CAUSTIC CALEDONIAN
Autobiography of a Cad. By A. G. Macdonell. (Macmillan. 7s. 6d.)
AN American reporter who was asked how many Jews there were in New York replied : " I dunno, there must be dozens." We feel equally uncertain as to the number of mock auto- • biographies of howling cads or insufferable prigs we have read ! or skipped ; but they must have been several. However, as Mr. Macdonell has improved on the well-worn formula, almost giving us a new joke for an old one, nobody who happens to be unfamiliar with this humorist's work should allow himself : to be put off by the book's too revealing title. Such a straight- forward title has the dubious advantage of letting the gentle- reader know what to expect ; but it breaks down and confesses all, which is a pity, as the essence of this genre is strict poker- face : the arrogant autobiographer never consciously gives the game away. Candour, bluster, sophistry and sentimentality serve him, by turns, to reveal, defend and exalt his despicable ' character ; on the stage the first person singular struts, allaying : suspicion, encouraging applause ; behind the scenes the author smirks ; in front the audience boos and ironically cheers. Everyone is pleased, for the mirror that is held up to human nature...reflects a figure so, grotesque that no one quite " Contrary -to what some Of my readers Mr. Macdonell assures us before the show begins, "no refer- ence is made in this book, nor is any intended, to the author." Throughout Edward Percival Fox-Ingleby's memoirs he has adhered so nicely to the rules that, for consistency's sake, he -should have called his satire the " Antobiogriphy of a Gentle- man " ; and he could still, of course, have let his warning :notice stand.
The sarcastic Scotsman who wrote that witty dig at the P.riglish, England Their England, has grown more scathing. Familiarity has bred contempt ; his new book is a slap in the face. It will not be resented because it is delivered with ,admirable clownish gestures, because the representative victim is guyed to the point of ludicrous exaggeration, and .because anyway the Englishman's talent for seeing " the funny :side " blinds him to adverse criticism—or makes him enjoy lit. The object of Mr. Macdonell's ridicule is " what may be !called the officer class.' There are other names for it, or if you prefer, for us. It has become the fashion to sneer at the ` old school tie.' But substitute the words—as you may ;legitimately do--` the salt of the earth,' and then who will sneer ? " Fox-Ingleby is the absurd and amusing prototype of this ruling class ; as such, he will appeal to readers who 'know him for a maliciously comic distortion of themselves and to those who may like to believe that his picture is not so very
far out of focus. :
Not only does this neat mixture of satire and slapstick save the Autobiography of a Cad from being just a funny book, but 'Mr. Macdonell has also contrived to give it historical interest as the record of thirty-odd years, from the early 'nineties to 1926, seen through the cunning and callous eyes of his hero. Institutions, events, personalities and, above all, the changing sexual code over that period meet with " Foxy's " scorn or approval, according to the-degree of their usefulness to himself. Since all his observations are unpleasant, many are naturally accurate ; they, too, help to make this book more effective than its predecessors in the same field, a good and bitter joke.
joux MARKS.
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