Letters from Sylvia
This article will be somewhat different and certainly more personal than previous posts. A few years ago, while researching the Egyptian side of Lives, I came across the website of the writer and historian, Michael Haag and encountered correspondence from Sylvia Mikkelsen concerning his book Alexandria: City of Memory. I was initially struck by Sylvia’s beautiful writing style and the story of Slovenian women working in Alexandria, Egypt as governess’ and ladies attendants to wealthy Egyptian families. I was also struck by a photograph of her beautiful mother, but then astonished to see that Sylvia was a relative and godchild of Aziz Eloui’s third wife, and Lee Miller’s attendant, Elda.
Elda was Sylvia’s mother’s cousin and she was hired by Aziz when Lee came to Egypt. Elda was of great interest to me because of her proximity to Lee and Aziz. Elda travelled to Paris in 1937 and she was present when Julien Levy took Lee to the Rochas’ daughters’ Surrealist Ball where Levy introduced her to Roland Penrose and she “buried the hatchet” with Man Ray. In that room, Lee was with three of her lovers (or about to be, in the case of Roland). These three men were major players in the Surrealist Art movement (effectively, Modern Art) to England and the United States before she was. Elda was also present when Lee left Paris for the so-called “Surrealist Holiday” with Roland Penrose, Man Ray, Ernst and others in Cornwall, England.
Sylvia and I began to exchange correspondence, but soon also became close friends. I am including our pertinent correspondence in this post, with Sylvia’s permission, because there are many important discrepancies between Lives and the Egyptian view of Aziz, Nimet and Lee’s stories. I also hope it will be of some interest to see the progression of our thoughts and my research of events before WWII. There is much repetition here for which I apologize, but at the time I was turning to Egypt and wanted to bring Sylvia current with the research. It is interesting to observe Sylvia’s return to acceptance of her mother’ generation’s view of Aziz, Nimet and Lee’s history and her rejection of the Lives narrative on key points. This is a phenomena I have encountered previously, and consistently, for readers of Lives who re-examine the book’s narrative after considering the research. For example, when I contacted the Vogue archives about who was the Vogue model on the Lepape 1927 cover, they responded “Lee Miller” in the first instance. When I then asked why they attributed the cover as Lee Miller they replied “the Antony Penrose book, Lives”. When presented with research on the issue they conceded that the Vogue Archives had nothing to substantiate the attribution other than the Nast/Lepape story in Lives. Similarly, the genealogy website Geni had Nimet’s date of death as the year of her “suicide”. The woman controlling the site (I assume a family member) said that the date of death was from the Lives portrait of Nimet’s “suicide”. I sent her the research on Nimet and she corrected it.
Sylvia and I continue our correspondence to this day. Although we are women of different generations, we share similar ties to, and memories of Egypt. We also continue to share hopes and fears, trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows and encouragement and support. Aside from Lee, my hope is to introduce you to a woman whose beautiful writing evidences her kindness, courtesy, gentle nature and above all, magnetic intelligence. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Sylvia.
Sylvia’s first correspondence to me immediately brought a new perspective to the Lives version of Lee’s time in Egypt. In Lives, Antony Penrose portrays Aziz falling on hard times and implies poor Aziz was reduced to marrying a household servant after losing Lee. He says, with regard to Lee’s visit to Egypt in the 1960’s:
“It was not really the sightseeing that drew Lee to Egypt, though she was undeniably fascinated by the unequal way that change had altered some places beyond recognition, yet passed others by. Living quietly in modest surroundings in Alexandria was Aziz. Old age had not been kind to him. The socialist government had stripped him of everything he owned. Blighted by the infirmities of his years, he now lived on a meagre pension, but was devotedly cared for by Elda, whom he had married in the fifties. After the tour, Lee stayed on in Egypt for a week to be with him. She could not be induced to talk much about it afterwards, but it was evident that, though she was greatly saddened by his plight, there was still a strong bond of warmth and affection between them” (1).
As Sylvia will point out, Aziz was not on hard times, he was wealthy as evidenced further that a photograph of Aziz’s desert palace sent by Sylvia, Elda was from a solid, middle class European family and background. Aziz and Elda were together more than thirty years (since at least 1944) and possibly married when Aziz “divorced” Lee in 1947. When Aziz died, Elda inherited his estate and purchased a villa in Italy. She was buried in a Catholic cemetery, but included his name on her tombstone. You will find Sylvia’s account of Lee’s visit to Aziz and Elda quite different than Lives.
We also learn that from Elda’s family that Aziz suffered from the “loss of his beloved Nimet” which years later resulted in him landing in the arms of the crazy American artiste, Lee Miller.
The initial correspondence of Sylvia is also noteworthy in that she acknowledged that after she read Lives and informed her mother and older family members, they said it was wrong and that Aziz’s melancholy was due to the loss of Nimet, not Lee. The women of Aziz’s generation never accepted Lives as true and, as our correspondence progressed, Sylvia came to conclude that her family was correct and that Aziz’s loss of Nimet was the cause of his heartbreak and that Lee “had cynical design upon the rich Egyptian”. This, of course, also suggests that it was Nimet who could not forgive his affair and initiated the separation. It would also explain why Aziz returned to Egypt from Paris rather than marry Lee in 1932. Aziz, not only maintained Villa Nimet in St. Moritz as “Villa Nimet”, he kept her presence and possessions in their Egyptian home.
As we will see in the correspondence outlining the Egyptian perspective, Aziz did not lose Lee, he tossed her out. Like Man Ray’s “ultimatum” to Lee in 1932, Lee foreshadows the breakup with Aziz when she wrote him in 1938:
“I’d rather solve it from a distance and let the details take care of themselves. It ought to be much easier from here for me to say, and know about coming back. And it ought to be easier for you to say if you want me- and why-and how –its too ‘shymaking’ to talk about it face to face and inclined to get buried in tears or my hysterics - or shingled under by some petty quarrel (about friends or hours for lunch) but it isn’t simple to know what one wants – I feel that you want most of all to be excused from further trouble for and about me and of course to feel absolved in all good conscience, free of responsibility and preoccupation with me. But either from tenderheartedness or misplaced faith in my possible reform you are blinding yourself to my worthlessness as your wife-and even as a companion” [Emphasis added] (2).
When Aziz subsequently caught Lee having sex with a diplomat in his home, according to Elda, it apparently made Aziz’s decision easy. He gave her a week to pack her belongings and leave although he did not divorce her. Their future may have remained uncertain even as she sailed off leaving her Picasso and other art work behind. Lee did not decide to go with Roland Penrose until the day WWII began and with Axis tanks engaging in war maneuvers around Cairo. This was a prudent decision (3).
January 2021
Dear Ms. Mikkelsen,
My name is Tuya Elwy and I recently read your 2019 correspondence with Michael Haag regarding his book about Alexandria. I was astonished to find your reference and connection to Lee Miller’s governess Elda since I am currently researching Lee Miller and her contemporaries. From your correspondence it appears that you are familiar with Miller’s story and that you may have read Antony Penrose’s biography of his mother. Unfortunately much of the biography written by Mr. Penrose has proven to be erroneous and often simply fabricated. A part of the narrative that I am particularly interested in and for which there is very little information, concerns the history of Aziz and his first wife Nimet. As well as that of Aziz and Lee Miller prior to his marriage to Elda. As you may know, Elda accompanied Lee to Paris in 1937 where Lee met Roland Penrose for whom she subsequently abandoned Aziz for. I did know that Aziz married Elda but beyond that there is virtually no information available concerning Lee and Aziz between 1934-1939. I am hoping that you would be willing to share with me your recollections since you are the first person that I have encountered that actually knew Aziz and through Elda possibly things about the life shared by Aziz and Lee. Although Nimet was a member of Parisian society and was often photographed by Vogue and Man Ray, the circumstances reported by Anthony Penrose concerning her divorce from Aziz and death have proven to be completely false. If you have an interest in Lee’s story I would be happy to share with you my research. Like yourself, I have a strong connection to Egypt (I grew up in the Middle East and often visited family in Cairo and Alexandria) although I currently live in Colombia (presently in the United States due to the pandemic). I still have family living in Zamalek near where Aziz and Nimet lived followed by Lee and Elda. I really hope you can help me and if so, please feel free to respond to me here or through my email. Thank you so much for your time, I hope you had a wonderful New Year!
Best,
Tuya Elwy
Hello Tuya!
This is all very interesting. Actually, your surname intrigued me from the start, as it is an other form of Eloui. Personally, I do not know how much I can contribute with facts. Would Elda -who was very secretive and protective of Aziz and Lee even after her mariage to Aziz - be a dependable source of information? I guess not. I was born and bred in a family of scandalous hearsay about ‘poor Aziz’ who had lost his beloved Nimet and, in desperation, cast himself ‘dans les bras d’une artiste Americaine folle’ - as the saying went in the gossipy salons of Alexandria. Mind you, ‘artiste’ could mean anything in Alex. How far from the truth could that be? And the gossip went on....until, by chance, a lifetime later, I learn that the crazy American was none other than Lee Miller. As I told Michael Hague, Elda was a cross between Jane Eyre, protective of a cut-down-to-size Rochester, and a Mrs Danvers idolizing Rebecca. Elda was torn between the two. Lee visited them in Alex a few years before her death. So, Tula, facts in my part of the story are very few. I was actually surprised to learn that Antony Penrose’s book on his mother is not based on ‘the truth’ - whatever that is. I would have imagined otherwise. Yet, we know he had a very problematic relationship with his mother. I got in touch with him just before the pandemic, and he asked me for some photos of Elda, and we then agreed to meet at Farley House, but then all communication stopped, partly because of the pandemic, but I also had the impression that he was unwilling to share further info on the Aziz-Lee couple. Tula, I do know one thing for a fact and that is Antony has it wrong when he claims that Aziz died destitute. I was born in the aftermath of that story, and I can tell you that Aziz was a wealthy man. We loved spending weekends with them in Gharbaniat (near Borg el Arab) where ‘the rich’ had these impressive mansions in the style of desert fortresses with swimming pool and all. He lived in style in Alex, too. When he died, Elda could afford a beautiful villa in Gorizia, Italy, a few kilometers from her native Slovenia.
Tula, I am certainly willing to share anything I know, be it fact or fiction. Aziz and Elda were my godparents and my sister and I were very close to them. So in that respect I could contribute with first-hand information. However, the Aziz-Lee connection is more tricky, especially if your main focus is on Lee. I just know for a fact that the Aziz we knew was a very melancholic type, caring, kind and generous, yet always very reserved and melancholic. Was it really the memory of Nimet, and his remorse, that turned him into such a withdrawn and sad man, or was it ‘the crazy American’ that left behind an emotionally devastated man? I would say the latter. Have a nice day!
Hello Sylvia,
Thank you so much for your response and offer to help me with this project. I am interested in anything and everything that you can offer. My view is that rumors are often just facts waiting to be verified. Anything that you can forward to me electronically would be greatly appreciated.
I know that you expressed an interest to Michael Hague about writing Aziz and Elda’s story and anything that I have, you are welcome to. By way of background, I should say that I, like so many others, initiated this research project based on the Antony Penrose narrative in his 1985 book, “The Lives of Lee Miller”. However, almost immediately my instincts took over and I soon learned to distrust anything that originated with Antony. I decided to revise my research strategy and a completely different picture emerged. One example that I believe may be in your field of interest is the story of Aziz and Nimet. Antony Penrose states;
“Aziz, using the Muslim husband’s perogrative and with all the lack of ceremony adherent in a Muslim divorce, severed his ties with Nimet. Distraught, she took a room in the Hotel Bourgogne et Montana where, with liquor supplied by a Russian friend, she drank herself to death in the space of a few weeks.”
In a 1948 book by Marcel Raval, (English translation 1950) “Rainer Maria Rilke; His Last Friendship'' there is discussion about Nimet’s life after Aziz, her subsequent marriage to the White Russian prince Nikolay Mestchersky and her death in August of the early 1940s. Nimet’s tomb is in fact located in the Russian Orthodox cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois outside of Paris. She is buried under her Russian name “Princess Irina Mestchersky, although her maiden name Khairy is also mentioned along with her date of birth and death. (I will attach a photo of her tombstone to this email). Raval’s book has other points that might be of interest to you and if you would like I would be happy to send you my copy. I found it particularly sad when Raval describes bringing Nimet to the train station where she was going to take a train to meet Aziz at Villa Nimet for the 1931-1932 Christmas holidays. He describes her sadness as if she knew or anticipated Aziz’s betrayal at the end of their marriage. After reading your correspondence, I am a little confused because you indicate that Aziz “...had lost his beloved Nimet and, in desperation, cast himself....” into the arms of Lee. This is the exact opposite of the Penrose narrative which basically has Aziz holding Nimet in contempt for her self indulgent lifestyle. The idea of Lee and Aziz having a “fling” as opposed to a kindred souls love affair, makes more sense to me because there was apparently no contact between Lee and Aziz for more than two years. In 1934 he went to New York to buy railroad equipment and without any apparent intention to marry Lee. Lee in the meantime was failing with her photography studio in New York and prior to Aziz’s arrival went to a “fat farm” in upstate New York, lost some weight and within a few weeks was married to Aziz, leaving her creditors behind. (For your interest, I will attach a couple of the wedding announcements I found).
The Penrose narrative about Nimet’s suicide could be seen as sloppy research or innocent error but what I find particularly disturbing is that the Raval book was cited by Carolyn Burke in her biography of Lee Miller which was written with the cooperation of Antony Penrose. The subsequent addition of his 2005 book bears on the copyright page in extraordinarily small lettering “with corrections''. I have never seen such a marking before. Obviously it is impossible to know what corrections have been made as opposed to editorial stylistic or other changes . In the case of Nimet, the reference does not include the suicide but neither does it include a correction of the prior false statement. Predictably, writers continue to, year after year, refer to Nimet’s suicide.
At the risk of boring you, I want to give two other examples of why I do not trust Antony Penrose’s narrative. Penrose portrays Lee as founding and owning the highly successful Lee Miller Studios in New York between 1932 and 1934. He acknowledges there were investors but in point of fact, the investors were owners. Lee was simply a one third stock owner and as a minority stockholder in a clouse cooperation, she would have no control or ownership. (I am attaching the articles of incorporation from 1932 which I was absolutely shocked to be able to obtain and in addition to the ownership distribution please note the provision concerning ownership of intellectual property which is somewhat unusual). I believe this is what was attractive to the investors, particularly because of Lee’s marketing under the “Man Ray” brand. Lee personally owned nothing which is somewhat interesting because although Anthony Penrose claims ownership of the copyright, the legatees of the other two shareholders, have equal rights to the work produced by the Lee Miller Studios. Antony Penrose is the sole gate keeper of the archive and I believe that it is why you may have had a little difficulty in his willingness to share information with you. I frankly believe he has created this narrative to support the relatively small body of museum quality work produced by Lee. In fact Lee herself in a 1969 St. Petersburg Times interview indicated that the studio in New York was a disaster in point of fact it was dissolved by the state of New York for failure to pay taxes and/or fees. She apparently skipped out on her lease, left her investors without reimbursement and her poor brother without a job. She had every reason in the world to get out of New York.
The next example I want to mention is extraordinary and outside the scope of sloppy research or innocent mistake. The book ends of the Penrose narrative are Vogue covergirl to WWII photojournalist. This theme has been followed by innumerable biographers, museum curators, PhD candidates, book and art reviewers and apparently from press releases, a future film starring Kate Winslet. Antony Penrose writes in his 1985 book that Lee was about to cross a busy New York City street and was saved by Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue, who was so stricken with her beauty that he immediately arranged for her to be illustrated by Georges Lepape for the cover of Vogue from which she emerged as what we would today term “supermodel”. This is pure fabrication, Vogue itself does not identify the March 15th, 1927 cover model and Lee herself stated in a 1975 interview with Amaya that she was a commercial model that had many pictures taken by Edward Stiechen, some of which reached the pages of Vogue. The Vogue archives reveal only half dozen or less photographs that were published by New York Vogue. Again, this book end is a major support of the Penrose narrative and repeated ad infinitum subsequent to 1985 but when you research prior to the Penrose claim, there is nothing, I mean nothing, to support its veracity. Lee does not claim to have been a Vogue model let alone a Lepape cover model or anything beyond a New York City commercial model. Her second husband Roland Penrose also refers to her as a commercial model during those years and there is no mention of her having been saved by Condé Nast or a connection to Vogue by her agent Julien Levy, her life long friend Tanja Ramm, her family, or press releases concerning events in her life. The story originates solely from Anthony Penrose. Interestingly, the biographies of Condé Nast and Georges Lepape both mention Lee Miller but without any reference to her being a Vogue model but rather the photography work she did for French and British Vogue.
I know I have rambled on, but it is actually just a pleasure to be able to talk to someone who has an interest in the story of Aziz and Lee. Although I am interested in anything you can offer I am particularly interested in the following points:
• The dates of birth/death/marriage of Aziz and Elda.
• Any information you have about the date of divorce of Aziz from Lee and whether there was a civil divorce filed in England.
• Any information about Elda’s 1937 trip to France with Lee.
• The last time you saw Aziz and Elda.
• Do you know which language Elda and Lee communicated in? (Because there is not much to suggest Lee was fluent in French).
• It is my understanding that Aziz sold Villa Nimet in 1947, do you know if he was in St Moritz for that transaction?
• Any information you may have regarding communication between Lee and Aziz in the 1932-1934 time frame when they were on different continents.
• What you have heard or seen regarding Aziz’s “remorse” over losing Nimet.
• Any information you have regarding whether Aziz left Lee or whether Lee left Aziz.
This last point is somewhat interesting because I am not sure either of them formally ended the relationship. It is my understanding that even as Lee left, they were making plans to meet in St Moritz. While it seems clear she was leaving Egypt, I am not so sure her intent was to leave Aziz. She left many possessions behind including her valuable Picasso portrait and according to Roland Penrose, she did not make her decision to go with him to England until their visit with Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington literally a day or two before war was declared.
It's funny you should mention the similarities with my name and Aziz. I spent my childhood in the Middle East and we would often go to visit family in Alex and Cairo. It was always a tradition when we were downtown Cairo to drive past the street sign “Elwy”. Growing up we were told it was named after my grandfather Ahmed Fouad Elwy who was a general in the Egyptian army and fought in multiple wars. Then imagine my surprise when I was researching that Carolyn Burke’s book states the street is named after Aziz’s father, Dr. Mohammed Eloui! It is funny the things you discover about your own life while researching the lives of others.
Thank you so much for taking the time to correspond with me, I am very grateful. I am not really sure how wide your interest is but I have done a ton of research and if you have any interest in any aspect of Lee’s history let me know, I would be more than happy to share what I have. I look forward to hearing from you, have a wonderful weekend.
Warm regards,
Tuya Elwy
February 2021
Hi Sylvia,
I’d like to share with you some more information about an intersection in St. Moritz that Aziz, Nimet and Lee crossed during the holiday season of 1931-1932.
By way of background, I have attached a photograph that Lee took of Charlie Chaplin in March 1931 shortly after his arrival in Paris during his world tour of February 1931 to June 1932. I obtained a copy of this photograph from the Julien Levy collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As you can see, the handwriting on the back of the photograph is a note from Chaplin concerning his photography session with Lee in Paris (“Lee Miller…was such a shining individual personality that her photographic work seemed illumed by her own available light”). In interviews promoting her New York studio, Lee referred to herself as Chaplin’s favorite surrealist photographer and how much he enjoyed the session. I believe she was referring to the notation on the back of the photo and I also believe that she brought this photograph with her to St. Moritz from Paris to obtain the endorsement for use in marketing her portrait work. I believe this because the photo would have had to have been developed after her March session with Chaplin and since it is solarized that work is somewhat technical and would have been done by her or Man Ray in Paris prior to her assignment with Hoyningen-Huene to cover Chaplin in St. Moritz over the holiday season of 1931-32.
The importance of this photograph to her is also reflected by the fact that the original is in the Levy collection. This means that she brought it with her when she left Paris for New York in October of 1932 to open her portrait studio and exhibit her work at the Levy Gallery. The Chaplin photographs (there were six) were published in Pour Vouz in April of 1932, but the attached photo is the only one in the Levy collection.
Pour Vouz was a French Hollywood gossip magazine, and while it is possible that she got the assignment through Vogue, I think that it is more likely she was covering the assignment for Man Ray. At that time, Lee had convinced Man Ray to concentrate on painting while she covered the run of the mill, low paying, portrait and commercial work. Additionally, Man Ray had previously published in Pour Vouz so the door was already opened. Moreover, none of the photos were published in a Conde Nast publication.
Chaplin’s world tour was a very big deal and although he spent little time in Paris, he travelled extensively throughout France working his way towards St. Moritz where he stayed for three months. As the clock ticked towards the holiday season at St. Moritz, it has been suggested by Anthony Penrose that there was an affair between Lee and Aziz in Paris. I think that this is highly unlikely. It may be that Lee met Aziz while taking a photograph of Nimet or possibly in some other brief encounter, but Aziz and Nimet clearly travelled in the circles of Parisian high society while Lee and Man Ray essentially frequented the nightclubs and cafes. The bridge from Man Ray’s world to Parisian high society was his portrait studio or assignments to cover society events such as the Bal Blanc. As a practical matter there would simply not be sufficient time for Lee and Aziz to cultivate a relationship. I believe that the affair began, and quite possibly ended, in St. Moritz where Aziz, as a society figure and Lee as a Vogue Photographer would have been thrown together at numerous balls, dinners, sporting events, etc. where the press would normally be expected to cover the elite. I can easily see Aziz becoming infatuated with Lee and her engaging in yet another casual fling.
Contemporaneously, Nimet was preparing to leave Paris by train to meet Aziz at Villa Nimet in St. Moritz (the villa is still there and still referred to as “Villa Nimet”). I am attaching in a separate email a passage from the book Rainer Maria Rilke: His Last Friendship by Marcel Raval where he speaks about Nimet as she left the Paris train station to meet her fate in St. Moritz. I am also attaching a photo of Aziz and Nimet with Chaplin outside the Palace Hotel. (If you tap “visit” that site contains a little discussion about their interaction with Chaplin).
Based on Raval’s commentary it seems likely that Aziz was already at Villa Nimet when Nimet was leaving Paris. Had he been in Paris I assume that she would have waited to leave with him, but it is impossible to say whether Lee was in St. Moritz before or after Nimet. If Lee was in St. Moritz before Nimet, of course, she and Aziz would have had more opportunity to have a free hand with their relationship. It is also difficult to say when Nimet became aware of the situation although certainly, it was on or about that holiday season. Antony Penrose indicates that Aziz was so enamored with Lee as fem fatale that he more or less immediately divorced Nimet causing her to commit suicide. It is well established that the latter Penrose claim of suicide is false, but I am interested in your point of view on the question of who left who.
I think it is very hard to characterize the relationship of Aziz and Lee as a love affair. He may have been infatuated with her, but I think that he was just another notch on her belt. I do believe that there was significant impact because of Nimet’s high standing in French society. She was regarded as one of the five most beautiful women in Paris, regularly photographed for Vogue and Man Ray, the leading Parisian portrait artist at the time. Even today, her photographs are held by the Louvre and the Center Pompidou. She spoke several languages, was well educated and the mere fact that a book was written about her and her friendship with Rilke is itself telling. I have no evidence to suggest that Aziz ever went back to Paris although he regularly escaped Cairo for his yearly visits to Villa Nimet albeit with Lee after 1934. Lee made her living primarily through her portrait work for Man Ray and between the downturn of the depression and the scandal of the affair it seems likely that there was a negative impact on her society portrait work. I think she was scrambling in 1932 trying to make ends meet and her relationship with Man Ray had deteriorated to such a point that it is unlikely that he was providing her with financial support by way of money or referrals.
By the spring/summer of 1932 Man Ray had given Lee an ultimatum that she chose to ignore by sleeping with other men including Julien Levy. During that summer Levy and Lee made plans for her to return to New York to present her photographs at his art gallery. She returned to New York in October of 1932 and her work was exhibited either by way of solo exhibition or in conjunction with Man Ray and other European photographers. It does not appear that a single photo was ever sold between October of 1931 and September of 1932. Julien Levy stored these photos which constitute essentially all the photos that she took during her “so-called” Surrealist period in Paris. They essentially ended up in his barn for 45 years until some were donated to the Art Institute in Chicago and the remainder to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Between St. Moritz and Aziz’s appearance in New York to buy railroad equipment in June of 1934 I am unaware of any contact between Aziz and Lee as you would expect between lovers.
Lee did have lovers in New York but when she got word that Aziz was coming to New York she went to a “fat farm” in upstate New York to lose weight and when he appeared according to John Houseman (a Hollywood director/actor) she looked fantastic. As I mentioned in earlier correspondence, Lee was in debt to her investors, having difficulties with her expenses and according to an interview she gave in 1969, the studio was a failure. There was no plan for Aziz to marry Lee. No announcement, bridal shower, wedding reception or the usual events that one would normally expect for a wedding. In fact, Lee’s family was unaware of the marriage until Lee called her mother who was an hour away in Poughkeepsie to say that she had married Aziz that morning. I think that she was big game hunting in order to get out of New York and poor Aziz had no idea about the comet that was about to crash down on him.
Nimet left St. Moritz and apparently separated from Aziz after that holiday season. All I know about Nimet’s life thereafter is what Raval reports. According to Raval she had a very tough time of it financially, but eventually converted to Christianity to marry Prince Nicholi Mestchersky. She became a devotee of St. Theresa and apparently met with the Pope according to Raval.
Obviously, St. Moritz was a crossroad in the lives of Aziz, Nimet and Lee, but as is often the case, nobody came out a winner.
Hope this finds you in good spirits!
Tuya xxx
Dear Tuya,
And thank you, again, for another very interesting mail. It really seems to turn the other way now. My family always tip-toed round Aziz, treating him like some kind of ‘broken’ man. I think I already mentioned the fact that his sadness and melancholic disposition were consistently put down to the fact that he was physically frail, tuberculosis having left him with practically one lung, and that he also felt terrible remorse as the memory of Nimet kept haunting him. He had infected her with the disease. And that is a fact. My sister, being 8 years older, remembers Aziz fondly – and he was very much taken up with her, buying her first red bicycle, painting equipment, dainty jewelry for a young girl, etc. etc. As I told you, the gossip went around that she reminded him of Nimet (I think I told you that already). After Penrose’s book, I told my mother that the rumours that she and Elda had spread around about Aziz perishing with remorse because of Nimet were simply not true. Rather, he was perishing with love for the American second wife, who happened to be a renowned photographer. My mother, a very old lady at the time, kept telling me: ’Rubbish!’ he never forgot Nimet. It seems Nimet and Aziz were distant cousins. Elda confirmed this story on my last visit when she resided in Italy, a year before she died. Now, what she told me on my last visit was the story I had written to you, and lost. I hope to get back to it very soon. For now, I shall send you a few photos.
You, too, keep safe, and à bientôt
Fondly,
Sylvia
1) Slovenia: A very young Elda just before her departure for Egypt: father, mother, two brothers, sister
2) Garbanyat: My mother, Sonja, Elda and me
3)Garbanyat: Elda, my mother, my father and moi
4)Graves of Aziz and Elda, the Kouhi family grave next to them where my father and mother. They had somewhat agreed on that. They loved the village, both my father and Aziz. I doubt, though, whether Aziz’s remains are actually there. Unless she buried his ash.
5)Prologue: ah, the prologue. On my last visit to Elda, based on her account, I wrote this prologue to a creative memoir (as the genre is trendily called nowadays) which I doubt will ever be completed. I find out that I am not really a ‘creative’ writer! We shall see. My granddaughter, Louisa who is 17, encourages me to do so. But, oh dear, the decadence, the decadence.....
Prologue
Zamalek, sometime between 1933 and 1934
The young governess leans out of her garret window, slamming wide open the sun-hot shutters. She strains her neck, squinting nervously at the wrought-iron gates at the end of the long, winding driveway, partly hidden by a row of dwarf palm trees. Where is the gardener? He should have been at the gates by now, opening them for the Bey. She stands up on her toes to get a better view of the loggia’s marble-tiled floor below, at the far corner of the villa. And there they are. At it again. He is lying on his back, and l’ Americaine is straddling his hips. The girl briskly pulls the shutters together again. She stands there holding onto the latch in the darkened room, her eyes closed. Printed on her retina, in kaleidoscopic patterns, is the scene that has just met her eyes. What was her mistress thinking of? It was late. The Bey would be arriving at any time now. As if to confirm the late hour, the voice of the Muezzin rises above the swirling evening heat, calling to prayer. May all the saints in heaven forgive her for what she has seen since she has arrived in this household. But how could she help it? Her mistress was so beautiful. Like a goddess. She had never seen such beauty. Girls from her village could be pretty and blonde, but they were not built that way. She knew how most of them looked without clothes on, when on hot summer days they all went for a swim in the river. They were mostly robust, large-boned, big-breasted, thick-waisted and their necks were not that long. She would sometimes stare at her mistress and mutter:
“Madame, you are so beautiful,” and l’ Americaine would burst out laughing and tease her, calling her by their common acronym:
“Leeda, come on now, look at yourself in the mirror. You do look a bit like me, you know, with your blonde curls and your large green eyes,” and the young governess would make a face:
“Yes, when we look in mirror of Luna Park, you know, Luna Park? The mirror that make me very thin and very tall? I am you in that one. And other one, you know, that make you short and fat? You are me in that one!” and they would then shriek with laughter.
Yes, l’ Americaine was very beautiful, like a statue, yes, just like the two porcelain figures her
mother has standing on a shelf in the formal sitting-room back in the village. Bought in Trieste. Or was it Vienna? What would her people say if they knew? May her eyes be forgiven for dwelling on that naked body, that elegant, slim back, those perfectly moulded hips, those long, white thighs. The girl shuddered and rubbed her arms, suddenly laughing at her goose pimples. To have goose pimples in this heat, that was very funny indeed.
Abruptly, the governess pushes the shutters open once again: “Madame, Madame,” she now calls
out urgently, but the lady in the loggia below, with a twist of her torso and a swing of her leg, has
already managed to spring to her feet, allowing the dazed gardener to scuttle away. She then pushes her damp curls from her face, bowing slightly from the waist as she raises her whiskey glass towards the garret window. Chuckling, the girl darts back into her room, out the door and, rushing down to her lady’s bedroom on the second floor, she swipes a silk robe off the bed, slides down the polished oak banister, and flies towards the loggia. Her mistress rewards her by kissing the air, as she shrugs on her cloak, tightening it round her slim waist. They both watch anxiously as the gardener ambles towards the main gate, unhurried, his sandals crunching on the gravel driveway. It will, as always, be opened in time to let the Bey’s car through, and the American will greet her husband in the heady fragrance of the rose-and-jasmine-trellised loggia, with a single malt on ice.
Next time, she will not be that lucky.
Hi Syliva,
I agree with Louisa… Write it! The structure of your prologue is rather like Christopher Isherwood’s, Goodbye to Berlin but it is Elda’s eye which is watching and recording and Lee Miller not Sally Bowles who is the subject. I was fascinated by her observation of the gardener because it captures a woman who is a victim of impulse rather than free will. It may reflect an attempt at self medication (due to her childhood sexual abuse) similar to her use of alcohol, nicotine and drugs throughout her life.
I was also very interested in your observation about tuberculosis. This is the first that I have learned of Aziz’s health problems and its transmission to Nimet. There was a reference to it in the Rilke book (which I am attaching) but I frankly never understood its significance, now it is clear. I am a little unclear from your correspondence as to whether your family believes that Aziz was remorseful only because of the tuberculosis or was it also because he lost Nimet because of a decision he later regretted?
Although I don't have much information regarding Elda and Aziz, I do know that she was positioned to make very interesting observations. I do believe I could offer you color and context, important points where the lives of Lee and Elda intersected. A good example is when Elda accompanied Lee from Egypt to Paris in the spring of 1937. Lee persuaded Aziz to finance her trip because she wanted to essentially escape the confines of Cairo. The day that Lee arrived with Elda in Paris she met with Julien Levy who took her to a Surrealist costume party where she met Roland Penrose and which was also attended by her former lover and mentor Man Ray. There has been confusion among writers as to who introduced Lee to Roland Penrose but I am attaching correspondence from Lee to Julien near the end of her life, which clarifies this point. When Lee entered the party she was in the presence of two former lovers and her soon to be affair partner, Roland Penrose. Aside from the romantic intrigue and betrayal of Aziz, these three men were the most significant forces behind not only the marketing and promotion of Surrealism, but modern art and the eventual conversion of the center of art from Paris to New York.
Between the wars there was virtually no market for modern art on the continent because there was essentially no money. This is why we hear of great artists selling their art for a meal in Montparnasse and working in their impoverished ateliers. Man Ray did not suffer from this fate when Lee met him in 1929. He lived and worked on the first floor of an expensive award-winning building, drove a sports car and wore tailored suits until the depression reached Paris in 1930. Unlike other artists, Man Ray published fine art photographs and fashion pieces between 1921 and World War II in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair. He made a very good living off of his portrait photographs and was able to afford a house outside of Paris. The reason for Man Ray’s success was that he was originally from New York City and with his connections there, was able to market his art. Man Ray nonetheless still followed the age old tradition of trying to find patrons to support his work but this changed when he met Julien Levy in the early 1920s. Julien Levy came from a wealthy New York family and while a student at Harvard University his mentor was Paul Sachs, a scion and partner of the enormous Wall Street financial institution Goldman Sachs. Paul Sachs instituted the first degree program in the art Museum curatorship and three of his students and eventually, friends, were Julien Levy, Al Barr and Chick Austin. The three younger men promoted European art and photography from Paris to the United States in the early 1930s when Rockefeller opened MoMA, (Museum of Modern Art) Paul Sachs headed the board and Al Barr was its director. These men consistently obtained artwork “on the cheap” in Paris and had no difficulty in marketing it to wealthy Americans. During WWII the US Army appointed Al Barr to run its operations to protect artworks in Europe from the Germans with American forces and they cooperated with Varian Fry in running an underground railroad to Lisbon to bring artists and intellectuals to New York. These included Max Ernst, André Breton, Leonora Carrington and many others. In other words, Levy was the point man in opening up the American market to the impoverished European artists. Prior to the war, the main promoter of a similar endeavor in England was Roland Penrose with the 1936 Surrealist Exhibition in London and his initiation of the Institute of Contemporary Arts which is essentially an English counterpart. I believe Lee Miller's beauty was viewed as an asset to promoting Surrealism by Julien Levy and if you are interested, I can support this with more facts but for now the only point I want to make is that Elda was with Lee when Levy picked her up to meet Penrose and presumably the camera was rolling.
There are so many other things I would have liked to ask Elda. For example, Antony Penrose reports that Lee left Aziz when she went to England in 1939. I am not so sure this is the case. I know that Lee left her Picasso in Cairo and presumably many of her other possessions. There was a painting by Roland Penrose dedicated to Lee but auctioned by Christie’s with a province from the estate of Aziz, to the estate of Elda and thereafter via a legatee to the auction house. Clearly her decision to leave was not etched in stone, additionally Roland Penrose in his biography says that Lee did not indicate she was going to England with him until a day or two before the outbreak of the war while they were visiting Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington in the south of France. My personal opinion is that Lee’s motivation for leaving Egypt was her fear of being trapped in Cairo without being able to continue her desert excursions for “sex, drugs and rock and roll” with her various boyfriends. That is another area where Elda’s observations of Lee would be interesting. The who, what and where of her desert romances would be fascinating to know. Another point in time I have interest in is the holiday season in St. Moritz during the winter of 1946-1947. At that time, Aziz was selling Villa Nimet and Lee was on assignment for Vogue. If Aziz was there for the sale, is it possible that he and Lee met? Many questions, too few answers.
I can’t express how much I appreciate the information you forwarded to me, one observation I made is that there appears to be a Christian cross on Aziz and Elda’s tombstone. Was Aziz Christian? If so, this would be a dramatic departure from both Anthony Penrose and Carolyn Burke’s narrative. Both of which maintain, among other things, that Aziz simply divorced Nimet and Lee by repeating “thee I divorce” and without the necessity of a civil dissolution. My experience in Egypt while visiting my family plot in the City of Dead is that Muslim tombstones are significantly different.
I am sending all my best wishes and look forward to hearing from you.
Ma’a salaama,
Tuya xxx
Tuya,
I wish you had met Aziz! He was simply the most refined, elegant - without being a dandy - gentleman you can imagine. Reserved, but cordial; calm and collected always, but at the same time sensitive, and ‘present.’ I remember once in Garbanyat -my happy place which I conjure up behind closed eyes in any unpleasant context such as scans and at the dentist - I followed him up the turret stairs which was forbidden to do, and sneaked behind him into his private study. He was, as you can I imagine, not given to any vociferous outbursts, either of pleasure or displeasure. He turned round and when he saw me he said in English: Little aafrita, how didn’t I hear you? We spoke English together, also with my father, because I had just started school at the Sacred Heart - Irish nuns. Then he turned round and grabbed a bottle of ‘Eau de Cologne’ and sprayed some of it, aiming for my neck, but it hit my eye instead, and I howled! He was so apologetic, hugged me which he otherwise rarely did, and had tears in his eyes, imagine. He was afraid that I would think that it was an attempt to scare me out of his study, while the poor man had just tried be nice. Fond memories of Aziz.
Tuya, à très bientôt!
Sylvia
Bonjour Sylvia,
I am currently living in New Hampshire and after a couple years away, I have been reminded of how special New England really is. Please take your time in responding to me, I am in no rush. I enjoy your writing thoroughly and the story of Aziz with the cologne is so sweet (yet I can imagine it must have hurt!). Thank you again for taking the time to always respond to me so thoughtfully.
Best wishes,
Tuya xxx
March 2021
Dear Tuya,
Attached, I send a hurriedly written – so please forgive the sloppiness – long due continuation of the Lee-Aziz-Elda narrative, according to Elda! Answering your question about Aziz and his burial, he was a Moslem and I am sure that he was buried in Alexandria, or perhaps even Cairo according to Islamic rites. However, Elda wanted to mark for posterity in her village that they were married in the eyes of God, whether Christian or Moslem, and had his name inscribed on the tombstone that was to be her last resting place. Please do not hesitate to ask me any further questions, and I shall reply to the best of my knowledge. I am very interested in your work which is so accomplished! Good luck with it.
A la prochaine, j’espère, and take care out there.
Fondly,
Sylvia
I can now resume my tale of the impact Lee Miller has had on my family. You must forgive me if I repeat myself. I know I had written some things in that mail that disappeared, but I may have also mentioned things which I am now bringing up again.
By the time I was born, in 1944, Elda and Aziz were for all practical purposes a married couple, although my parents claimed that they were never informed, leave alone invited to the ceremony/wedding. They appeared at our door one day with a bottle of champagne claiming they were now husband and wife. I do not know exactly when this happened. The story goes that after Lee left Egypt, Aziz sent Elda home to her parents as he did not deem it ‘respectable’ that this young lady should live together with him under the same roof. However, Elda soon returned to Egypt – Alexandria, to be precise – and got engaged to an Italian young man who, at the time, still lived alone with his Mamma (apparently no father in the picture). It seems that Elda had earned a neat little sum working at the Elouis. So she and her fiancé could afford some nice things for their future home and everything was stacked temporarily in his mother’s apartment. However, things did not work out between the couple. Elda wanted out, but the Italian did not want to let her go, and thought he could keep her by refusing to return the furniture which was bought with Elda’s money. The story – myth or reality no one knows – is that she told Aziz of these unfortunate circumstances and that Aziz told her ‘do what Lee would have done: tie the bastard up, threaten the old woman, empty the apartment and leave’ and no sooner said than done. Elda, accompanied by two burly Slovene guys she knew in Alex, together with a girl friend of hers, barged into the apartment, tied the fiancé up and unceremoniously dumped him into the bathtub while Elda’s friend kept the hysterical old woman company. They ransacked the apartment taking Elda’s things, but also most of what he had bought himself, and loaded everything on a donkey-drawn cart. After this successful operation, my mother told us that Elda missed Zamalek and Aziz and she went back to him.
As I told you before, in the family everyone, including Elda, attributed Aziz’s melancholic disposition to the Nimet ‘remorse.’ He had, in fact, infected her with tuberculosis as Raval writes. (Did I tell you that I have the book? I was very impressed, like Rilke himself obviously, by Nimet’s culture and erudition. Imagine, her sacred book was Rilke’s Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, a heavy, dismal narrative of a Danish aristocrat! She was incredibly knowledgeable. And, as an aside, I should add here that Aziz had a very special den in Gharbanyat with a fireplace in a corner and ash pink velvet sofas. You had to climb 4 steps up to get into this little nook full of books behind quaint glass shelves. We always thought that these were books belonging either to Aziz’s mother or l’Americaine folle as Lee was called in the family, I’m afraid. She was never mentioned by name and we knew simply nothing about her then. But as it turned out, they were books belonging to Nimet. I do not get the impression that Lee was a book-worm. And yes, Elda always told us that he mourned Nimet. Now, whether this is true or not, we shall never know. This is very much like a Faulknerian tale; it changes depending on the perspective.
Now, Tuya, I shall try and answer some of your questions in one of your early mails:
1) The dates of birth/death of Aziz and Elda: Aziz 1897 – 1976; Elda 1913 – 2001. Date of marriage between the two unknown.
2) No, no information about the date of divorce of Aziz/Lee.
3) Yes, Elda’s narration of that fatidic trip to Paris with Lee was part of her disclosures on my last visit to her in summer 2000, a year before her death. On that occasion she also told me of the regular ‘gardener escapades’ in the loggia, including Lee’s visit to Alexandria, a year or two before her (Lee’s) death. She had spent a few days with Aziz and Elda and when they retired for the night, she entered their bedroom dressed in a nightgown that was fastened at the back with one single button, leaving the rest of the gown loose and tried to snuggle between them in the bed. According to Elda, Aziz threw her out.
4) The last time I saw Aziz must have been in the sixties, and Elda in 2000.
5) I think Elda and Lee spoke a mixture of French and English. I know that Lee made a point of speaking English to Elda, according to Elda.
6) In 1947, my father, Elda and Aziz travelled to Switzerland and stayed in a place called Lenzerheide, some 50 kilometres from St. Moritz. I do not know whether on this occasion, Aziz sold Villa Nimet, and bought a smaller place at Lenzerheide. I seem to remember that they went more than once to Lenzerheide.
7) No, no info regarding communication between Lee and Aziz in the 1932-1934 period.
8) We were told by our mother that Aziz gave Lee a week to pack her bags and leave after he caught her, one afternoon, in flagrant délit with the attaché to the American Embassy (if I remember correctly, you know it was that young man she took on her jeep rides out in the desert).
So, you see, all hearsay.
Dear Sylvia,
Thank you so much for your latest correspondence. I absolutely love reading your recollections of Elda and Aziz! I believe Elda is a very important figure in the Lee Miller story because her proximity to Lee in the years 1934 to 1939 enabled her to have an unfiltered view of Lee, both the good and the bad, more so than any other person. Her revelations to you are without an agenda and free of the Anthony Penrose book that has contaminated literally every published resource since its publication in 1985.
As I mentioned in previous correspondence, rumors are often facts simply waiting to be verified. From your correspondence, I have learned that Nimet died from tuberculosis and not suicide. This was discussed in the book by Marcel Raval, but not identified although it was vaguely suggested that Nimet had a condition related somehow to Aziz. I frankly thought Raval was being discreet and that Nimet caught a sexually transmitted disease from Aziz which may have been passed on to him from Lee.
I have also learned from you that Aziz did not die in poverty married to Lee’s “maid” Elda as portrayed by Penrose, but rather wealthy with Elda surviving him and living in a villa in Triste. I have also learned and am fascinated by, stories of Lee and her gardener as well as getting caught with Bernard Burrows of the British consulate. Aziz throwing Lee out of the house would explain why she left her Picasso Portrait in Egypt along with, presumably, many other possessions. This is very similar to Man Ray’s autobiography wherein he says that he ended the relationship with Lee. Both stories go directly contrary to the Penrose narrative and there is correspondence from Lee to Aziz and Man Ray to Lee which indicates that both men had been fed up with her conduct and had given her an ultimatum that she couldn’t satisfy. I believe this is important to understanding Lee Miller because I do not believe she was the strong, independent woman portrayed by Antony Penrose, but rather, a victim to addiction be it sexual, alcohol or pills. Lee’s own correspondence indicates that she suffered from severe depression, anxiety, bursts of uncontrollable anger and hypochondria. These are all the classic adult manifestations of childhood sexual abuse that I believe was at the hands of her father, and not some unidentified man in Brooklyn, New York.
I will also send you a draft of my thoughts on this that I hope that you or your granddaughter will find interesting. It was prepared before we started corresponding so it is not updated, but it will show you the direction of my thought process to date.
So many questions! Do you think Aziz had remorse solely for the tuberculosis or also because of his betrayal of Nimet? Something I am particularly interested about is when and how Elda and Aziz got together. Aziz’s family genealogy (on Geni) lists Nimet and Lee as his wives, but Elda is not mentioned. This period of time must have been difficult for Elda because, on the one hand she was keeping Lee’s secrets from Aziz, but obviously, working for and very fond of Aziz. I do not know what happened to Elda’s estate, but do you know if it would be possible to obtain photos of any correspondence, diary entries, pertinent documentation or photographs of Aziz, Elda or Lee during that period of time?
At the moment I am obtaining records from England concerning Lee’s marriages, divorces and estate. Thus far, it does not appear that Lee was formally divorced from Aziz in England although he apparently complied with the Islamic practice of repeating “thee I divorce” at Lee’s request, and in anticipation of Anthony’s birth and her desire to legitimize the birth by marriage to Roland Penrose. She was married to Aziz by a civil ceremony in New York in 1934 and the Islamic dissolution would not be legally effective. I wonder if Elda did not formally marry Aziz because, as a Christian, she felt that he was still married to Lee absent a civil dissolution in England or America. Also, absent civil dissolution Lee’s marriage to Roland would be bigamy and void. The effect of this on Antony’s legitimacy and inheritance are thought provoking.
Tuya xxx
April 2021
Tula,
Oh, by the way, I shall add only one surly remark about Elda’s estate: it all went to her nieces in Slovenia. I know because after her death there were a couple of Roland Penrose’s paintings at Christie’s. There was one I kept staring at as a child and I did not like it, and laughingly Aziz said: you’ll get this one when you’ll grow up - well, I got: nothing, nada, and she was my Godmother. Ah well. I actually did not think that Aziz would leave a whole lot to Elda, but obviously he had. The nieces did not even allow me to check for pictures or letters concerning Lee Miller.
I am sending you a copy of Penrose’s painting which has always disgusted me, separately. By the way, I doubt whether Elda or the nieces (one of whom died recently; her name has been added on Elda and Aziz’s tombstone- she was obviously very close to her aunt having been single and childless all her life) have had a Picasso to sell! The family still lives modestly in the village.
So much for gossip.
More very soon, bellissima
Sylvia
Bonjour Sylvia!
It is such a pleasure to read your emails. Even if it is about how chilly it is and the lack of spring blooms! Here on the coast we are waiting for the rainy season to start. May is my favorite month here as with the rain (it will be there first time in 5 months) everything springs back to life and transforms from a dusty hot brown, back to a lively and cool green. Butterflies hatch, the cows fatten up and mangos are in season (cold mangos from the fridge were a treat in Egypt as a kid). Tourism has been slow but is to be expected at this time of year. Your time in the Caribbean sounds very exciting and quite the opposite of your Danish 'summer' home. I am positive I would be one of many people that would enjoy reading your memoir!
My sister and I are planning a trip back to Egypt within the next couple of years. Oh and that picture you sent me of your old school in Alexandria was stunning! I sent it to my father and he replied that one of his ex girlfriends attended ha!
I find your story of the Penrose painting very entertaining and can't say I am terribly fond of the artwork either. You might be interested to know that in my research I obtained Roland Penrose's will and it states that the Picasso of Lee Miller was to go to his granddaughter Ami. I am not sure she knows it is hers though as it has been on loan to the National Museum of Scotland for 45 years. Also rather sadly it seems Antony was not left with much from his father except that the trustees were able to give him a place to live at Farley Farm.
Well tonight is our night off from the restaurant and after quite a productive day cleaning and organizing I think I shall take a glass of wine to watch the sunset. I am anticipating some big changes in my personal life this year and I am trying to focus on small things that make me happy. Such as correspondence with you and a glass of vino! I hope your health is doing well and that this finds you in good spirits. It has been the most bizarre of a year and fingers crossed it will soon evolve into something brighter and more hopeful.
Bisous,
Tuya xxx
May 2021
My dear Tula,
You have no idea how I dream sometimes of the mangoes of Egypt! They were so smooth, deep orange and sweet like ice cream. We get them here, imported from I don’t remember where, but they are for the most part pale yellow and thready - a far cry from our mangoes in Egypt. Although two generations apart, we share so many common souvenirs, Tula. I am in touch with most of my classmates from Sacred Heart (we call ourselves The Shamrock Sisters) and we meet every second year (the last reunion was spent in a Castle in Tuscany -the owner, a ‘Contessa’ of course - had a dream of a wine cellar). And we experience falling back on our memories of Alexandria and finding out we lived lives that were almost copies of each other’s, no matter what race or religion, although I cannot say the same about class in the sense of social standing, unfortunately. Yet it was understandable. But that you and I with decades apart, we still remember the same places, habits and food? It goes to show that Egypt is an indelible, unchanging memory, mesmerizing with its special and eternal mystique. Once you drink the water from the Nile, they say, you will always be drawn back to this incredible country.
I love your letters, too, Tula, and it seems we enjoy our correspondence over and above our common interest in Aziz and Lee.
I have often wondered where the real ‘truth’ lies in that most improbable of marriages, and we shall never know. As Popper claimed: the most we can hope for is an approximation of truth. Hence, my gossip (hearsay) and personal relationship to Aziz during my childhood coupled with your competent and extensive research both point in the same direction: Lee had cynical designs upon ‘the rich Egyptian’ who was naively taken in by the blonde beauty (very much an asset in those days, my father telling everyone - jokingly, or not? - that he would never have married my mother had she not been a blue-eyed blonde and all the greater was his disappointment when he ‘begot’ two brunettes! I remember when we girls, at the age of 6 and 14 visited Capri with our parents, driving our car with Egyptian number plates, everyone thought we were wealthy Middle Easterners with our father and our English Nanny! ). Anyway, we seem to also agree upon the fact that Aziz must probably have thrown her out at the end. Penrose describes Aziz as still drooling over Lee when he visited Lee in London, giving her stacks of stocks. I think Penrose has no inkling of who Aziz really was: his nobility both of birth and demeanor, his oriental dignity and self-respect. I cannot imagine that he for one moment would have meekly accepted the role of cuckold like another Leopold Bloom. No way.
As for me? Cannot write. After the Prologue, total block. I cannot imagine that you have had time to work either, have you? What you have written so far is so fully researched and factual, very much like a documentary. I was wondering where the research will ultimately lead to. It certainly does not come across as ‘another’ conventional biography of Lee.
And you, my dear child, have come to a crossroad in your life, like we all probably do at one time in our lives, mostly when we are young. But we have to decide one way or the other, and it is much later in life that one will speculate upon ‘the road not taken’ hopefully saying: yeah, who knows, perhaps it would have been better, but then I wouldn’t have tried this, known that person, had or not had that family, and so on and so forth, coming to the conclusion that everything happened for a reason and things are as they should be, after all.
Enjoy your wine at sunset, by the sea (unless you are already in the US) and good luck, Tula, with everything. Enjoy life.
With all my affection,
Sylvia
P.S Your father had an ex from Sacred Heart? I am sure, then, that the School kept its reputation as harbouring the prettiest girls in Alex, and judging from your beautiful mother, your Dad has good taste in women.
Footnotes
(1) Penrose, Antony (1985) The Lives of Lee Miller Thames & Hudson (page 206)
(2) Penrose, Antony (1985) The Lives of Lee Miller Thames & Hudson (page 90)
(3) Much is made of the claim that Aziz provided stocks and securities to Lee when she left Egypt. War was on Cairo’s doorstep and it is far more likely that Aziz wanted the stock out of the country and safe in England or America. There is no reason to suppose that the documents were in Lee’s name so it they would have no value to her as negotiable instrument. Point in fact, Lee never liquidated the instruments. However the mere fact that Aziz wanted her to hold these documents suggest that Aziz wanted her gone, but not divorced. Roland Penrose confirms in Scrapbook that Lee did not make her decision to go with him to England until the day they left France some weeks or perhaps months after she left Egypt.
* When Sylvia or I mention Ravel it is in reference to Rainer Maria Rilke, His Last Friendship (1948). Also cited as Jaloux per Burke’s reference.