I remember well the first time I went down there to stay [at Charleston, home of Clive Bell and his wife, Vanessa, the sister of Virginia Woolf]. David Garnett, who had married into my family, said, “You must take something with you to do, some homework. They won’t entertain you–except by their talk.” And that was true. One had perfect freedom to do what one liked. I think that Maynard Keynes wrote a lot of “The Economic Consequences of the Peace” there. They would ask the Woolfs over for lunch sometimes over the weekend, and Virginia would dazzle us with her talk. She could be quite intimidating but, particularly in times of trouble, she could be extremely kind and sensitive.
They were very attractive people. Duncan [Grant, the painter] was a charming man. Everyone loved him. And they were very amusing. There were always jokes. Conversation was very jolly. There was a great deal of laughter, wit you might say, and in-group teasing. Clive was a very good host and very friendly. They had a way of talking which was typically Bloomsbury. It was really a matter of emphasis. “I don’t believe a single word you say.” You caught it yourself. I was told for a long time that I spoke with a Bloomsbury voice.
