Valerie Eliot once attended an Open University literature summer school I was running at the University of York. She was using her maiden name, so I did not know who the rather formally attired lady was who approached me at the start of the week, and was stunned when she said: "I am TS Eliot's widow, and you will understand that I do not want anyone to know who I am."
The Waste Land was a major text for discussion during the week. I kept her secret to myself, but I regretted not sitting in on a tutorial to hear her views.
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