Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BERMUDA IN POP CULTURE
The Literary Scene
Bermuda has long been a haven for writers, and has figured in many works of litera-
ture, beginning with Shakespeare's
The Tempest.
Shakespeare never visited the island
himself but was inspired to set his play here by accounts he had read or heard of the
island.
The Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779-1852), who visited Bermuda for several
months in 1804, was moved by its beauty to write:
Oh! could you view the scenery dear
That now beneath my window lies.
Moore left more memories—literary and romantic—than any other writer who
came to Bermuda. He once stayed at Hill Crest Guest House in St. George and soon
became enamored of Nea Tucker, the adolescent bride of one of the most prominent
men in town. “Sweet Nea! Let us roam no more,” he once wrote of his beloved.
It's said that the lovesick poet would gaze for hours upon Nea's veranda, hoping
that she'd appear. One day a jealous Mr. Tucker could tolerate this no more and
banished the poet from his property. Moore was chased down a street that now bears
the name Nea's Alley to commemorate his unrequited romance.
Today, one of the most popular restaurants in Bermuda is
Tom Moore's Tavern
(p. 117). The building was once the home of Samuel Trott, who constructed it in the
17th century. Unlike Tucker, the descendants of Samuel Trott befriended Moore,
who often visited the house. Moore immortalized the calabash tree on the Trott estate
in his writing; he liked to sit under it and write his verse there.
Following in Moore's footsteps, many famous writers visited Bermuda in later
years. None, however, have left their mark on the island like Tom Moore.
For Americans, it was Mark Twain who helped make Bermuda a popular tourist
destination. He published his impressions in the
Atlantic Monthly
in 1877 through
1878, and in his first book,
The Innocents Abroad.
He became so enchanted by the
island that, as he wrote many years later to a correspondent, he would happily choose
it over heaven.
After Twain, Eugene O'Neill came to Bermuda in 1924, and returned several more
times, at least through 1927. While here, he worked on
The Great God Brown,
Laza-
rus Laughed,
and
Strange Interlude.
O'Neill was convinced that cold weather
adversely affected his ability to write. He thought that Bermuda would “cure” him of
alcoholism. At first, O'Neill and his family rented cottages on what is now Coral
Beach Club property. Later, O'Neill bought the house “Spithead,” in Warwick. In
1927, however, his marriage ended, and O'Neill left his family—and Bermuda.
During the 1930s, several eminent writers made their way to Bermuda, in hopes
of finding idyllic surroundings and perhaps a little inspiration: Sinclair Lewis, who
spent all his time cycling around “this gorgeous island”; Hervey Allen, who wrote
Anthony Adverse,
his best-selling novel, at Felicity Hall in Somerset; and James
Ramsey Ullman, who wrote
The White Tower
on the island. James Thurber also made
several visits to Bermuda during this time.
In 1956, Noël Coward came with his longtime companion, Graham Payn, to
escape “the monstrously unjust tax situation in England.” He was not, he said, “really
mad about the place,” yet he purchased “Spithead” in Warwick (O'Neill's former
home) and stayed some 2 years, working on
London Mornings,
his only ballet, and the
musical
Sail Away.
“Spithead” is now privately owned.
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