In this twentieth-century story of a quest for beauty, the writer Laura Freeman introduces us to Jim Ede, a man who, in creating Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, changed the way we look at art. We follow Jim from the trenches of the First World War to Lady Ottoline Morrell’s literary parties in Bloomsbury and a curating job at the Tate. He collected artworks by his friends Ben Nicholson and David Jones, acquired the estate of the sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and designed a house in Tangiers that became a sanctuary for soldiers. These were stepping stones towards Jim turning derelict slum cottages into a home and gallery, a space for both tea and tours. And, as ever, we share recommendations for reading off the beaten track.

Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 45 minutes; 18 seconds)

We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Jess in the Slightly Foxed office for more information.

A Way of Life: Kettle’s Yard, Jim Ede is available from the Kettle’s Yard shop

Ottoline Morrell: Life on the Grand Scale, Miranda Seymour is published in a Faber Finds edition. Second-hand copies are available. (12:59)

Savage Messiah: A Biography of the Sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, H. S. (Jim) Ede is available from the Kettle’s Yard shop

David Jones: Engraver, Soldier, Painter, Poet, Thomas Dilworth (19:40)

Three Tales, Gustave Flaubert (37:55)

Lady into Fox, David Garnett (38:53) 

Indelicacy, Amina Cain (40:26)

Transient Desires, Donna Leon (42:15)

Living Art, Mark Haworth-Booth on A Way of Life: Kettle’s Yard, Jim Ede, Issue 42 (28:00)

Kettle’s Yard House and Galleries, Cambridge

Tangier Days: the Edes in Morocco, 1936-52 (22.29)

Bookshop.org (2:16)

Heffers Bookshop, Cambridge (33:50)

With thanks to Kettle’s Yard and Paul Allitt for the photo used for this episode’s cover artwork.

Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach

The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable