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Brian Aldiss - The durability of love (74/79)

456 views · Published 9 May 2017 · 4:25 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Entertainment

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Writer Brian Aldiss (1925-2017) was best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. 'Non-Stop', his first science fiction novel, was published in 1958. His many award-winning titles include 'Hothouse', 'The Saliva Tree' and 'Helliconia Spring'. [Listener: Christopher Sykes; date recorded: 2014]

TRANSCRIPT: Let me give you an example of the durability of love, which I've always felt. My ex-wife, Olive, living in the Isle of Wight, became ill. She was quite old, she was lying in bed and she was being cared for by my son Clive's wife, a Greek lady whose name was Youla. And Youla noticed that Olive had, on her right hand, on one of her fingers, she had a silver ring, and Youla thought it might be cutting into her flesh, and so she said, 'Would you like me to take this ring off?' And Olive said, 'Oh no, that never comes off. Brian gave it to me. I still love him'.

That was a very durable kind of love, and well, you know, it was our first marriage. And indeed, it did work very well. It was... always the shadow of her mother was there. But there we are...

So that was a good example of the durability of love.

What can I talk about love, in general? Well, I don't know. I suppose... yes, round here, I see old couples who clearly love each other out of habit, but habit's not a bad thing, either.

I don't know what I can say about it. It's a mysterious force, isn't it? I mean, my mother... certainly to begin with... didn't love me. I was born in a shower of tears, but gradually, she saw sense, particularly when she and my father left Dereham. She became a happier person, and she did love me. It evolved slowly, but I was always grateful for that.

But then, I was loved, and I loved my grandfather's second wife. Grandfather had died, and Dorothy, Dorothy Aldiss, born Dorothy Royou lived here in Oxford. I saw a lot of her and I loved that woman. And so that didn't have any particular connotation of sex. It was just loving another person because it seemed to me they were such a good... she was such a good and valuable person. And so those are things that promote love. Had she been wicked or sly or any number of off-putting things, it would have been different. I think of her quite frequently... it's funny that that should be my grandfather's surviving second wife. And when she died, we all jumped into my car and drove to Dereham because she wanted to be buried next to him. She obviously still carried love for HH Aldiss.

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