Book Review: The incredible life and career of Jan Morris captured on paper

In writing more than 50 books and countless newspaper articles, Morris eulogised Venice, damned Sydney and fawned over the British empire

Jan Morris' scope was huge, her appetite insatiable, her views frequently controversial

• Jan Morris: Life from
• Both Sides, A Biography
• Paul Clements
• Scribe, €28.65

By any standards the literary output of the late Welsh travel writer Jan Morris was phenomenal. Her scope was huge, her appetite insatiable, her views frequently controversial.

In writing more than 50 books and countless newspaper articles, she eulogised Venice, damned Sydney, fawned over the British empire, wrote avant garde novels, and endlessly sought topics on which to turn her meticulous eye, of which virtually nothing escaped.

She wrote a detailed history of her home country of Wales, centred on the Welsh concept of “hierath” translated as a longing for something unobtainable. 

She went on to write books on Spain during Franco’s reign, Hong Kong, Manhattan, and Ireland. (She gave us a mixed review: “The Irish were certainly stubborn and uncooperative, but there was a dignity to them, different in kind from the homelier assurance of the English countryman.”)

Trieste was a city to which she returned again and again professing to love its complicated identity between Italy and Yugoslavia heritage. Morris is most associated with her sometimes-penetrating, sometimes whimsical writing on cities and she visited many, many of them.

Probably the pinnacle of her career was her membership of the famous expedition to conquer Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hilary, Tenzing Norgay, et al. Her brief was to send reports on the attempt to conquer the world’s highest mountain to her employer, The Times, which was sponsoring the bid. There was intense interest, and journalistic competition was stiff.

When the message was relayed to her of the first ever conquest, Morris hit on the brilliant idea to send the news back to London in code to avoid her story being scooped. Her message despatched by runner read: “Snow conditions bad stop advanced base abandoned yesterday stop awaiting improvement.”

Jan Morris originally began writing as James Morris before transitioning.

Decoded, it read: “Summit of Everest reached on 29 May by Hillary and Tenzing”, and The Times had its global scoop. Her name was made.

With her star in the ascendant, Morris was assigned by The Times to cover the trial in Jerusalem of the Nazi, Adolf Eichmann — a more sobering task.

When these assignments were written, Jan Morris was actually James Morris, a father of four, married to Elizabeth. Agonising over “his” sexuality and experimenting with hormone therapy for decades eventually led to an operation in Morocco and James metamorphosed into Jan.

Her marriage survived the transition, and if anything was strengthened. 

Morris would lay out her argument in a heartfelt, dignified exposition titled Conundrum. This book earned her the support of many, but scandalised others. For those of a trans-sexual nature her bravery was totemic.

Clements does not pull his punches either, and when glowing tributes follow the publication of one of her works he balances them with some excoriating comments (incorrect names and dates, bias or even racism in the case of her writing on Sydney). 

She was never content to merely describe a place but gave her own unique take on a subject no matter whose feathers she ruffled.

Morris eschewed the term “travel writer” which was a bit churlish on her part, seeing as the genre largely made her. 

Her argument was that there was no such thing as travel writing, just writing. Then surely there is no such thing as novel writing, or poetry? 

She loved a good scrap and would often take to task reviewers of her work with whom she disagreed.

Notwithstanding her prodigious output and even more prodigious travels around the world, her transition from a man to a woman was perhaps her bravest journey of all.

Clements shows an insatiable appetite in immersing himself in Morris’ 70-year career with unerring judgement on the best material from what must have been boxes and boxes of material and shelves full of articles by and about her.

This extensive bibliography is almost a volume in itself. Clements has produced here an account which the author herself would unhesitatingly recommend.