June 4 Tuesday.

Cabled to Eliot, Pinker; Korda who last night cabled suggesting sending his brother here for a fortnight to work on Lawrence film-script. I said 'all right'. Wrote a long letter explaining the Arnie trouble, explaining copyright position with Eliot, suggesting Soller as a spot for the brother, mentioning Mary P. as typist etc, agreed to any reasonable terms, asking about Claudius1 schedule, mentioning Laura's impatience for an answer.
To sea: stones. To village: Laura's Julie dress at Margarita. Letter from H.S. [Harrison Smith] about serialization.
Oleander blossoming.
One pear on pear tree: the first.
Gelat business2 not yet settled.
At sea today helped Sebastian & maestro's3 son bring up stones to Posada - donkey & sacks. Photographer4 took three photos for me - sea; Seb. [Sebastian] Salamo & Paloni5 and me: same without me. In evening café group also taken, with Gelat & Castor as well as all of us.6

Editorial Notes

1 Claudius the proposed film? eds.
2Gelat's conflict with the Médico. eds
3mason's. KG
4(itinerant) KG
5the donkey. KG
6This paragraph may refer to the following day, June 5th. A line was drawn around it, but without further direction from RG. eds

Hands Referenced

Places Mentioned

  • Posada, La

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    House on the Puig next to Deyá church. Originally part of the Es Molí property. It had been rented by the church for Sunday school. RG and LR bought it in February, 1935, to use as a guest house for their visitors. WG, eds.

  • Soller

    Soller, Majorca, Sp
    Town of some 10,000 inhabitants ten kilometers from Deyá. WG

People Mentioned

  • Arnie

    Lawrence, A.W. (Arnie)
    T.E. Lawrence's brother and executor. WG

  • T.E.

    Lawrence, T. E.
    'Lawrence of Arabia.' Met Robert in Oxford in the early twenties. Made Robert his biographer and had him write "Lawrence and the Arabs." WG

  • Pinker

    Pinker
    R.G. & L.R.'s agent in London. W.G. They later changed to A.S. Watt. eds.

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Gelat

    Más, Juan Marroig
    Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.)

  • Médico

    Vives, Antonio Dr.
    The village doctor (Deyá). At odds with Gelat (water rights controversy). His brother, Juan Vives, was Gelat's son-in-law. WG

  • Eliot

    Eliot
    L.R. & R.G.'s solicitor in London. WG

  • Korda

    Korda, Alexander
    Director of the film version of I Claudius.

  • Mary

    Phillips, Mary
    Visitor. Typed most of I, Claudius. Later married James Reeves. WG

  • Julie

    Matthews, Julie
    Tom Matthews' wife. WG

  • Margarita Modista

    Margarita Modista
    Modista: Dress maker (in Deyá). W.G., eds.

  • Sebastian

    Sebastian
    Gardener getting on for 80. KG

  • Castor

    Castor
    Postman. WG

Organizations Mentioned

  • Harrison Smith and Robert Haas

    R.G.'s American publisher for I, Claudius and Claudius the God. eds.

Bibliography

    • Title: Claudius [the film: based on I, Claudius, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Charles Laughton. It was never completed.]