Philip Larkin met Monica Jones in 1946 at Leicester University College. She was an assistant lecturer there, and Larkin was an assistant librarian. Both had firsts in English from Oxford. Monica Jones was an able lecturer, but she never published anything and so was never promoted, although she stayed at Leicester until she retired in 1981. They soon took up together, although Larkin had, and would continue to have, other entanglements. Until late in their long and difficult relationship, the pair lived apart, though they shared holidays. Monica eventually moved into Larkin's house in Hull in 1983, where he looked after her (she was an alcoholic) until his death in December 1985. She hardly left the house after this - according to Anthony Thwaite, who edited this collection - and died in February 2001.

LRB 21 October 2010 | PDF Download