Mont Blanc Restaurant

Mont Blanc Restaurant
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Restaurant information
Closed1928
CityLondon
CountryUnited 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

The restaurant was located at 16 Gerrard Street in the Soho district of central London. It was closed in 1928.[2]

Mont Blanc circle

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

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
MONT BLANC
RESTAURANT
WHERE LEADING WRITERS,
INCLUDING BELLOC,
CHESTERTON, CONRAD
AND GALSWORTHY, MET
REGULARLY IN THE
EARLY YEARS OF THE
20TH CENTURY

References

  1. ^ a b Foden, Giles (1 December 2007). "The moral agent". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Literary great honoured with a green plaque Archived 2013-04-23 at archive.today. City of Westminster, 20 July 2010.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Green Plaques Scheme Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. City of Westminster.

51°30′42″N 0°7′53″W / 51.51167°N 0.13139°W / 51.51167; -0.13139