Recent reading
Jun. 15th, 2022 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeThe Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett (1771). Found while trawling the 'classic fiction' shelf at the library for eighteenth-century stuff. This is an epistolary travel story: we follow a family party of Welsh gentry on a tour through England and Scotland via their letters to various friends: the grouchy old squire writes to his friend and doctor at home; his silly husband-hunting sister writes to her housekeeper; their nephew to an Oxford friend; their niece to her school friend; and the aunt's maid to a fellow-servant. Humphry Clinker is a mysterious and extraordinary servant/jack-of-all-trades/budding Methodist preacher whom they pick up along the way, and whose antics lead to various surprising adventures. Much of the humour comes from seeing the same scenes and events described in very different ways by the different characters: so, for instance, the young niece goes into raptures over the beautiful architecture and fashionable people to be seen at Bath, while her uncle complains about shoddy new buildings and intolerable social climbers. Apart from this Smollett's sense of humour and sensibilities in general are very much what you might call broad eighteenth-century, with a lot of toilet humour, mocking the less well-educated characters for misspellings and malapropisms and various ribaldry. Apparently in the eighteenth century you can get away with printing words like 'shit' and 'cunt' if you present them as the characters' mistakes for 'shirt' and 'count', who knew. Anyway, the descriptions of various different places—Bath, London, Yorkshire, Edinburgh, the Highlands, etc.—are all very enjoyable and historically interesting, with the different characters' perspectives giving a nice insight into different contemporary views on these places and their various aspects. (The Highland stuff was of particular interest, as a description from some time after the '45). And it all ends in sturdily eighteenth-century fashion with miraculously reunited relatives and multiple weddings!
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow (2021). Taking a foray into up-to-date relevant political non-fiction! The authors are an archaeologist and an anthropologist, and the book is essentially their attempt to use the latest evidence in their fields to argue against the 'standard' view of how the development of human history works; they contend that society does not develop in a linear fashion from 'simple' hunter-gatherer societies to progressively more complex agricultural and urban civilisations but that forms of social organisation have always been highly variable, complex and to an extent freely chosen; and that increasing scale in society doesn't necessarily lead to the development of political hierarchy and the loss of freedoms for people in general. The emphasis on people being free to choose, experiment with and move between forms of social and political organisation obviously has political implications for the present and future! The arguments are complicated and bring in a lot of relevant material, which I won't attempt to summarise; but I was particularly interested by the accounts of evidence for early cities which apparently had fairly egalitarian social organisation, and for the very slow (rather than sudden, 'revolutionary') development of farming, with some societies apparently trying farming out for a bit and then abandoning it—including the ancient inhabitants of Britain who built Stonehenge! (There's also a bit about carefully-buried Stone Age remains with signs of disability, which I had come across before as evidence that disabled people were cared for and valued by these societies; but Graeber and Wengrow go further, pointing out that disabled bodies are actually disproportionately overrepresented amongst elaborate Stone Age burials, and this perhaps suggests that they had some specially valued place in society, perhaps of political and religious importance and relevant to these shifting social orders; this seemed a bit more speculative, but is a fascinating idea). They also examine where they think these myths came from in the first place, which brings in a lot of very interesting stuff about the influence of Native American ideas on the European Enlightenment. I suppose the problem with non-fiction like this is that, while I can appreciate the arguments and evidence to an extent, I don't have the expertise really to judge how good the case is (it's quite easy to argue convincingly for totally wrong ideas!), and apparently there has been some criticism of the authors' scholarship over various points; but, in any case, the book contains a lot of fascinating stuff and food for thought about the development of politics in general.
Left to Themselves: Being the Ordeal of Philip and Gerald by Edward Prime-Stevenson (1891). Wanting something light to read in what's being a stressful week, I decided to treat myself to another EPS book—one which Xavier Mayne recommends as particularly slashy! The plot begins at one of those rural New England boarding-houses that seem to be so prominent in late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century American fiction; twelve-year-old Gerald, staying at the hotel while his father goes gallivanting off to Canada, is rescued from a thief by seventeen-year-old Philip, who does odd jobs under the care of the hotel's owner after being left an orphan, and they immediately become BFFs. When Gerald's father summons his son to join him in Canada, it's arranged that Philip will accompany him on the journey—and from here, 'left to themselves' without adult assistance, it's down to Philip to protect Gerald and steer them both safely through the various perilous adventures they get into, including missed trains, attempted kidnappings, shipwreck, fever and storms. The whole thing is great fun, and the relationship between Gerald and Philip is adorable—a very sweet, earnest friendship with, yes, a certain amount of hinting that it might develop into something more when they're a bit older (the book ends with them at college, Philip having delayed entry so as not to be too far ahead of Gerald, and they're planning to go off on a gap year together after graduation—surely many more adventures beckon...). As seems typical of EPS's fiction, the plot is rather silly and relies heavily on contrived coincidence, but the book is so charming and fun otherwise that it doesn't really matter. Oh, and there's a great preface by EPS in which he argues against the dumbing-down of children's fiction, insisting that young readers can handle and often enjoy serious character and philosophical material in books!
Since my exchange fic for it has now been revealed, and speaking of well-written and suitably-serious children's books, I can also say that I re-read A Little Princess a while ago—wonderful again, I enjoyed it very much, and I like both Sara and Becky even better than when I read it the first time. :)
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow (2021). Taking a foray into up-to-date relevant political non-fiction! The authors are an archaeologist and an anthropologist, and the book is essentially their attempt to use the latest evidence in their fields to argue against the 'standard' view of how the development of human history works; they contend that society does not develop in a linear fashion from 'simple' hunter-gatherer societies to progressively more complex agricultural and urban civilisations but that forms of social organisation have always been highly variable, complex and to an extent freely chosen; and that increasing scale in society doesn't necessarily lead to the development of political hierarchy and the loss of freedoms for people in general. The emphasis on people being free to choose, experiment with and move between forms of social and political organisation obviously has political implications for the present and future! The arguments are complicated and bring in a lot of relevant material, which I won't attempt to summarise; but I was particularly interested by the accounts of evidence for early cities which apparently had fairly egalitarian social organisation, and for the very slow (rather than sudden, 'revolutionary') development of farming, with some societies apparently trying farming out for a bit and then abandoning it—including the ancient inhabitants of Britain who built Stonehenge! (There's also a bit about carefully-buried Stone Age remains with signs of disability, which I had come across before as evidence that disabled people were cared for and valued by these societies; but Graeber and Wengrow go further, pointing out that disabled bodies are actually disproportionately overrepresented amongst elaborate Stone Age burials, and this perhaps suggests that they had some specially valued place in society, perhaps of political and religious importance and relevant to these shifting social orders; this seemed a bit more speculative, but is a fascinating idea). They also examine where they think these myths came from in the first place, which brings in a lot of very interesting stuff about the influence of Native American ideas on the European Enlightenment. I suppose the problem with non-fiction like this is that, while I can appreciate the arguments and evidence to an extent, I don't have the expertise really to judge how good the case is (it's quite easy to argue convincingly for totally wrong ideas!), and apparently there has been some criticism of the authors' scholarship over various points; but, in any case, the book contains a lot of fascinating stuff and food for thought about the development of politics in general.
Left to Themselves: Being the Ordeal of Philip and Gerald by Edward Prime-Stevenson (1891). Wanting something light to read in what's being a stressful week, I decided to treat myself to another EPS book—one which Xavier Mayne recommends as particularly slashy! The plot begins at one of those rural New England boarding-houses that seem to be so prominent in late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century American fiction; twelve-year-old Gerald, staying at the hotel while his father goes gallivanting off to Canada, is rescued from a thief by seventeen-year-old Philip, who does odd jobs under the care of the hotel's owner after being left an orphan, and they immediately become BFFs. When Gerald's father summons his son to join him in Canada, it's arranged that Philip will accompany him on the journey—and from here, 'left to themselves' without adult assistance, it's down to Philip to protect Gerald and steer them both safely through the various perilous adventures they get into, including missed trains, attempted kidnappings, shipwreck, fever and storms. The whole thing is great fun, and the relationship between Gerald and Philip is adorable—a very sweet, earnest friendship with, yes, a certain amount of hinting that it might develop into something more when they're a bit older (the book ends with them at college, Philip having delayed entry so as not to be too far ahead of Gerald, and they're planning to go off on a gap year together after graduation—surely many more adventures beckon...). As seems typical of EPS's fiction, the plot is rather silly and relies heavily on contrived coincidence, but the book is so charming and fun otherwise that it doesn't really matter. Oh, and there's a great preface by EPS in which he argues against the dumbing-down of children's fiction, insisting that young readers can handle and often enjoy serious character and philosophical material in books!
Since my exchange fic for it has now been revealed, and speaking of well-written and suitably-serious children's books, I can also say that I re-read A Little Princess a while ago—wonderful again, I enjoyed it very much, and I like both Sara and Becky even better than when I read it the first time. :)
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Date: Jun. 15th, 2022 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 05:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 15th, 2022 05:27 pm (UTC)And isn't there a horrible dog belonging to the sister? Chowder?
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 15th, 2022 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 15th, 2022 11:50 pm (UTC)This makes me think of how disabled people were seen as having ties with the supernatural in some indigenous precolumbian societies, and would therefore be in the favour of the rulers (as well as the gods!) and live with distinction in palaces and such stuff, because they were important. It really is interesting to think of disability in less standard? or Western? views, I guess?
"Left to Themselves" is really sweet, isn't it? It always cheers me up! ("Together, that word which means so much to all friends" <3) Philip and Gerald's adventures are really fun, and even though they are a bit difficult to believe (I think they get into even more problems than David Balfour, ahaha!), it's all so earnest and adorable, that I don't care! XD And definitely, EPS isn't exactly subtle about their relationship becoming Something More when they grow up! Just imagine that sequel! <3 I just love how committed he was to writing happy endings in his adventure stories--he wrote so many delightful ones, and some with interesting dedications, like this one! <3
And the preface really is awesome! :D From what I've read, he believed in not oversimplifying things for children in music as well as books, and how musical education at the time was not good enough for children's intelligence! (I like this list of what he considers the "best books"--he includes a bunch of children's books, and considers them just as important as "adult" ones, which is a surprisingly modern view, right?
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 05:37 am (UTC)It is a very cheering book, certainly :) (hehe, I like the Kidnapped comparison—Philip, Gerald and David would certainly have a good time comparing notes!...).
Just imagine that sequel! <3
:D I keep meaning to do
The dedication—ooh, H. Harkness Flagler, is that the friend who got married and broke his heart, and some of his other stories make references to him?
Ooh, and that's interesting about EPS's views on musical education! That reminds me of how music apparently had a particularly prominent place in the reformed curriculum at Uppingham under Edward Thring, he seeing musical eduction as especially important for children's development. And that list is great—yes, admirable views on children's books, and I'm enjoying going through the list and recognising the titles of various favourites :D
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 09:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 03:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 08:45 pm (UTC)The dedication—ooh, H. Harkness Flagler, is that the friend who got married and broke his heart, and some of his other stories make references to him?
Exactly! "The Golden Moon" (one of EPS's longer stories) is also dedicated to him, and then, later on, there's stuff like this poem which seems very telling, even with no dedication... oww! :(
That reminds me of how music apparently had a particularly prominent place in the reformed curriculum at Uppingham under Edward Thring, he seeing musical eduction as especially important for children's development.
EPS would totally agree! Haha,and I also had fun spotting books I knew in his list! XD I especially liked seeing several female writers!
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Date: Jun. 17th, 2022 05:39 am (UTC)Aww, yes! I was especially pleased to see Mary Russell Mitford and Elizabeth Gaskell on there :D
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 11:45 am (UTC)I definitely recommend The Secret Garden-- which I don't believe you've read?-- if you want to sample more of FHB's work. Like A Little Princess, it's well-written, serious and loses none of its magic for adult rereads-- plus there's lots more nature! :D
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Date: Jun. 16th, 2022 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 17th, 2022 08:42 am (UTC)And thanks for the reviews in the post, all very interesting! More comments in person, perhaps.
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Date: Jun. 17th, 2022 12:29 pm (UTC)