E. F. Benson's Reading Tastes

E. F. Benson drew heavily upon the old adage "write what you know." As he attended Cambridge, it makes sense that he would tell a story about undergraduate life there. As he lived, for a time, in Chelsea, it made sense that the Babe would bicycle in nearby Battersea Park. 

102 Oakley Street, Chelsea, London,
a residence of E. F. Benson.

One thing I hadn't realized, until I read The Babe, was how diverse E. F. Benson's reading was. As the Babe spends his evenings out and about in London with his friends, he extolls the virtues of "The Yellow Book", a magazine which rocked contemporary Victorian cultural values. While many of the stories it published were from conservative writers, including H. G. Wells, it nonetheless had a salacious reputation. It is also linked with Oscar Wilde, who suggests that the magazine is a major corrupting influence on the title character in his novel The Picture of Dorian Grey. 

Once the Babe returns to Cambridge, he throws himself into studying for his tripos. But he takes out time to read Ravenshoe by Henry Kingsley, the brother of Charles Kingsley. Despite his interest in progressive contemporary literature, he apparently adores Henry Kingsley's novel, as E. F. Benson says he already knows it by heart. Meanwhile, his study partner Reggie picks up Gerald Eversley's Friendship, a novel by James E. C. Welldon, who like Charles Kingsley and E. F. Benson's father, rose to prominence in the Church of England. But while Reggie finds his novel depressing, the Babe tells him what he loves about this study of boys boarding at a school named St. Anselms. When Reggie asks for a synopsis, the Babe readily gives it to him. 

When preparing for our vacation in Devon last year, I thought I was out of my mind to plan a trip around a forgotten author like Charles Kingsley. At the time, he seemed to bear no correlation between E. F. Benson, or any of the other English novelists which I knew and loved. But having read Charles Kingsley's novels Yeast, A Problem, and Westward Ho!, as well as Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, it's interesting to read The Babe, and realize how interconnected all these English authors are. While many better remembered authors like Agatha Christie focusing solely upon plot and characters, less remembered authors like Benson and Kingsley tell you so much about the times in which they lived, and the stories that mattered to them.

Often, I think that my reading is too diverse, that I should confine myself to one genre, such as Science Fiction and Fantasy. Then I read E. F. Benson, and I realize that his tastes were as wide as mine. No wonder I enjoy reading him so much.

Dragon Dave

Charles Kingsley & E. F. Benson on the Importance of Bathing: Part 1

The Church House Inn in Holne, England,
where Charles Kingsley wrote his 1863 novel
The Water Babies

Recently, my wife suggested that we watch the TV series based on E. F. Benson's novel Mapp & Lucia, and that I should read another E. F. Benson novel. While I'm not sure what prompted this suggestion, I enjoyed watching the TV series again. I also enjoyed reading The Babe, a novel E. F. Benson wrote in 1897. Like his previous novel, Limitations, it affords us a view of undergraduate life at Cambridge University in England. This time, however, Benson's tale is more humorous and colorful. While it's not a perfect comparison, the novel reminded me The Adventures of Verdant Green by Cuthbert M Bede, which takes place at Oxford, England's other great university town.

Just as interesting and quirky as Verdant Green's friends, the title character of The Babe is a celebrated rugby player who drops colorful quotes in casual conversation, and lives a life of easy and comfort while, perhaps, he should be studying. Here's one such quote:

I hate water except when it’s a hot bath. Water is meant not to drink, but to heat and wash in.”

“Babe, do you mean to say you have hot baths in the morning?”

“Invariably when the weather is cold, and a cigarette, whatever the weather is. I am no Charles Kingsley, though I used to collect butterflies when I was a child.”

--from The Babe by E. F. Benson

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that last year's trip to England took me to several places mentioned in Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel Westward Ho! These included Bideford and Clovelly, the latter a town on the coast of Devon where he spent his childhood. My wife and I also visited the tiny village of Holne, located on the outskirts of Dartmoor National Forest, where he was born. There we saw a church with a Charles Kingsley stain glass window, and a rare public house owned by the Church of England. Inside, the bartender kindly showed us the Charles Kingsley room, where the writer reportedly wrote part of his children's novel The Water Babies, and shared with us a little of his affection for the story.

The bartender never mentioned anything about Charles Kingsley's attitudes on bathing, but the tiny room had its own fireplace, and smoke from that fire must have seeped into Kingsley's clothes while he wrote. So perhaps, after a few hours of writing, especially in the winter, he might have felt he needed a bath. But that's what writing, and reading a great story is like. After immersing yourself in another world, you awaken in this one, and realize that you need to do something to enhance your life.

Bathing is a small way you can do that, I suppose. Personally, I much prefer travel, although bathing is cheaper, which means I can do it more often. Still, if I were to total up the cost of each day's hot water...

Dragon Dave

Sherlock Holmes' Expenses in The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sherlock Holmes & the dreaded hound
in Princetown, Devon

In The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry Baskerville is staying in a hotel in the Charing Cross region of London when he receives a letter warning him not to travel to Baskerville Hall in Devonshire, England. Only one word in the letter was handwritten. The rest were clipped from a newspaper, apparently with nail scissors, and affixed to the foolscap paper with gum. From their distinctive type (or font), Sherlock Holmes identifies the words as having been clipped from the inside page of yesterday's Times. Holmes wishes to determine where the paper might have been sent from. So he instructs a boy named Cartwright to visit all twenty-three hotels near the one in which Henry Baskerville is staying. At each, he is to give the outside porter one shilling, and tell the man he wishes to see yesterday's waste paper. 

In each case, the outside porter will send for the hall porter, to whom also you will give a shilling. 

Holmes gives the boy an additional ten shillings, in case he encounters any unforeseen expenses.

In all, Holmes is entrusting the boy with two pounds and eighty pence. This may not seem like a lot in today's money, but it's probably equivalent to what the boy earned for a six-day work week, working ten hours a day. Apparently the boy showed some ability during a prior investigation. On this occasion however, young Cartwright could find no copies of yesterday's Times with parts of the second page cut out. 

After Henry Baskerville left 221B Baker Street, Holmes and Watson followed him. As he hoped, Holmes spotted a man with a beard following Baskerville in a hansom cab. Holmes contacts the cab company, and the driver later visits him. Holmes offers the man half a sovereign if he can tell him the name of the man with the beard. 

"His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes."

For a moment Holmes sat in silent amazement. Then he burst into a hearty laugh.

I've no idea how much the cabdriver earned after expenses, but he was so concerned about his reputation that he visited Holmes when he learned of his inquiry. Yet he readily tells Holmes about his charge when Holmes offers him a half-sovereign, which equates to a half-pound. All total, Holmes has now spent three pounds and thirty pence on his investigation on Henry Baskerville's behalf. I wonder what that might equate to in today's money, don't you?

The investigation will prove much more expensive, as Holmes sends out Watson to stick by Henry's side while he stays at Baskerville Hall. And then Holmes will have many more expenses in research, sending wires (telegrams), food, and travel. It makes me wonder how much Holmes earned in comparison to other classes of people in London at the turn of the twentieth century. He certainly dresses well, and lives in an apartment in the heart of the city. And he has enough to send Watson out to purchase a pound of the strongest shag tobacco on the first day of the investigation, all of which he smokes while considering whether or not to take the Baskerville case.

Thankfully, Sherlock Holmes smoked so heavily before tobacco caused lung cancer. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case today. While I may not understand the value of wages and the cost of living in 1901, we all know what the cost of lung cancer is today, don't we?

Dragon Dave

Humor & Whimsy in Clovelly

The picturesque English village of Clovelly, along the northwest coast of Devon, is a tourist trap in the best sense of the word. Although they provide a parking lot, and you can park as long as you want for free (Yes, Parking really is totally free!), you then enter a visitor center where you must pay an admission fee. Along with a large gift shop, the visitor center boasts a cafe where you can buy lunch, drinks, or enjoy your afternoon tea. The best part of the visitor's center is a movie room, which is decorated on all sides by human-sized dioramas illustrating all aspects of life in the village. Then the room darkens, and the movie tells you more about Clovelly's past and present.

Upon leaving the visitor center, you walk down the main (Or should I say only?) street of Clovelly. It's a steep descent, and you need to watch your footing on the cobblestones. But at least you don't have to worry about cars, trucks, motorcycles, or even bicycles passing you. Unlike most modern English towns and villages, Clovelly is still ruled by the family that has lived for generations in the nearby manor. They may not be the Cary family, as depicted in Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho! But they've decided to preserve the historic appeal of their village by ruling that only humans and animals shall walk the streets (Sorry, the street) of Clovelly.

I wonder how they feel about pogo sticks?

Sleds like this are a common sight. They help shop owners, residents, and donkey's carry items up and down the hill, and help the milk man deliver everyone's daily pint, yogurt, and clotted cream.

Yum, clotted cream...

Of course, that doesn't mean that folks in Clovelly don't get tired of walking up and down that hill. (Especially after having tea and scones with that delicious clotted cream). Visitors likewise revel in making those steep descents and ascents. So local businesses thoughtfully provide visitors with no end of shops offering homemade fudge, ice cream, and all other sorts of goodies. I'm not sure if all that refreshment makes walking easier or more difficult, but it's their attempt to help keep everyone's spirits up. 

In Clovelly, there's no distinction between residents and visitors. It's everyone against the hill. So residents decorate the fronts of their homes with flowers, whimsical displays, and humorous mottos. 

Signs such as these read:

Please: No Singing, No Dancing, No Swearing.
This is a respectable house.

Happiness is being owned by a cat.

I can only please one person per day.
Today's not your day,
and tomorrow doesn't look good either.

After all, complaining just drags every one's spirits down, right? And no one ever wants to get dragged down, especially not in historic, picturesque, clinging-to-the-side-of-the-hill Clovelly.

Dragon Dave

How We Almost Curtailed Our British Adventure: Part 2

Walking the Long Bridge in Bideford, England

As I said in Part 1, our GPS unit was clearly malfunctioning. Lacking adequate maps, we had to follow the M road in the general direction of Amesbury, our destination for the night. We could only hope that we would reach it before darkness. 

Thankfully, England enjoys long summer days. Far longer, it would seem, than our stores of patience. At least, that is, after a twelve hour plane ride, and a couple hours of sleep.

Although we don't usually use rest areas, we pulled off in one this time. Given our troubles, we headed inside, where we used the restrooms, and asked a salesman in one of the shops for directions. Thankfully, he confirmed that we were following the correct route, and suggested an off ramp that would take us into Amesbury. From there, hopefully we could reach our hotel.

Are you familiar with English rest areas? Many of them resemble strip malls in the United States, and cater to a traveler's every need. In addition to the toilets and a gas station, this one had several fast food establishments, a coffee place, and a bookstore. Although we had never seen one during previous trips, this one had a large atlas, available for five pounds. We opened its pages, and found it gave us just the highly detailed information we desired. While it might not replace the street-by-street directions of a properly-functioning Satellite Navigation System, this old school book seemed like a godsend. We couldn't have been happier as we pulled back onto the M road, and continued our journey. That night, despite the wonky instructions of our GPS unit, we found our hotel. After hauling our suitcases up several staircases, we were finally able to relax in our comfortable room.

Later, we discovered that somehow, perhaps months ago during the planning stages of our trip, as we entered our destinations into the system, it had somehow got switched over to Pedestrian Mode. We switched it back to Driving Mode, and after that, we never had a problem again. In fact, this year's driving was even more pleasurable than before, given that we now had two available means of navigation handy.

Another view from the Long Bridge

Staying home and pretending to travel doesn't force one to face those fears and overcome them. Besides, it's often in navigating your way through any complications life throws into your path that make any journey an experience you treasure later on. Now I can look back on that difficult driving experience and smile. Plus, we've got an additional navigation aid, that will surely come in handy on a future visit to England.

Still, it's taken me awhile until I could write about that experience, which probably gives you an idea of how frustrating and bewildering we found it.

Does travel make a difference in one's life? It's hard to quantify an answer like that. All I know is that being in Bideford, really being in this north Devon town I had read about in Westward Ho!, to which I had already traveled vicariously through Charles Kingsley's eyes, soul, and pen, proved a meaningful experience that could never be enjoyed by the armchair adventurer. I don't know about you, but for me, that's a reason to travel. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to relax in my comfortable armchair and do a little reading. Right now, being an armchair adventurer sounds really appealing.

Dragon Dave

How We Almost Curtailed Our British Adventure: Part 1

The riverfront in Bideford, England

I once corresponded with a couple who never traveled anywhere. Aside from the occasional day trip, they never ventured far from home, and never spent the night elsewhere. They claimed that they could get all the benefits of travel from the comfort of their armchairs, either by watching a TV program, or reading about faraway places in books and online. Their approach saved them the monetary costs, the hassles and exertion, and all the planning that real-world travel demands. 

Needless to say, fears accompany any untried venture. And even with the best of planning, there are things that can go wrong during any trip. As happened during this year's trip to England.

As we pulled out of Heathrow Airport in our rental car, we had trouble following the instructions given by our satellite navigation system. We had bought the unit during our first visit to England, back in 2011, and it was old and out of warranty. Still, we had thought it would be fine for our trip. Instead, it started giving us all these strange instructions. When we missed a turn off, it kept on wanting us to backtrack instead of recalculating an alternate route. In an attempt to turn around, we got on one of the M roads (the British equivalent of freeways in the United States. There it really went wonky, telling us to turn off in places where there was no off ramp. Plus, the M road was full of traffic, which meant that we were headed nowhere, and almost certainly in opposite direction from that night's destination, really fast.

We had never found a good map book or atlas of England on our previous trips. Google Maps had changed the way it operated, so while I had calculated the estimated miles between destinations, I hadn't been able to print detailed directions. This left us to rely on our satellite navigation unit. But even after we got off the M road, and headed in what we believed was the right direction, the system still seemed wonky, telling us to go in a counter-clockwise (instead of the correct clockwise) direction around roundabouts, and turn off the roundabouts using lanes that would have us driving on the right side of the road (instead of the left). 

Somehow, by relying on the faulty unit, we managed to start heading in the right direction. But we were so frustrated by this time that, had my wife suggested we return the rental car, and try to use buses and trains for our journey, I would have agreed. It would have made our vacation much more expensive, and limited our options, but really, what were our options at this point? Could we really reach all the places we desired, without adequate maps, and a GPS system that was clearly malfunctioning?

We thought we had planned adequately for this adventure, but clearly we had not, and lacking an adequate means of navigation, was this what we could expect every day of trip? Does that sound like a vacation to you?

Dragon Dave

Reflections Of Bideford

Nature paints with her own palette, and chooses her brushes with care.

Images flow into being, different, but just as interesting, as those ever wrought by Human hands.

Those who thirst for beauty can drink to their hearts' content.*

Dragon Dave

*But please, don't drink untreated river water. I mean...really.

Beautiful Bideford: So Much To Offer

Bideford may not seem remarkable to the average tourist. Yet after reading Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho!, I enjoyed exploring the north Devon city where his protagonist Amyas Leigh grew up, attended school, and set off from on his maritime adventures. Kingsley references lay everywhere. His name adorned local businesses and streets. Restaurants and public houses took their name from characters in the novel. The Burton Art Gallery & Museum offered up a Charles Kingsley room. And of course, there was his statue, where he stood atop his gleaming pillar, surveying (or guarding) the park. 

There's the Long Bridge, one of the longest remaining medieval bridges in England. Cars and pedestrians cross it constantly. Standing along its thick stone walls, one can soak in magnificent views of the surrounding houses and countryside. 

From there, we could also see the barge where we ate lunch. At least, we fancied we could. It's really back there, resting behind the other ships that seem intent upon hiding it from view. From the Long Bridge, Bideford's modern counterpart looks like it must run directly over the barge, but it's far enough away that when you're on the barge, you can't hear the cars passing by, the drivers intent upon traveling to and from work, and otherwise going about their daily lives.

Bideford has plenty to offer, including historic churches, summer festivals that celebrate the regions heritage, and a weekly Panniers Market. It even has a Citizen's Advice Bureau. There, Bideford residents can emulate the example of Compo Simmonite in the Yorkshire town of Holmfirth. As related in the show Last of the Summer Wine, he once visited his local bureau with Nora Batty to confirm that renting a room from her for twenty years constituted a common law marriage. Much to his chagrin, the resident legal export couldn't confirm his contention, but still, isn't it nice that residents have a place to learn the answer to practical questions like that?

Dragon Dave

Riparian Reservations in Beautiful Bideford

Normally, my wife and I are early-risers. But England seemed to demand a different schedule. So it was that we arrived in Bideford shortly before noon. We left our car in a park, and as we stretched our legs, we came across an old barge along the river. It advertised good hot food, which is always attractive come lunchtime, so we walked onboard.

We could have eaten inside, but it was nice outside. So we decided to emulate the English, and dine alfresco whenever the weather allowed. 

It seemed a rather ironic place for Amyas Leigh to dream of a seafaring life at the beginning of Westward Ho!, given the low level of the River Torridge. 

On the other hand, the low river thrust those white houses Charles Kingsley described to the forefront. It was easy to imagine Amyas growing up in one of those, with his quiet but religious mother, and his much smarter brother Frank, who would grow up to tutor the children of wealthy families, and serve in Queen Elizabeth's court. 

While we ate, the tide came in. As the river swelled, the birds came too. The strong current, lapping against the river bed, served as gentle accompaniment to the calls of the birds. Seagulls flew, ducks swam, and the houses across the river, surrounded by verdant greens,  grew even more picturesque. 

There was so much I yearned to explore in Bideford, as well as the rest of this northern corner of Devon. I had done lots of research, and here was my chance to see it all! But part of a vacation is the idea of relaxing, just taking it easy. And then there is the subject of sketching. I'm not saying I'm a great artist, or that I ever will be. But I had vowed to do more sketching on this vacation. Still, I had to make a choice. Should I take it easy, and enjoy the scenic splendor of my riparian roost? Or should I abandon the nest, and camera in hand, strut my San Diego stuff through beautiful Bideford? In the words of The Clash: "Should I stay or should I go now?"

Westward Ho! Go Go GO! Yes Yes YES? Or no No NO?

What would you do?

Dragon Dave

My Charles Kingsley: Westward Ho! Journey

You might never have heard of Bideford (pronounced Bid-E-ford), a town in Devon, England, but it's strongly associated with one author. His name was Charles Kingsley, a 19th century Church of England priest, whose sermons and service was so highly regarded that he eventually served as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, tutored the Prince of Wales, and was appointed canon of Westminster Abbey. But it was largely for his contributions to literature that he is remembered, and foremost of those is his novel Westward Ho!

Yes, you saw that right: there is an exclamation mark in the book's title. 

Although he published it in 1855, the novel is set in the 16th Century. It's about Amyas Leigh, a young man who feels the call of the sea. After his father's death, he's overseen by a powerful local benefactor, who sends him out to serve under Sir Francis Drake. In time, he becomes a captain of his own vessel, searches for treasure and a city of gold, and leads his crew into battles against the Spanish. His military prowess is such that, in the novel's final section, Drake relies on him to help defend Britain against the dreaded Spanish Armada. It's an engaging read, if a little imposing at times, as Kingsley was a highly educated man, and his erudite prose makes the book anything but an easy read. 

Still, the novel offers a little something for everyone: Christianity versus Witchcraft, Adventure and Intrigue, Love and Revenge, even if the Spanish and the Catholics (specifically the Jesuits) are the antagonists. In fact, Kingsley has come under fire in recent decades for his anti-Catholic views, but he was writing of a time in which people in Britain were highly segregated in their religious views, and people associated Catholicism not only with the Spanish Inquisition, but also how the Spanish and the Catholic Church (mis)treated the peoples they subjugated in the Americas. Then there's the fact that the Pope declared Queen Elizabeth unworthy of being Queen, and the manner in which the Catholics hence viewed her could hardly have warmed the British to their Spanish neighbors. 

Kingsley's novel taught me a lot about 16th century England, and left me feeling as though I had gotten my money's worth. This proved especially true as I got it for free online, and it took me a couple months to read. Some say that you don't value what you get for free, but I'll be remembering Westward Ho! for a long time to come. Apart from the history, romance, sorrows and joys, thrills and drama, I'll remember Amyas Leigh's remarkable transformation from young teen to mature man. More importantly, it made me curious to see Bideford, that historic town along the River Torridge, and the other historic locales in North Devon that feature in the novel. 

What an incredible gift to receive from a book of fiction written over one hundred-and-fifty years ago! Onward, David! Westward Ho!

Dragon Dave