HYLAND
tions. The fig reminds me of the scene in Ken Russell's film
of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love, wherein Alan Bates'
character, Rupert Birkin, demonstrates, while speaking of
women, the sensual way to eat a fig. In any case, England
surpasses other lands in country pleasures, especially
dining and disquisitions al fresco when the weather is fine.
Many commentators, including Creswell himself, find a
heady scent of the Mediterranean in Copse Hill's house and
environs, for it is built of lime-washed brick, its roofs made
of terracotta tiles with Venetian style chimneys. But for me,
the house is quintessentially English Arts & Crafts; when I
saw the roof, I thought of my favorite architect of the style,
C.F.A. Voysey. Kyle mentions several architectural elements
of the house—an enclosed stairway, entrances to the right
and left rather than center, which hint at Lutyens, and indeed,
