Mont Blanc Restaurant | |
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Restaurant information | |
Closed | 1928 |
City | London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Mont Blanc Restaurant is a former restaurant in London where leading writers including Hilaire Belloc, G. K. Chesterton, Joseph Conrad and John Galsworthy met regularly in the early years of the 20th century.[1]
History
[edit]The restaurant was located at 16 Gerrard Street in the Soho district of central London. It was closed in 1928.[2]
Mont Blanc circle
[edit]Writer, critic and publisher Edward Garnett held regular Tuesday lunches at the restaurant where he nurtured the talent of many literary figures such as DH Lawrence, John Galsworthy and Liam O'Flaherty.[1] Chesterton and Belloc met at the restaurant in 1900 and subsequently developed a close friendship, apparently sealed over a bottle of Moulin-a-Vent.[2] In 1912, through Garnett's 'circle' of friends, Richard Curle was first introduced to Conrad and became his protégé, literary assistant and close friend.[3]
Commemorative Plaque
[edit]In July 2010 the City of Westminster decided to commemorate the restaurant with one of its Commemorative Green Plaques.[2][4] The circular plaque reads:
SITE OF THE |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Foden, Giles (1 December 2007). "The moral agent". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Literary great honoured with a green plaque Archived 2013-04-23 at archive.today. City of Westminster, 20 July 2010.
- ^ Hampson, Robert (1996). "Conrad, Curle and The Blue Peter". In Willison, Ian; Gould, Warwick; Chernaik, Warren (eds.). Modernist Writers and the Marketplace. Macmillan. p. 89.
- ^ Green Plaques Scheme Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. City of Westminster.