In 1934, a young man walked out of his native village in Gloucestershire, bound for London and eventually Spain, where he was caught up in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. But the real story of Laurie Lee’s youth was far more romantic than the one he told in his memoirs, Cider With Rosie and As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. The key figure was his mistress and muse, Lorna Wishart — who ultimately broke his heart when she left him for the young painter Lucian Freud and became his muse too.
In Laurie Lee’s centenary year, Valerie is joined by Geordie Greig, editor of the Mail on Sundayand author of Breakfast with Lucian, to discuss her updated biography, The Life and Loves of Laurie Lee.
“It is Grove’s obvious affection for her subject that makes her book so tender and graceful, a touching eulogy to a bygone age” — Craig Brown
