Biography of patrick leigh fermor
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Patrick Leigh Fermor
British author and soldier (–)
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh FermorDSO OBE (11 February – 10 June ) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot.[1] He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War,[2] and was widely seen as Britain's greatest living travel writer, on the basis of books such as A Time of Gifts ().[3] A BBC journalist once termed him "a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene".[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Leigh Fermor was born in London, the son of Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, a distinguished geologist, and Muriel Aeyleen (Eileen), daughter of Charles Taafe Ambler.[5] His mother added the "Leigh" before "Fermor" in his surname, although it was not a true double-barrelled name.[6] Shortly after his birth, his mother and sister left to join his father in India, leaving the infant Patrick in England with a family in North
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Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Life in Letters
Though hardly known in this country, in his native England Patrick Leigh Fermor is practically a cult figure, often said to be the best travel writer of the 20th century. But Fermor — or Paddy, as he was known to just about everyone — was also a famous vacillator and procrastinator, always distractable, unable to meet a deadline, and much of the effort he might have put into books and articles went into letters instead. Adam Sisman, the editor of this volume, guesses that in the course of his very long life (Fermor died in , at 96) he might have written as many as 10, Sisman has selected fewer than , but they do add up to a biography of sorts — or, rather, a scrapbook of a rich, fascinating life lived mostly out of a suitcase and in a race to the brev office. Until he was almost 50, and finally owned a house, Fermor seldom stayed in one place längre than a month. From the time he bolted college at 18 and hiked across Europe,
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Tom on the Costa da Morte, Galicia,
My name is Tom Sawford and I live in Winchester, Hampshire, England.
I first became aware of Paddy quite late in life; I guess he is an acquired taste. A strongly developed vocabulary is vital when reading his work; or at least a dictionary. Of course now with access to Google it is possible to quickly research some of the more obscure topics that Paddy assumes mere mortals will be aware of. I remember the first time I read A Time of Gifts and being amused that Paddy clearly expected his readers to have at least a schoolboy/girl grasp of Latin as phrases pour out with no explanation or translation.
But surely that is the attraction of his work. He does not compromise, and if you like what you read it drags you along with it, drinking from the cup of knowledge that Paddy offers.
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor DSO OBE lived a full life, and had experiences that few others will likely ever have again. He&#;d done much even before the secon