Sixteen years of blogging and still not finished yet!

This is the third article to highlight an anniversary for this blog, which was launched on September 9th 2009.

The first one marks the major milestone of the tenth anniversary. 

The second milestone article was published on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary.

I now think it best to mark the occasion with annual summaries.

I still monitor the Blogger Stats as, although I produce articles mainly for my own benefit, it is fascinating to see what people are reading - and from which countries. There have been some changes since my previous report.

Three articles about Benjamin Disraeli now appear in the top 20 All-Time statistics; one of them has even moved into the list of 10 most Popular Posts. This is unexpected, but it is good to see that Disraeli is still a person of interest.

I have no idea why the article about Diana Wynne Jones's witch Gwendolen Chant should have recently slipped into the top 20 posts!

I have managed to keep to my commitment to produce two posts per month. 

I still hope to find enough material for at least another year's worth of articles, even though my debts to certain authors and books in the form of tribute posts are well on the way to being paid off and I seem to have exhausted many relevant topics.

The cupboard is by no means bare: I have a list of leads and ideas for articles, and I plan to work through them for as long as the inclination to produce articles lasts and I still get some satisfaction from working on and publishing them. 

I will also need some more inspiration from Odin!

A few more words about John Buchan's Greenmantle

Several of John Buchan's books have been featured and/or referenced in a variety of articles on here. I didn't expect to have anything more to say about him and his works, but I recently came across something that has inspired yet another Buchan-themed post.

I found some merchandise in the form of commemorative mugs; some of them have a picture inspired by Greenmantle, my favourite John Buchan story. This reminded me of the book and prompted me to look for a few more things to say about Buchan's exciting adventure story, or 'shocker' as he called it. 

Mugs as Buchan memorabilia:

Greenmantle covers

The picture on the mug of the prophet Greenmantle in his turban reminded me that the cover art on some editions of the book is often of poor quality and doesn't do justice to the story. John Buchan deserves better!

Here are two examples of such covers:

This one is of slightly better quality:

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XXXI: Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books

Even though they don't contain material suitable for quoting on here, I felt that the Rupert Bear books deserved a mention because of the very positive effect that they had on me when I first encountered them. Featuring these books was a way of repaying my debt to them.

It is much the same with Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle books, which I first came across in the public library when I was very young: I thought it time to say a few words about the books and their author in return for the great enjoyment that they gave me as a child. 

I loved the stories with their amusing and unusual illustrations by the author. I admired Doctor Dolittle for his humanitarianism and dedication to animal welfare; I envied him for his travels and adventures with his animal companions.

I didn't notice anything wrong at the time, but, just as with the Rupert books, some of the material is now considered unacceptable because of the racial stereotyping. The Dr. Dolittle books have been issued in revised editions, but it is still possible to find the original versions in the Open Library. 

Something about the Doctor Dolittle books
Although the simple text makes it easy to get through each book very quickly, it would take a while to re-read all 15 or so of them, so for now I will just mention some highlights from my memories.

I particularly liked the first two books in the series i.e. The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), which introduces the main characters, and The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922), which features the Great Glass Sea-snail.

Honest politicians really are doomed!

This is another post in the topical series that features alarming and pessimistic politics-related quotations.

These words from Taylor Caldwell appear in the article about the lack of honour in politics:

“An honest politician is either a hypocrite—or he is doomed.” 

Upton Sinclair wrote something that supports this proposition:

“Such was the new technique for the conquest of power. Fool those who were foolable, buy those who were buyable, and kill the rest.”

From Wide Is the Gate (1943)

The above extract reminds me of how potential troublemakers are dealt with in John Christopher's Guardians:

“We are constantly on the alert for trouble...Anyone showing creative intelligence and initiative stands out conspicuously from the mob and can be dealt with.”

“Dealt with” means eliminated! 

Upton Sinclair is yet another writer whose life and works I hope to investigate when I have more time.

More alarming words from Taylor Caldwell

Taylor Caldwell has been referenced in several articles, including a recent one that features some of her alarming words about wars.

Her works, not to mention her life, deserve a closer look, but the reader's dilemma of 'so many books, so little time' applies here. It is always possible to find some good extracts and produce a short article as a compromise however, and I have come across some more quotable material that is particularly relevant to what is happening in the US and the UK - and many other nations. 

This proposition is from The Story of Honoria, an article that was first published in a magazine in 1957:

“It is a stern fact of history that no nation that rushed to the abyss ever turned back. Not ever, in the long history of the world. We are now on the edge of the abyss. Can we, for the first time in history, turn back?”

I am not knowledgeable enough to be able to confirm that in the past no nation that rushed headlong towards disaster ever turned back, but it seems very likely. Perhaps the momentum just carried them along until it was too late to stop. 

I wonder what Taylor Caldwell would think of the current UK and US political situations. We could well be on the brink of an abyss right now.

This is an extract from Captains and the Kings, a historical novel that was first published in 1972:

“...who do you honestly believe rules any nation? The apparent rulers, or the real ones behind the scenes who manipulate a nation’s finances for their own benefit? Mr. Lincoln is as helpless as you and I. He can only, unfortunate man, give his people slogans, and slogans, it would appear, are what the people want. I have yet to hear of a nation that ever rejected a war.” 

Great  minds think alike. This is very similar to what Benjamin Disraeli said about the Hidden Hand. The big question here is, who are these secret rulers and puppet masters?

More about stories as painkillers

One of the many articles inspired by Rudyard Kipling and his words quotes something he said that made a big impression when I first came across it: 

“I am, by calling, a dealer in words; and words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind…”

Words can certainly be intoxicating and inspiring; they can also be a big and positive distraction for and have a very good effect on people who are suffering. 

The article goes on to say this:

“I remember reading that Dennis Wheatley got large numbers of letters from people in hospital who said that his books helped them to forget their pain.”

An explanation of how this works comes from A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle, another article-inspiring writer:

“She smiled. “When we are listening to stories, then it is the story center of the brain which is functioning, and the pain center is less active. I go into the children’s wards of hospitals, where there are children in great pain. When I am telling them stories they laugh and they cry and in truth their pain is less. Mine, too.“”

This makes sense. Reading stories also works for other kinds of pain. The article about the reader's dilemma mentions reading for comfort in times of trouble and desolation. Children who are suffering because of neglect and ill treatment may find that reading fiction provides solace and a means of escape.

More about Richard Barham and his Ingoldsby Legends

The article about The Reverend Richard Harris Barham (December 6th 1788 to June 17th 1845), who wrote his Legends using the pen name Thomas Ingoldsby, introduces and gives a few extracts from the book.

There is a little more to say about The Ingoldsby Legends and its author, and the 180th anniversary of Richard Barham's death is a very suitable occasion for another article.

The Legends
The Legends first appeared as a magazine series in 1837, and they were first published in book form in 1840. 

The Legends were immensely popular in the 19th century. They went to many different editions, often with some variations in the contents, the illustrations, the punctuation and the introductions and prefaces.

The various editions of The Ingoldsby Legends were greatly enhanced by illustrations created by a variety of artists.

The illustrators
The Legends were illustrated by some of the biggest names of the day: George Cruickshank, John Leech, John Tenniel and  Arthur Rackham all produced pictures for the book.  

George Cruikshank illustrated some of the early editions. This is his depiction of the Spectre of Tappington: