Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Uncommonly fond

What, exactly, was it about Norman that drew the Queen to him? And what was the significance, if any, of his preference for gay writers?
Posted by at

4 comments:

Ben said...

Didn't he commit a faux pas the first time they met? If I remember correctly, she found that endearing.

I'm still thinking about the second question.

4:51 PM, February 10, 2009
Erin said...

I think it must have had something to do with his irreverence toward her. He felt no compulsion to agree with her, and he talked to her like she was nobody special. That grabbed her attention right away.

I thought the gay authors thing was just supposed to be funny. Because Norman was supposed to be gay, right? Doesn't someone call him "a nancy" at some point?

3:33 PM, February 13, 2009
kc said...

Yeah, Norman was gay, and so is Alan Bennett, and that aspect kind of adds to the irreverence, I think. The queen was no doubt used to cultured gay men like Cecil Beaton and Noel Coward and others in the arts, etc., but Norman was more "street" gay and didn't seem terribly interested in moving in high circles or, as you say, agreeing with or impressing her.

And he introduced her to some "rougher" perspectives in literature (like Jean Genet) that probably no one else thought would even remotely interest her. But everything seems to interest her. She's like a nonjudgmental visitor at a zoo, where all the animal behaviors are simply strange and interesting to observe.

11:51 AM, February 17, 2009
Erin said...

Yes, I liked that about her. And I liked how easily Norman would suggest books to her. I assume most people would find it fairly daunting to pick out the Queen's reading material, but he really seemed unruffled by the whole thing.

7:27 PM, February 17, 2009

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)