Caitlin Thomas
| Caitlin Thomas | |
|---|---|
Caitlin with her husband, Dylan Thomas.
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| Born |
8 December 1913 Hammersmith, England, UK |
| Died | 31 July 1994 (aged 80) Catania, Sicily |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Biographical |
| Spouse | Dylan Thomas (m. 1937; d. 1953) |
| Partner | Giuseppe Fazio (1957–1994; her death) |
| Children | 3; including Aeronwy |
| Relatives | Nicolette Macnamara (sister) |
Caitlin Thomas (née Macnamara; 8 December 1913 – 31 July 1994) was the wife of the poet and writer Dylan Thomas. Their marriage was a stormy affair, fuelled by alcohol and infidelity, though the couple remained together until Dylan's death in 1953. After her husband's death she wrote the book Leftover Life to Kill, an account of her self-exile to Italy. She paints a picture of a grieving widow seeking solace in distance, a younger lover, and alcohol.
She was born in Hammersmith, London, to Francis, a would-be poet, and Yvonne Macnamara. The couple had a son and three daughters, of whom Caitlin was the youngest and Nicolette, who was to become an artist and author, was the eldest. The Macnamaras were descended from an old Irish land-owning family, and her grandfather, Henry Vee Macnamara, was the squire of two estates in County Clare. Francis moved in literary circles, being friendly with a number of artists, but when Caitlin was about four or five, he began to live apart from his family. Yvonne left London, and she and the girls settled in Ringwood, near the New Forest, where they were close friends to Welsh artist Augustus John and his family. In her early teens she fell in love with Caspar John, son of Augustus John, despite the fact that he was almost eleven years her senior. During this period she was raped by Augustus himself, who seemed to believe that sex with those he painted was an artist's privilege. In 1930, at the age of 16, she returned to London and entered a dancing school, and at 18 was a member of a London chorus line. She lived for a brief time in Paris before moving to County Clare in 1934, when her father returned to the Macnamaras' reduced estates.
Caitlin Macnamara was introduced to Dylan Thomas in a pub, either the Wheatsheaf or the Fitzroy, in Fitzrovia, London, in 1936 by Augustus John. She and Dylan bonded immediately, and that summer he travelled to Laugharne in Wales where Caitlin and John were staying at Castle House where Richard Hughes lived. Dylan arrived with a friend, Fred Janes, and after the four travelled to Fishguard to view a painting exhibition, Dylan became drunk and jealous and started an argument with John. John punched Dylan and drove back to Laugharne with Macnamara. By the end of 1936, Caitlin and Dylan Thomas had begun a relationship through correspondence. By 21 April 1937 the couple were together in London and on 11 July 1937 they were married in Penzance, Cornwall. They had a peripatetic lifestyle, moving from Chelsea to Wales, then to Oxford, spending time in Ireland and Italy before returning to Oxfordshire. They eventually settled in a rented cottage in Laugharne in the spring of 1938, before moving into the 'Sea View' a couple of months later. In 1949 the house which would become the Thomas' family home, the Boat House, came on the market for £3000, and was purchased by Margaret Taylor, wife of historian A. J. P. Taylor, one of Dylan's benefactors. Caitlin Thomas had three children by Dylan, Llewelyn Edouard (1939–2000), Aeronwy Thomas-Ellis (1943–2009) and Colm Garan Hart (1949–2012).
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