Allegorizings

Notsolongago, feeling intimations of mortality, Jan Morris embarked on awhollynovel literary enterprise. What began as a series of high-minded letters to her late daughter-in the style of Lord Chesterfield addressing his son-quickly transformeditself intoa potpourriof mini-essays andvibrantreminiscences, organized around experiences both majestic and mundane, from traveling the world with her lifelong partner, Elizabeth, to sneezing and kissing and simply growing old.

SoAllegorizingscame to be, and so Morris decided that it should only be published upon her death,not because she had anything to hide but,merely, in parting.Featuring essayslargelywrittenin the early twenty-first century,Allegorizingsreflects, above all,Morris's steadfast conviction that nothing is only what itseems. Infact,she observes,everything is allegory.Indeed, in Morris's telling, even life-the whole conundrum of existence-is one long, majestically impenetrable allegory.

Taking us fromtheseparatisthippiecolonyofBolinas,California,to her home country of Wales,andintroducing usto Nepalese Sherpasandelderlycruise-goers alike,Morris follows the throughline of allegory throughout her works.In one essay, she lambasts the joylessnessof maturity ("Maturity! Did ever a heart thrill to the sound of it, still less the meaning?") andin another,decries the nonsense of nationality.Withcharacteristicverve,sheoffersodes to whistling and cursing,cats,and exclamation points.Morris'stravels anchor the collection, as sherevisits the iconicsettings of herpreviousworks. We joinheraboard thestoriedOrient Express, as well as tubetrains passing through the purlieus ofLondon. Sotoo, we hike the foothills of the Himalayas-where Morrisburst onto scenewith her on-the-spot reportage ofthe first ascent of Everest-and reflect on the picaresque allure of Tournus, a dichotomized town in France whereone France, bearing all the vestiges of privilege, seems to kiss another.

Intimate and luminously wise,Allegorizingsisas much atestament to the virtues of embracing lifeas it is a testament to itscharming,indignant,andever-surprisingauthor.In her final work,Morris's writing is aseruditeas ever,conveyingagenerosity of spirit"flavored by well-earned crankiness" (Vox).Thoughnewlybereft of her company, readers will be reminded what "a good, wise, and witty companion" (Alexander McCall Smith) Morris has been to so many, for so long.