Michael Morpurgo and his wife of 63 years, Clare Morpurgo, have delighted fans with a touching interview about their relationship. The English author, poet and playwright behind books such as War Horse, Kensuke’s Kingdom, and Private Peaceful married philanthropist Clare Lane – daughter of Penguin Books founder Sir Allen Lane – in 1963, when he was 19. They met the year before while their families were holidaying in Corfu; Morpurgo’s stepfather was an editor at Penguin at the time, and knew Clare’s father.
In an interview for Waterstones to promote his new memoir, Down Burrow Lane: Life and Love on the Farm, Michael and Clare answered a series of quickfire questions about married life. I’ve known anyone listen as he does, and he still does.” “She was my Juliet,” Michael said of Clare. I hadn’t spoken to her, I didn’t know whether she’d make sense at all or whether I’d like her when she opened her mouth, but I didn’t really care.
That sounds awful, doesn’t it, [but] she was just lovely. Is lovely.” Clare said she loved Michael’s positivity: “However bad things get, he’s always saying, ‘Well, let’s do it differently, let’s try something else.’” Michael added that he admired Clare for the relationships she had with their family. The couple share three children, all of whom are named after Shakespearean characters, and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Clare said she was “bowled over” by how hard-working Michael was. Asked what the secret was to a lasting relationship, he suggested that “kindness and understanding” were crucial: “If you don’t have those two then it ain’t gonna work!” “I couldn’t say it better,” Clare agreed. Fans in the comments section of the Waterstones TikTok post were moved by the couple’s relationship.
One fan commented: “Truly adorable, need so much more of this gorgeous positivity in this testing world.” The couple will sit down for a conversation about 50 years of life on their Devon farm with The Independent’s culture editor Jessie Thompson at Henley Literary Festival this October. Down Burrow Lane: Life and Love on the Farm is published by Hodder & Stoughton on 17 September. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Extract — continue reading at the source.
