Laugh as You Learn Here's England. By Ruth McKenney and
Richard Bransten. Illustrated
by Osbert Lancaster. (1-fart-Davis. 21s.)
THERE is an enervating jocularity about this book (intended for American visitors) which appears to be less a matter of impulse than of conscious and extremely curious design—a suggestion, I fear, of the knowledge-made-easy method. It seems to be a sort of giggler's guide, tittupping along with appalling consistency, and obviously written for those who have to be .persuaded that the things worth seeing and learning really have a jolly funny side as well, and are quite easy to understand if you go on smiling. The Lake District, visitors are warned, is dull ; not a patch on the Rockies or the Alps. The beauty of a scene depends, clearly, upon its geology, scale and altitude. As for Dovedale, it is " a crashing bore." New College is "a considerable tourist project." But how exciting to make the dis- covery, when visiting St. Paul's, that " Renaissance is not in the least like Gothic." Would you believe it ! Now indeed we are learning something. We can also learn something about the Wars of the Roses in a few spicy pages about the " line up" and " rounds " and " the Lancastrian crowd." When one is visiting churches, the best way to learn about them is to buy a shilling guide, which will save you from "mute humiliation "—that is, from admiring the wrong thing or not admiring the right thing It is not so easy to avoid "acute humiliation" in other quarters. You may just manage to miss the." historic overtones " of Chelsea ; and that would be a pity,ecause "English history is fascinating." And your italics (if you are writing) may get in the wrong place. Never mind ! It is quite safe to burble that "everything is fascinating " in the British Museum, and you hardly know " what to suggest for one brief afternoon." Perhaps you fancy " the Roman British, poor things."
This leads to thoughts on archaeology. " It must be terribly exciting to be an archaeologist." Evidently ; and the more so if you believe that Stonehenge is the work of " a pack of Mediterranean sun-worshippers." I do not know of any genuine archaeologist who believes any such thing ; but it justifies the epithet " exciting." Better, perhaps, to go to Somerset and feel " the long soft centuries of peace " ; but you must be careful how you choose a hotel in Bath, especially if you go there in a cold winter. Even the Wye Valley is " worth doing "—" a favourite vacation haunt of poets." Anyhow, see the sights, the places ; that is the main thing. Put on your Ground Grippers when you come to Warwick ; and, remember, Kenilworth is only " so-so."
Thus the guides run on. The text is interlarded with occasional dialogue of a high-pitched inanity that would be amusing as a caricature, but is merely exasperating as an integral part of style. Even worse are the jerky little cliches, the small-arms rattle of pattering clipped sentences which are intended, I suppose, to be peculiarly ingratiating. "Cambridge is true. . . ." "Happy fact."
And yet this book, so dreadful in so many ways, can still be regarded as both admirable and useful. After all, it is not intended for the sophisticated English reader ; it is written by Americans for American visitors, and is happily enlivened by the first-rate satirical drawings of Mr. Osbert LancaSter—who, by the way, has portrayed the American visitor (page 278) with a candour bordering upon cruelty. There is also a " Master Chart of English History," showing that the last of our notable achievements in " Architecture and Literature " was the publication of Ulysses in 1922. Tactful, and perhaps true. Possibly I have been a little too " snide." Much of what is here noted is well expressed and should be taken to heart— for example, the smell of cabbages in our smaller hotels ; though I hope the beery smell of the beds (also complained of) is not so frequent. As a functional work, expressly designed for a particular purpose, this book will undoubtedly be a success. On this assump- tion, though not on any other, one is justified in congratulating the authors on their achievement. It is, I trust, unique.
C. E. VULLIAMY.
Previous page
