In Godfrey; A Special Time Remembered Jill Bennett tells how she braved the sacred portals of the Garrick Club to continue a row with her lover Godfrey Tearle, how the old actor came down a flight of stairs two at a time absolutely furious, how he took hold of her wrist, sat down and, putting her across his knee, spanked the living daylights out of her. Then he threw her into a taxi, saying: 'Go home and learn to behave yourself.' Fellow members who witnessed the incident might have admonished Godfrey in similar terms. The Garrick only officially admitted ladies on Sunday. Nowadays in Garrickland, as in most Gentlemen's Clubs, when after dusk the ladies predominate, he would undoubtedly have been set upon by members' wives and mistresses and forced to desist.

LRB 2 June 1983 | PDF Download