Diana Athill at the Hampstead & Highgate Literary Festival

By James Spiro

As the audience takes their seat, so does 94-year-old Diana Athill. Poised, composed and confident, she fixes the microphone so that everyone can hear her. There is not an empty seat in the lecture hall – everyone is there to hear her story.

‘Out of all the interviews, this is the one I really fought for’. These words are from Trudy Gold - Executive Director of Education and Holocaust Studies at the London Jewish Cultural Centre which is currently holding a three day Literary Festival with the Ham&High. Her face gleans genuine excitement and respect for the author she is sharing her stage with.

Athill, known for being blunt, knows how to work her crowd. ‘I’ve never planned a book in my life. I don’t know what to write about until I start writing.’ With a career spanning almost 70 years, it becomes clear that the one-hour talk will not be enough time to talk about her life.

Diana Athill was one of the few women to have attended Oxford University in the 1930s. This lead her to a job in publishing with Andre Deutsch, and worked closely with authors such as John Updike, Jean Rhys and Brian Moore. Despite retiring at the age of 75 in 1993, she has continued to work ever since.

‘It keeps the mind young,’ she explains, ‘I find it harder to walk long distances, and I can’t listen to as much music as I could, but my life is just the same.’

The women in the audience are truly inspired. Inspired to write, to publish, to achieve goals they never thought they would or could.

‘Every time I think I can’t do something, I do it anyway. 50% of the time I realise I actually can, so it’s all worth it.’

Her mind seems just as sharp as it has always been. Reading an extract from one of her memoirs, her voice is clear; her style is fluent – she is totally and utterly lost in the life she created. What can a woman with such history claim as her highest achievement?

‘The fact I received an OBE, and have continued to write beyond the age of 80, is something that I thought would have been crazy.’ She says, smiling. ‘But look at me! It was a tremendous surprise, and honour.’

Despite leaving 20 minutes of question time at the end, it becomes clear that it is simply not enough time. One question, asked by a younger member of the audience, ‘are you going to see the new Hollywood film of ‘Jane Eyre’?’

Athill sits back in her seat, exhales, and simply answers, ‘Films of literature almost always make a nonsense of the real thing. It wouldn’t be fair.’

At the age of 94, Diana Athill really is a true inspiration. A woman with a career spanning 70 years, an OBE holder, and a true lady that shows that growing old, does not necessarily mean growing up.