The letter [4]pp, one folded sheet: Winterbrook House Wallingford Tel Wallingford 2248 Mrs Belson. I have had your letter and think post might be suitable for you – it consists of looking after house & keeping it in order & doing simple plain cooking at the weekends when my husband & I come down from London. We are abroad for some months every year, so want someone trustworthy & reliable. The idea – perhaps you can meet me at the house on Saturday next – I will pay bus fares. The house is on the main Oxford – Reading road. After the market place in Wallingford, get out at the Cottage Hospital stop. A little further on you will come to a long wall & then a bright green gate. That is Winterbrook House. Yours truly Agatha MallowanI hear from Miss Callow that she arranged for you to come on Sunday – but I shall be out all day Sunday. Can you possibly manage Saturday any time. If you like to ring up Wallingford 2248 & reverse charges, we should probably manage to drive you back to OxfordMrs Belson accepted the post and cooked, kept house and looked after Agatha Christie from 1953 until the author’s death in 1976, and stayed on to look after Sir Max for over a year before retiring, and became a much loved family friend. In a January 2012 Archant news article, Betty Paine (née Belson), daughter of Lily Belson, recounted some interesting insights into her mother’s story as Agatha Christie’s housekeeper and cook:Mrs Paine, 87, recalls that her mother only applied for the job because she was attracted by the flat on offer, and was unaware of her prospective employe’s identity. “She had the shock of her life when she found out it was Agatha Christie, ” she said. The house – Winterbrook… Turned out to be un-modernised, dank and dark. Never carried out renovations, said Mrs Paine, who visited her mother at Wallingford on many occasions. “She had to cook on a big, old fashioned range – I don’t know how she managed” But Mrs Paine remembers Dame Agatha as a kind woman who came to regard Mrs Belson as a friend… And it was Mrs Belson, trusted companion through Christie’s declining years of physical and mental health, who was with her at the moment of her death. After helping the frail 85-year-old with her lunch on January 12 1976, Mrs BElson was wheeling Dame Agatha to the sitting room when she died. She stayed on to look after Sir Max for over a year before retiring. She died in 1981. This item is in the category “Collectables\Other Collectable Items”. The seller is “beepbee44″ and is located in this country: GB. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom.
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
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