A destitute in Paris

Saturday, March 5th., Hotel Bristol, Paris.

Dorothy wanted to see Geraldy's new play "Son Mari"; "Only one act, or at most two", she said. Happily no seats were obtainable. So we got two for the Varietes ("L'Habit Vert de Flers" and "Caillavet"). Now Dorothy thought she had been asking the theatre man here for seats for 'Varietes', the German Jannings film - known as 'Vaudeville' in England. It was not until we were driving along the boulevard that she discovered that she had misled two men, the theatre man and me, as to what she really wanted. Regrettably this is the sort of misunderstanding that seems to occur all the time when she is involved. I sometimes wonder if it is in fact accidental.

Back home to England tomorrow and I shall not be sorry. Paris is well enough but not the place I remember. It has changed of course, but I suspect that I have changed more. London suits me better now which really means that I have 'grown into' it. How different my life would have been had I made my home permanently in France as I was at one time tempted to do. I don't say I would have been a better writer, but I would have been a different writer.

I have had a letter from Edward Garnett about Bunin, the author, who it seems is more or less destitute here in Paris. Garnett asks for a contribution. Says he has a high opinion of Bunin's work. I must say that I have never thought very well of his writing myself, but Garnett is a good judge of these things. He is probably more likely to be right than I am. "A Gentleman from San Francisco" I thought very crude indeed, and I could not get on with "The Village". However I was talking to Andre Gide the other night and he thought well of Bunin, especially "The Village". He sees Bunin as being in the great tradition of Russian novelists, which makes it all the more strange that I do not appreciate him. Anyway, I sent Garnett a cheque for £5.