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Jill Craigie with Michael Foot |
Why did judges block plan to honour writer?
Revealed: Arthur Koestler among the artists rejected for an English Heritage tribute
ENGLISH Heritage has released the list of suggestions for commemorative blue plaques it has turned down, revealing how proposals to honour the writer Arthur Koestler were rejected on the grounds that the campaigner had a “controversial reputation”.
It follows allegations that Koestler assaulted women and raped actress Jill Craigie, wife of former leader of the Labour Party Michael Foot.
Ms Craigie did not report the attack in 1951 because she was worried about negative publicity, his biographer said.
The refusal to erect a plaque – taken behind closed doors last year by a panel appointed by English Heritage – has thrown open a debate over candidates for the popular tribute series should be selected. The plaques are fitted to the former homes of notable people who have been dead for at least 20 years.
Koestler, whose addresses included properties in Highgate village and Bloomsbury, has been celebrated as a campaigning journalist who rallied against the Nazis, capital punishment and nuclear arms. One of his most famous works, Darkness At Noon, was a powerful indictment of the terror tactics used by General Franco during the Spanish Civil War .
But he has been viewed differently by some historians since 1998 when Professor David Cesarani claimed in his biography, A Homeless Mind, that assaulting women was for Koestler “almost a hallmark of his conduct”. Koestler had once been regarded as a friend by Mr Foot and invited to dinner parties at his home in Hampstead.
Documents held by English Heritage – released to the New Journal – said: “The panel acknowledged the importance of Koestler’s contributions to the field of literature and penal reform but felt the consideration of the proposal should be deferred for 10 years to allow for the publication of new research and possible reassessment of his controversial reputation.”
The make-up of individual panels has not been revealed, although they normally consist of historians and writers. AN Wilson and Stephen Fry are notable names to have served as past judges.
Ms Craigie’s own biographer Carl Rollyson covered the alleged rape in his book To Be A Woman.
Asked last night whether he thought Koestler should be honoured, he said: “No. Koestler wrote on a variety of subjects and his views were controversial, but I assume that it is his treatment of women that is the issue.”
Koestler was 77 when he died in a suicide pact with his wife, Cynthia, in 1983. An annual art competition for prisoners is held in his name.
Tim Robertson, chief executive of The Koestler Trust, said: “We are disappointed that they didn’t go ahead but we can understand he had a controversial reputation. At the Koestler Trust we are a charity that celebrates the best achievements in the terrible mistakes of people capable of good – so Arthur Koestler is an appropriate figurehead.
Other names on EH’s rejection list are less controversial and were thrown out for a variety of reasons.
The former Hampstead homes of novelist Daphne Du Maurier and dancer Anna Pavlova, as well as the West Hampstead home of playwright David Mercer were also turned down. |
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