T
 

The Fabric of Biography

MIRIA.M J. BF.NKO\TrZ

(/" If ^HE first biographical consideration of Ronald Firbank,
the English noxelist, is the book Ronald Firbank A Mem¬
oir. It consists of Ifan Kyrle Fletcher's long memoir of
Firbank and four shorter essays, "personal reminiscences" by Lord
Berners, \'yvyan Holland. .-Augustus John, and Osbert Sitxx-ell.
Fletcher provided the incentive and made arrangements for the
book. Letters acquired by the Columbia University Library in
1977, one hundred and tw-enty-seven letters about Firbank ad¬
dressed to Ifan Fletcher, demonstrate his efforts, especially those
in preparation for xx-riting his .Memoir.

Ifan Kyrle Fletcher's interest in Ronald Firbank arose partly
from the fact that after a fashion Firbank and Fletcher had asso¬
ciations with Monmouthshire. Fletcher xvas truly a man of Mon¬
mouthshire, since he was born there in 1905, the son of John Kyrle
Fletcher, an antique dealer of Nexvport. Young F'letcher was edu¬
cated at Newport High School and, after leax'ing school in 1922,
began xx-ork in the Cardiff Reference Library. A year later, Ifan
persuaded his father to con\-ert the basement of his antique shop
on Newport bridge iiito a room where rare books could be bought
and sold. This \\-as the Nexxport Book Room.

The intellectuals of Nexvport began to gather in Ifan F"letcher's
Book Room and there, with them, Fletcher soon organized the
Round Table Felloxx-ship, a literary club. There, too, Fletcher for¬
mulated plans for the Nexxport Playgoers Society, now one of
Great Britain's leading groups of theatrical amateurs. His theatri¬
cal interests were reflected in the catalogues issued from his New¬
port Book Room and at last in 1930, Fletcher circulated a catalogue
devoted entirely to the theatre. In other words, in the basement
book store, Ifan Fletcher profitably fostered his tx\-o enthusiasms,
books and the theatre.

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