The Green Hat by Michael Arlen
published 1924
[excerpt] Iris had lit a fire and was like to be burnt to death in
the cold fires of that flame
“Hm,” grumbled Hilary. “Imitation....”
But I knew, for I once had a friend who was a taxidermist.
There were 396 white ermines round Iris. White and tawny and white. She was
like a light, and you hadn’t realised what an infernal dungeon the place was until
the door had suddenly opened and she had come in, wrapped in cloth of soft
snow. Boy’s head, curly head, white and tiger-tawny. She was like a light, a
sad, white light. I can’t describe her but like that.
[later]
Now I have read in books about people “sailing” into
places, and I suppose Iris came into the deserted Bar like that. Hilary must
have been just behind her, for I heard his voice, but I only saw Iris, and I
remember how she seemed to hold the white ermine round her with one clenched
hand, and how the great emerald shone like a green fly on the soft, soft white.
And the tawny curls danced their formal dance on her cheeks as she came towards
us, swiftly, oh, swiftly, saying, in that suddenly strong, clear voice: “Oh,
Guy: and friend of Gerald! Will you help me, dear friend? I want to go round to
see Gerald, and Hilary says you still have the key of the house. I went hours
ago, but I could not get no answer at the door. I wonder, would you come with
me?”
In the darkness I could feel the soft ermine of her cloak against
me, and that faint dry scent whose name I shall now never know.
She was very, very still, and I could not even hear her breathing.
comments: This arose because of my reading of Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott - see previous post - where this happens:
Lucia drew me aside, and said:
“Do you like your ermine wrap? I helped Nathaniel choose it for you.”
I said: “It’s a beautiful one.
Why did he want to get me an ermine wrap?”
“Ever since he read ‘The
Green Hat,’ Nat thinks ermine wraps are robes of romance. Pat, he’s a grand
person.”
Now, The Green Hat has an important role in the
birth of Clothes in Books – I have always loved the ridiculous romantic farrago of
Michael Arlen’s book, and for many years I had wondered what the hat looked
like. If only there were a blog that would tell me, I thought…
I did a post eventually,
One of
the inspirations for Clothes in Books
In which I described it as having ‘a melodramatic plot
involving high moral principles and low sexual shenanigans’. People who
don’t know her describe the hat-wearer, Iris Storm, as ‘shameless’ but the
adjective really applies to Michael Arlen for writing prose that you have to
embrace or despise, and for the brilliance of calling the book ‘a romance for a
few people’, to convince readers that not everyone will appreciate this work of art, in
order to sell it to as many people as possible.
Anyway – back in 2012, I liked the picture very much, but it was not
quite what I wanted. A commenter said I should look at the green hats worn by
Tallulah Bankhead or Katherine Cornell in plays in London or on Broadway.
So now more than 13 years later I have done that. Still not
perfect, maybe the green hat is something I can only see in my head.
Katherine Cornell, above, looks more like Miss Jean Brodie than
Iris Storm. Or perhaps Vita Sackville-West in tweedy gardening mode – see this
picture at the NPG.
NPG
P437; Vita Sackville-West - Portrait - National Portrait Gallery
Tallulah Bankhead much more
my idea, but can’t see the colour.
I will continue to look for the perfect hat – if you find
one please send it along. For purity!
And I enjoyed looking for ermine. A whole wrap/cloak of
ermine is not common – perhaps that figure of 396 is not an exaggeration.
(While I was looking I saw a tagline ‘ermine summer coat’
and thought ‘that might be nice’ & clicked for the picture but of course it
turned out to be the animal in its summer coat)
Top picture probably not an ermine wrap – but it is a
splendid evening coat, so we’re going to squint our eyes and pretend, because
that is what Iris Storm should look like.
Au bal
noir et blanc, manteau du soir - NYPL Digital Collections
Evening coat for a black and white ball
The second pic is an actress called Patty Dupont in an
ermine coat
Miss
Dupont, ermine coat - digital file from original neg. | Library of Congress
There are already three posts on The Green Hat – I have just SO enjoyed re-reading them and recommend you do the same – and a couple of other Arlen stories – use the tags below.
And if you are as fascinated by evening coats as Clothes in Books is (impossible, I'd have said, until I clocked the comments on the 2 x posts) - do look at this post, with links back to an earlier one:
I loved reading about the inspiration (well, part of the inspiration) behind your blog, Moira! And i can certainly see how you'd have been sparked by that discussion of the green hat. We are all the better for your interest in the topic! The ermine got my attention, too. It seems like so much a part of that world, but that we don't really have anymore.
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