Editing Rebecca West (section)

===Relationship with her son===

West's relationship with her son, [[Anthony West (author)|Anthony West]], was not a happy one. The rancour between them came to a head when Anthony, himself a gifted writer, his father's biographer (''H. G. Wells: Aspects of a Life'' [1984]), and a novelist, published ''Heritage'' (1955), a fictionalised autobiography. West never forgave her son for depicting in ''Heritage'' the relationship between an illegitimate son and his two world-famous, unmarried parents, and for portraying the mother in unflattering terms. The depiction of West's alter ego in ''Heritage'' as a deceitful, unloving actress (West had trained as an actress in her youth) and poor caregiver so wounded West that she broke off relations with her son and threatened to sue any publisher who would bring out ''Heritage'' in England. She suppressed an English edition of the novel, which was only published there after her death, in 1984. Although there were temporary rapprochements between her and Anthony, a state of alienation persisted between them, causing West grief until her dying hour. She fretted about her son's absence from her deathbed, but when asked whether he should be sent for, answered: "perhaps not, if he hates me so much."<ref name="Rollyson 1996 427">{{harvnb|Rollyson|1996|p=427}}</ref>