D. C. Thomson & Co. Galina von Meek, born in Moscow in 1891, is the great-niece of the com­ poser Peter Tchaikovsky, and the grand-daughter of his patroness Nadezhda von Meek. Mme von Meek was educated in Moscow, and in 1913, married an Englishman, Noel Perrott, whom she later divorced. They had one daughter, Anna. After the revolution she spent many years in prisons and concentra­ tion camps, where she met Dmitri Orlovsky in 1935. He later dis­ appeared in another camp. In 1948 Mme von Meek settled finally in England. Since then she has translated 600 letters from Tchaikovsky to his family, which are to be published by Dobson Books. She is now working on a further translation of 1200 letters forming the correspondence between her grand­ mother and the composer, after which she will complete the last part of her memoirs. She speaks four languages: Russian, French, German and English, wrote the whole of this book in English herself and professes her favourite hobby to be ‘people’. Printed in Great Britain ISBN o 234 77454 1 AS I REMEMBER THEM Galina von Meek. Burke Fotogra G a lin a v o n M e e k AS I REMEMBER THEM LONDON : DENNIS DOBSON © Copyright 1973 by Galina von Meek Publisher’s Note 2t this distance of time it is sometimes difficult to verify exact dates or occasionally the precise chronology of events which occurred, as it must now seem, in another world. The reader’s indulgence is asked over minor discrepancies—more remarkable are the clarity and accuracy of the author’s long and crowded memory. First published in Great Britain in 1973 by Dobson Books Ltd, 80 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BZ Printed in Great Britain by Bristol Typesetting Co. Ltd., Barton Manor, St. Philips, Bristol isbn o 234 77454 1 To my daughters ANNA and ELENA