One does not make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. This biography is an attempt to rectify the prevailing perception of Grace Frick and her relationship with Marguerite Yourcenar. In the process of so doing, it criticizes writers and scholars whom I nonetheless highly respect and for whom, in certain cases, I have great affection. They know who they are, and I hope they will forgive me.
It is simply not possible to sufficiently acknowledge in the space of a few pages the debt of gratitude I owe to the dozens of people who have contributed to this project. My heartfelt thanks go first of all to the archivists, librarians, and historians who have so nimbly facilitated my access to unique archival documents, hard-to-find volumes, or historical information crucial to the content of this book. I am especially indebted to Amy Cummings of the Maine State Library’s interlibrary loan department; Susan Halpert, reference librarian of the Houghton Library, Harvard University; Alan Havig, professor emeritus and archivist of Stephens College; Céline Hirsch, lay archivist for the Congrégation de Notre Dame de Sion in Paris; and Sean Parke of the Archives and Special Collections of the University of Hartford for services beyond the call of duty.
I have also received valuable assistance from the following archivists, librarians, or researchers: Pauline Adams, Jasmin Agosto, Morton Axboe, Rich Boulet, Emmy Chang, François Chapon, Mike Churchman, Annie Cough, Astrid Cravens, Patricia Cusick, Isabelle Diu, Maude Frechette, Celia Fritz-Watson, Ian Graham, Willie Granston, Amanda Gustin, Tina Hawes, David M. Hays, Micah Hoggatt, Jane Hornsby, Rachel Howarth, Paul Huffman, Shannon Julien, Karen Kukil, Bill Landis, Abby Lester, Margaret Mair, Anne Morddel, Theodora B. Newlands, Marie-Dominique Nobécourt Mutarelli, Hervé Pagnier, Heather Paxton, Amanda K. Rector, Deborah Richards, Judith Ann Schiff, Stephanie Schmidts, Catherine Seemann, Daniel Smith, Emily Walhout, Kay Walkup, and David Warren. I am grateful to them all.
Many friends, students, scholars, neighbors, and admirers of Grace Frick and Marguerite Yourcenar gave generously of their time, their knowledge, and their talents in support of this endeavor. Special thanks go to Yvon Bernier for his helpful comments on an early version of the manuscript and to the following individuals for their poignant remembrances of the two women: Professor Emerita Jane Bond, Mme Yourcenar’s onetime student at Sarah Lawrence College; the late author Miriam Colwell; South Shore Road neighbors Nancy Ho and the late Bob Ho; the writer John Olin; and three childhood favorites of Miss Frick and Mme Yourcenar: David Peckham, Hall Willkie, and Julia Willkie. I am similarly indebted to Kerry Aguilar, Lynn Ahlblad, Elly Andrews, Stephen Bartlett, the late C. Ronald Bechtle, Ledlie Dinsmore Bell, Ann Birstein, Emily and the late Zbigniew Brzezinski, Joan Stroud Blaine, Jean Chalon, Cheryl Chase, Patrick Chasse, Hope Cobb, Élyane Dezon-Jones, Susan Dumont-Bengston, Anita Fahrni, Colette Fellous, Eugene Gaddis, Nina Garsoïan, Marilyn and the late Donald Harris, Daniel Hazelton, Mark Hazelton, the late Ann Fullan Gilkes, the late Gunnar Hansen, Suzanne King, Donna M. Levinsohn, Leonor Lobo De Gonzalez, Jacques Loeuille, Jean and Durlin Lunt, Richard Lunt, Jo Markwyn, Jay McGarr, Phoebe Milliken, Beth and Larry Minear, Richard Minear, Kay Tracy Moore, William Mosely, Joelle Nolan, the late David Nolf, the late Bernice Pierce, Beth Pfeiffer, Susanna Porter, the late Elaine Higgins Reddish, Elizabeth Renault, Sophie and Charles Rieuf, Katharine and Alex Rosser, Mimi Salsbury, Michèle Sarde, Will Schwalbe, Jeff Seroy, Claude Servan Schreiber, Kaighn and Ann Smith, Dan Stevens, Joan Van der Grift, George Weeks, and Pamela York.
Stephanie Williams and Deanna Davis of the marketing department at the University of Missouri Press have done their job with remarkable speed and thoroughness. My editor at the press, Mary Conley, could not have been more of a pleasure to work with. I don’t know how often she has had to guide authors through eleventh-hour traumas, but she handled mine with thoughtfulness and grace. My copy editor, Brian Bendlin, did his best to keep me on the straight and narrow. I salute him for his professionalism, patience, and good nature—and for saving me from a couple of bloopers!
This biography would not exist without the incredible kindness shown to me by, and the extraordinary assistance I have received from, Charles C. Butt. Janneke S. Neilson has been both an early supporter of this venture and a champion of preserving Petite Plaisance as a literary landmark. Words are not adequate to thank either of them. Heartiest thanks go as well to the Alliance for the Arts of New York for a travel grant that funded several visits to out-of-state archives and to John de Cuevas for his many good offices on my behalf.
For their keen interest, constructive criticism, and friendship, I particularly want to thank Bérengère Deprez, Achmy Halley, Claire L. Malarte-Feldman, Françoise Provost, Françoise Roy, Jane Gilkes Straßgütl, and Sharon Thompson. I am deeply indebted to the late Jean Hazelton, Shirley McGarr, the late Gladys and Paul Minear, and Deirdre “Dee Dee” Wilson, five of Grace Frick and Marguerite Yourcenar’s closest friends. Their willingness to share precious memories has meant the world to me.
Last but the opposite of least are three people whom I thank from the bottom of my heart. Marguerite Yourcenar’s literary coexecutor and friend Yannick Guillou not only read and commented warmly on an earlier version of my manuscript but, with typical generosity, helped me navigate the complicated labyrinth of international permissions. Sue Lonoff de Cuevas probably rues the day she ever thought of writing a book about Marguerite Yourcenar’s drawings, but she has unfailingly provided me over the course of many years with a perfect balance of kudos, critical comment, and sage advice. My partner, Jayne Persson, whose dedication to this project may exceed my own, has read and thoughtfully improved every version of every chapter in this book. By whatever quirk of fate, the blessing of her presence in my life, and that of her lovely daughter Sara, coincided with my early stints of serving as a docent at Petite Plaisance. A lifelong reader, Jayne understood right away the importance of Marguerite Yourcenar’s home as a site of literary pilgrimage. In 2012, despite long-standing health challenges, she took it upon herself to create the Petite Plaisance Conservation Fund, thereby exemplifying Grace Frick’s belief that “one person can move mountains if he starts up the machinery.” For these and many other gifts that Jayne brings to my life, I am thankful every day.