What follows are thoughts and spoilers about Stephen Fry's serial audio novel/puzzle "The Dongle of Donald Trefusis". If you would rather solve it all by yourself, do not read on.If you want to look at the Episode 2 clues, go here.
The credit for almost all of these clues must be directed to the brilliant and beautiful Briohny Clark.
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When Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win an Oscar, she declared in her acceptance speech: “This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll”.
The first of these names, Dorothy Dandridge, is the 'uncredited singer/dancer' of whom Trefusis speaks. And she was was the first black woman nominated for an Academy Award (as Lead Actress for "Carmen Jones"). She also had a part in the Marx Brothers film A Day at the Races. And This is Film A.
Leonard the 'chicken chaser' is, in fact, Leonard 'Chico' Marx. As Wiki says, "He was originally nicknamed Chicko for his reputation as a ladies' man, or a "chicken chaser" in the popular slang of the day." Julius and Arthur were also Marx Brothers.
A Day at the Races was produced by Irving Grant Thalberg who was nicknamed the 'Wonder Boy'. And F. Scott Fitzgerald based his character Monroe Stahr in The Last Tycoon on Thalberg.
The Lindy Hop is the name of the famous dance from A Day at the Races. It is an African American dance, based on the popular Charleston. You can watch it here:
This dance was named after Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing in 1927. (Trefusis was 6 years old at the time.) And it was this crossing that was portrayed in the film The Spirit of St. Louis (1957). Which is, of course, FILM B.
The first First Lady was Martha Custis Washington, and her Maiden Name was Dandridge! And, as it happens, Washington had an illegitimate half-sister. As Wiki says: "Her younger illegitimate half-sister (date of birth unrecovered) was a slave, Ann Dandridge Costin, who was one-quarter African, one-quarter Cherokee Indian, and half-white; there is further evidence of an illegitimate half-brother Ralph Dandridge (date of birth unrecovered), who was probably white."
This racial-mix is particularly interesting given that in Dorothy Dandridge's book (written by Earl Mills) she speaks about her mother Ruby Dandridge having mixed Jamaican, Mexican, and Native American ancestry.
Author Henry Wiencek, in his 2003 book "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America", writes that Martha Washington owned her own mulatto half-sister, a slave named Ann Dandridge, who had a child by Martha's son (and therefore Ann's nephew), John Parke "Jack" Custis.
So we have a connection to do with names and family-trees. Now we need to tie these knots a little tighter.
Other bits and pieces:
"In March, 1932, however, [Lindbergh's] infant son, Charles, Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what was soon dubbed the "Crime of the Century" which eventually led to the Lindbergh family fleeing the United States in December 1935 to live in Europe where they remained up until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."
Also, we need to find out about the Roman Statesman and the death in 1911.
My first thought was Cicero: "At the end of 60, Cicero declined Caesar’s invitation to join the political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, which he considered unconstitutional" but "In 57, thanks to the activity of Pompey and particularly the tribune Milo, he was recalled on August 4. And There is a city in Illinois called 'Cicero'. 
But as one commenter, Stuartfield, pointed out, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus seems more likely. The US city Cincinnati was named in his honour. And he is depicted in this statue with the following inscription: "With one hand he returns the fasces, symbol of power as appointed dictator of Rome. His other hand holds the plow, as he resumes the life of a citizen and farmer."
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There's heaps more information in the comments regarding the connections, the Cincinnati death, and the 1914 mistake. I could write it all up here, but it's better to let everyone speak for themselves, I think, so that each may enjoy the credit s/he deserves. Have a look at the comments.
Roman Stateman is Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus
ReplyDeleteCity is Cincinnati
Actor he adores is James Stewart
Can't find evidence of anyone call martha dandridge custis washington or their death in Cincinnati during 1911
George Washington was often compared to Cincinnatus for his willingness to give up near-absolute power once the crisis of the American Revolution had passed and victory had been won, and the Society of the Cincinnati is a historical association founded in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War to preserve the ideals of the military officer's role in the new American Republic.- wikipedia
ReplyDeleteIn this episode we hear that Donald had a sister and are encouraged to find out more about Charles Lindberg. After the “crime of the century” the Lindberg family came to England and stayed at “Long Barn”, Sevenoaks, Kent. That property was once owned by Vita Sackville-West and one of the visitors is noted as being a Violet Trefusis, with whom Vita was having an affair. Could this Violet be Donald’s sister? An interesting connection is that Violet was the daughter of Alice Keppel, the mistress of Edward VII and Alice was the great-grandmother of Camilla Parker-Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall and wife of Prince Charles.
ReplyDeleteAs an afterthought I should add that Violet had a sister, Sonia, who is rumoured to have been sired by Edward VII. If these girls are Donald's sisters then he must, ipso facto, be related to the Duchess of Cornwall. However, one big fly in this ointment of theory is that the beautiful Alice would have been around 52 years old when Donald was born, rather old for motherhood in those days...back to the drawing board(?)
ReplyDeleteHmm, yes. Very interesting and forward-looking ideas.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought much about Trefusis' sister, but I think now that you are right to regard it as important.
This one turned out to be a hell of a lot easier to figure out than the last one.
ReplyDeleteI have to echo Trefusis on watching "A Day at the Races" and in fact the whole Marx Bros ouvre is still pretty awesome.
"The name of the one who died in 1911 is the same name as the 'first first', the woman who came from a family that might have owned the woman who was nominated in the 1950s, the one who danced the dance in Film A that was named after the hero in film B"
So we're presumably looking for a woman named Martha Washington who died in Cincinnati in 1911.
Well, the best I've gotten are these:
1. Ivah Mariah Washington, died 14th January 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Aged 14 years, an African American whose father was named Alonzo Washington.
2. Mary Jane Washington, died 7th February 1911 in Cincinnati Ohio. Aged 79 years.
3. Albert Washington, died 16th August 1911 in Cincinatti Ohio. Aged 23 years.
I did discover that only 2 people died as a result of sport in Ohio in 1911, compared to 23 in Michigan.
I'm presuming that the person we're looking for should have a little more resonance than this though. If you want to dredge for other names like Custis etc, all of this info came from a site called 'Family Search'.
I think it is the pigeon and he got the year wrong as he said 5.38
ReplyDelete"birds and flying are so much a part of it"
he also makes a mistake and refers to the hero in film a instead of film be at 19.49.
Damn,
ReplyDeleteFor a second I thought perhaps Booker T. Washington might be it, but no.
Sadly, nothing I can add.
ReplyDeleteIt seems unlike Prof Trefusis to get something,like a date wrong, but it has definitely occurred.
The death in the city named for the Statesman must be in 1914!
Josh
Ja, confirmation has arrived in the form of a Tweet:
ReplyDeletedonaldtrefusis "Well I can't IMAGINE why I said 1911 (more than once) when I meant 1914. Age, I suppose. Was für ein Arsch. Just as well I'm dead. Tsk & pff"
Mistakes nonwithstanding, I really liked this installment. A really nice elegaic summary of the life and times of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteMartha (the Dandridge/Washington link) the last known carrier pigeon died in Cincinnati Zoo (the Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus link)on Sept 1st 1914 (as amended by the Prof himself).
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think? I love the carrier pigeon/ airplane transport type link. Bit out there as an answer though!
Well done. May I add a little more information re this bird obtained from a fascinating site at [http://www.ulala.org/P_Pigeon/Pigeon_History.html]
ReplyDelete"Her name was Martha, the last individual of the once most abundant bird on the entire planet! She was named after the wife of George Washington. She was hatched in 1885 and was 29 years old at the time of her death. The final survivor of the only captive flock.Martha spent her entire life in captivity. She is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.A"
It is interesting to note that she spent her entire life in captivity given the slavery connection.
Also interesting is D. Trefusis's interest in Lindbergh at a time S. Fry is so focused on Wagner!!!!
ReplyDeleteTwo men whose creative and productive genius is necessarily obscured in our memory by their virulent anti-semitism.
Wagner, of course was a friend of Neitzche's and a strong believer in Romanticism - essentially the idea that strong feelings held moral superiority over well thought-out opinion.
I recently heard a commentator say that 'Emo' music/culture has taken on this mantle. A nice comparison.
Although love and pride are emotions which are given credence by this philosophy, I do wonder if it allows us to rationalise and cultivate the lazy, spiteful, resentful, jealous and angry parts of our minds in preference to the... Well, sane.
The brilliance of Hitler and co, was their ability to make Germans (and others, possibly including Herr Lindbergh) believe that their hatred and resentment of Jews (and gypsies, and homosexuals), in and of itself, was enough to make their persecution morally acceptable.
I'm not entirely sure that this was statutorially part of the quest, but it's an interesting byway!
It certainly fits in with Stephen's beliefs. As a jew he lost family at Auschwitz and has often cited the music of Wagner as a favourite. Mr Fry, himself, is an enigma wrapped in a mystery!
ReplyDeleteMay I link episode 2 to the current episode and continue the slavery theme by referencing this comment on Boswell from Wikipedia:
ReplyDelete"Boswell was present at the meeting of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in May 1787 set up to persuade William Wilberforce to lead the abolition movement in Parliament. However, the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson records that by 1788 Boswell "after having supported the cause... became inimical to it."
Boswell's most prominent display of support for the slavery movement was his 1791 poem 'No Abolition of Slavery; or the Universal Empire of Love,' which lampooned Clarkson, Wilberforce and Pitt. The poem also supports the common suggestion of the pro-slavery movement, that the slaves actually enjoyed their lot: "The cheerful gang! - the negroes see / Perform the task of industry."
I think that the notion, and fact, of slavery (witness the comments re Lindberg/Hitler supra; Hitler's forced labour camps were slavery) will persist throughout this part work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that D. Trefusis will get us talking about R. Wagner sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteI admit that it hadn't occurred to me that S. Fry hadn't recorded all 12 episodes in advance! What a world we live in, hey?
(Apologies. Typo in earlier post. I just can't abide that!)
Additionally, my memory is that D. Trefusis referred to his 'Aunt Violet'. I imagine that this famous lesbian is she!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Trefusis
If Violet was the aunt then it makes Sonia the mother which, as she was born in 1909, makes her as precocious as Alice was fecund!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm...
ReplyDeletePerhaps should have looked back over all other comments before making my own.
Perhaps there is *another* sibling?
Too coincidental that D Trefusis should mention that he has an aunt Violet, and then this fantastically wonderful one turns up on wikipedia. I'll ask him.
JW
I agree, almost too good to be true and, if it is, then it isn't!
ReplyDeleteAlso, to have the last name "Trefusis", Donald's parentage of that name might not be female.
ReplyDeleteWe could be looking for a brother of Violet, no?
Damn and Puff-Adder juice, Katherine is quite right of course. Violet acquired the name “Trefusis” by marrying Major Denys Robert Trefusis in June 1919. A condition of her marrying him was that they would never have sex, she was desperately in love with Vita at the time and he died in 1929. So, turning to his family: His parents were Colonel Hon. John Schomberg Trefusis and Eva Louisa Bontein. There were five children of that marriage
ReplyDelete1. Beatrice Morwenna Trefusis b. 8 Sep
1884, d. 18 Nov 1962
2. Elizabeth Katharine Mary Trefusis+ b.
4 May 1887, d. 9 Oct 1976
3. Schomberg Kerr Trefusis b. 2 Oct 1888,
d. 21 Jun 1963
4. Major Denys Robert Trefusis b. 30 Mar
1890, d. 2 Sep 1929
5. Edward Hervey Trefusis b. 31 May 1894,
d. 20 May 1901
Discounting the girls (who, as Katherine points out, wouldn’t carry the name on) and Denys himself we have Edward, who died too early and Schomberg Kerr Trefusis who got married on 29 April 1919 (only two months before his brother Denys), but who died on 21 June 1963 at age 74, without issue. It’s a lip clenching shame that the connection isn’t valid and I apologise if I’ve led anyone up the primrose path of dalliance only to return them down the ragged staircase of dismay. Ho hum, back to the drawing pin…
Now this is quite interesting; in checking on the female issue (see site “The peerage.com”) Beatrice Morwenna Trefusis, the first child named in the above list kept the name “Trefusis” after she married. On 11 September 1916 she married the Hon. Schomberg Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, son of Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton and Margaret Walrond. She died on 18 November 1962 at age 78 but I can’t find out if she had any issue. From 11 September 1916, her married name became Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis. They must, she and her husband, have been relatives as her father, Colonel the Hon. John Schomberg Trefusis was the son of Charles Rodolph Trefusis,19th Lord Clinton whilst her husband’s father, Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, was, as noted above 20th Baron Clinton. If, and it’s a big “if”, they had a son then it could be Donald Cornwallis Treadway Trefusis; the family were, after all, used to daft names. Oh what an awful lot of double and triple and quadruple barrelled surnames. I think I’m losing the will to live…
ReplyDeleteLong Barn may have been the former home of Vita, but she was born at Knole House (also in Sevenoaks). Guess whose portrait(s) are part of the Knole House inventory..
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Ruby Dandridge - I believe that was only her married name - and that Dorothy's father Cyril would have to have been descended from Martha's half-sister, and not Ruby herself - who's maiden name was Ruby butler.
ReplyDeleteSo Ruby's mixed race heritage would be of little consequence in our connective journey - and, sadly, little seems to be known of Dorothy's father Cyril other than his occupation; a cabinetmaker.