My Brother Benjamin

Book excerpt: 'People are always asking, 'Aren't you proud of your famous brother?' I was, of course, but often wished he was not so famous so that one could see more of this brother who was such a joy to be with. Janet Baker has written that the air crackled when he walked into the room, and she was right...' The younger of Benjamin Britten's two sisters, Elizabeth ('Beth') Britten first published this loving and revealing portrait of their shared childhood in 1986. She evokes the Lowestoft upbringing of the four Britten siblings, their dentist father Robert, and mother Edith, who keenly encouraged the children's interest in music. She recalls the flat they shared in London while Benjamin studied at the Royal College of Music; and tells of 'The Old Mill at Snape', Britten's home/studio after its renovation by Beth's future father-in-law. Of special interest are Britten's letters to Beth from America, where he and Peter Pears emigrated in 1939 then became ensconced after war broke out.