography (recommended yesterday by John Tuffin) I must rely on Gavin’s 1965 childhood memoir, The House of Elrig. I rather dread reading the biography as I fear it will shatter my image of him. Artemis Cooper’s biography of Patrick Leigh Fermor revealed all too clearly his imperfections. Having so much enjoyed Blood Knots I hardly expected to be given another such engaging book; lucky me.

An extraordinary feature is his vivid portraits of the people in his childhood: aunts, governesses, estate workers, and countless school and head masters as he moved schools often, eventually ending up at Stowe. Another strand is his obsession with natural history in which he gained considerable expertise. It is an absorbing account of a childhood spent in the inter-war years. I hope he didn’t invent too much.

Terence White taught at Stowe for four years: 1928 – 1932 when Gavin was 14 to 18. It is curious he is not mentioned as they ought to have been kindred spirits. This post from 2016 elucidates.