Read Online The Richard Burton Diaries by Richard Burton, Chris Williams - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Richard Burton, Chris Williams
Tags: Biography, Non-Fiction
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believing the most outlandish claims about his life; and that many of those who have written about Burton prefer the sensationalism of a ‘good story’ to more sober evaluation of the evidence. Much of what passes for biographical writing is badly researched and heedless of the obligation of any serious writer to corroborate testimonies. Instead, the many lurid, sensational and improbable stories about Burton's drinking and private life are recycled and embellished. As a consequence, Burton's personality, achievement and importance continue to be regularly misrepresented and misunderstood. All too often he appears as a caricature: brawling, drinking, womanizing, throwing his talent away in an orgy of self-destruction. In reading such books one is reminded of John Updike's comment that most biographies are ‘novels with indexes’. 18
Of course, Burton himself was guilty of telling tall tales about his life and times, sometimes, it would appear, simply to see whether he would be believed, sometimes because he feared being thought boring and thus strove for maximum dramatic effect, employing considerable poetic licence in the process. As John Cottrell and Fergus Cashin noted, ‘Burton the story-teller has never been one to let concern for accuracy outweigh his concern for effect. ... Burton tells and retells so many stories that they grow or become confused, but so marginally that he does not realize it and sincerely believes he is reproducing the original.‘ 19
Among those who knew Burton, often it is individuals who were most peripheral to the man who are relied on most heavily for ‘authoritative’ quotations about his escapades, or even insert themselves into the narrative of his life. 20 Even those who may be counted as friends good and true, can fall into the trap of colouring their reminiscences for dramatic effect, of conflating episodes, of imposing their own explanations and interpretations on Burton's life and, naturally enough in the process, casting themselves in the best possible light.
Burton's diaries have no automatic claim to ‘truth’. 21 But they are surely one of the most important sources, if not the most important, for Burton's life, at least during the years when they were kept. They allow Burton to speak for himself.
Editing the Diaries
No editor can be trusted not to spoil a diary.
(Ponsonby, English Diaries ) 22
Melvyn Bragg, who published the authorized biography of Burton – Rich – in 1988, had access to most of the diaries presented here. 23 In his work, Bragg drew substantially on Burton's own words, citing about one-fifth of what he hadaccess to at the time of writing. Inevitably he was forced to be highly selective, and could not provide the level of contextual information and referencing that is possible in a fuller scholarly edition.
It is not suggested that Melvyn Bragg, in any significant way, mishandled or misrepresented the diaries’ contents. There are a few places in which the transcription differs from his but, for the most part, the spirit in which Richard Burton's words are rendered in Bragg's biography are faithful to what one might feel to be the original and intended meaning. Yet it is only through publication of the diaries as they were written that one will be able fully to appreciate Burton's own words and the insights the diaries offer into his life. Rather than Bragg, like any biographer, allowing Burton's words to appear at a time in the book and on a subject both of Bragg's own choosing, the diaries allow Burton's voice to be heard unmediated, direct, clear and in full.
The first principle adopted in editing the diaries has been to refrain from doing anything that might alter the meaning of the text. Where the text is ambiguous, then it has been left ambiguous, and the reader may make up his or her mind as to its meaning. However, where Richard Burton crossed out or altered words or passages these reconsiderations have been respected.
A second
Of course, Burton himself was guilty of telling tall tales about his life and times, sometimes, it would appear, simply to see whether he would be believed, sometimes because he feared being thought boring and thus strove for maximum dramatic effect, employing considerable poetic licence in the process. As John Cottrell and Fergus Cashin noted, ‘Burton the story-teller has never been one to let concern for accuracy outweigh his concern for effect. ... Burton tells and retells so many stories that they grow or become confused, but so marginally that he does not realize it and sincerely believes he is reproducing the original.‘ 19
Among those who knew Burton, often it is individuals who were most peripheral to the man who are relied on most heavily for ‘authoritative’ quotations about his escapades, or even insert themselves into the narrative of his life. 20 Even those who may be counted as friends good and true, can fall into the trap of colouring their reminiscences for dramatic effect, of conflating episodes, of imposing their own explanations and interpretations on Burton's life and, naturally enough in the process, casting themselves in the best possible light.
Burton's diaries have no automatic claim to ‘truth’. 21 But they are surely one of the most important sources, if not the most important, for Burton's life, at least during the years when they were kept. They allow Burton to speak for himself.
Editing the Diaries
No editor can be trusted not to spoil a diary.
(Ponsonby, English Diaries ) 22
Melvyn Bragg, who published the authorized biography of Burton – Rich – in 1988, had access to most of the diaries presented here. 23 In his work, Bragg drew substantially on Burton's own words, citing about one-fifth of what he hadaccess to at the time of writing. Inevitably he was forced to be highly selective, and could not provide the level of contextual information and referencing that is possible in a fuller scholarly edition.
It is not suggested that Melvyn Bragg, in any significant way, mishandled or misrepresented the diaries’ contents. There are a few places in which the transcription differs from his but, for the most part, the spirit in which Richard Burton's words are rendered in Bragg's biography are faithful to what one might feel to be the original and intended meaning. Yet it is only through publication of the diaries as they were written that one will be able fully to appreciate Burton's own words and the insights the diaries offer into his life. Rather than Bragg, like any biographer, allowing Burton's words to appear at a time in the book and on a subject both of Bragg's own choosing, the diaries allow Burton's voice to be heard unmediated, direct, clear and in full.
The first principle adopted in editing the diaries has been to refrain from doing anything that might alter the meaning of the text. Where the text is ambiguous, then it has been left ambiguous, and the reader may make up his or her mind as to its meaning. However, where Richard Burton crossed out or altered words or passages these reconsiderations have been respected.
A second
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