Sara Fitzgerald "The Silenced Muse: Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Sara Fitzgerald chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about The Silenced Muse: Emily Hale, T. S. Eliot, and the Role of a Lifetime.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

• How the secret letters T.S. Eliot wrote to Emily Hale revealed an intimate 27-year correspondence (1930-1957) that confirmed Hale’s profound influence on his poetry.
• How Eliot’s destruction of Emily’s letters to him silenced her voice.
• Despite being relegated to footnote status in Eliot’s life, Emily taught drama at prominent colleges such as Smith College, acted in amateur theatre with future Broadway stars and maintained a rich independent life.
• How Eliot’s secret letter to Harvard revealed a nasty counter-narrative. Eliot’s pre-emptive statement dismissed his relationship.