Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0020051, Sun, 16 May 2010 10:40:36 -0400

Subject
Beverly Loo Obituary
Date
Body
Beverly Loo, an editor at McGraw Hill, recently died. Here is an excerpt from her obituary:

Her successful career in publishing spanned over 40 years. At McGraw Hill and the Hamlyn Publishing Group, she helped publish major works by Vladimir Nabokov and Nobel-prize winner Heinrich Boll. While Beverly rarely spoke about it, as Clifford Irving's editor, she played the pivotal role in McGraw-Hill's acquisition of Clifford Irving's biography of Howard Hughes.

W. Ralph Eubanks, the Director of Publishing at the Library of Congress states "Beverly was a star in publishing during her time." He notes that Stacy Schiff wrote the following about Beverly in her biography of Vera Nabokov: "In the spring of 1970, after a trip to London, McGraw-Hill's executive editor and director of subsidiary rights, Beverly Jane Loo, stopped in at the Montreux Palace. A poised and tough negotiator, Loo was not known in the industry as a shrinking violet. All the same she changed her clothes four times before the initial meeting, settling finally on a classic glen plaid suit, in which she paced nervously by the lake. In the lounge a half hour before the appointed time she found Vladimir, who greeted her warmly; he may have been told she was Chinese, as he recognized her almost immediately. Explained Nabokov to the woman with whom his wife had been corresponding and speaking regularly: 'Oh, Miss Loo, it's so good to meet you at last. I'm sorry, Vera isn't here, but she's very nervous about meeting you. She thinks of you as la Formidable.' When Vera came down she ordered a whisky neat. Loo was stunned, and said as much. 'I thought all Americans drank whiskey,' Vera explained quietly. The two formidables became fast friends, joking later about their mutual apprehension."

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyprogress/obituary.aspx?n=beverly-jane-loo&pid=142763856

JC
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