To the Honourable Miss S... and Other Stories

by B. Traven

Here are 15 stories by the author who later became famous under the name B. Traven, written during the years when - as Ret Marut - he was an itinerant actor and journalist in Germany before and during World War 1. Most of these stories first appeared when Marut was editing an obstreperous antiwar newspaper - 'The Brick-Burner' - in Munich. They foreshadow many of the themes and philosophy which characterize such great works as The Death Ship and the novels and stories Traven later wrote in Mexico.

Contains:
The story of a nun --
The silk scarf --
The actor and the king --
A writer of serpentine shrewdness --
The blue-speckled SParroW --
Originality --
Deceivers --
Titles --
My visit to the writer Pguwlkschrj Rnfajbzxlquy --
The art of the painter --
The kind of thing that can happen in France --
Mother Beleke --
In the fog --
The unknown soldier --
To the honourable Miss S ...

212 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1981

About the author

B. Traven was the pen name of a German novelist, whose real name, nationality, date and place of birth and details of biography are all subject to dispute. A rare certainty is that B. Traven lived much of his life in Mexico, where the majority of his fiction is also set—including his best-known work, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927), which was adapted as the Academy Award nominated film of the same name in 1948.
Virtually every detail of Traven's life has been disputed and hotly debated. There were many hypotheses on the true identity of B. Traven, some of them wildly fantastic. Most agree, that Traven was Ret Marut, a German stage actor and anarchist, who supposedly left Europe for Mexico around 1924. There are also reasons to believe that Marut/Traven's real name was Otto Feige and that he was born in Schwiebus in Brandenburg, modern day Świebodzin in Poland. B. Traven in Mexico is also connected with Berick Traven Torsvan and Hal Croves, both of whom appeared and acted in different periods of the writer's life. Both, however, denied being Traven and claimed that they were his literary agents only, representing him in contacts with his publishers.
B. Traven is the author of twelve novels, one book of reportage and several short stories, in which the sensational and adventure subjects combine with a critical attitude towards capitalism, betraying the socialist and even anarchist sympathies of the writer. B. Traven's best known works include the novels The Death Ship from 1926 and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre from 1927, in 1948 filmed by John Huston, and the so-called Jungle Novels, also known as the Caoba cyclus (from the Spanish word caoba, meaning mahogany), a group of six novels (including The Carreta, Government), published in the years 1930-1939, set among Mexican Indians just before and during the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. B. Traven's novels and short stories became very popular as early as the interwar period and retained this popularity after the war; they were also translated into many languages. Most of B. Traven's books were published in German first and their English editions appeared later; nevertheless the author always claimed that the English versions were the original ones and that the German versions were only their translations. This claim is not taken seriously.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very impressive book of short stories (some very short indeed) as well as the much longer title story, which is almost novella-length. Although I had heard of the author, I hadn't read anything by him before - and I was quite impressed with these stories, although they are among his earliest efforts, according to the informative introduction to the volume by Will Wyatt. Each story is thought provoking, has an unexpected twist, and the writing style, very nuanced, thoughtful, and complex. Even so, with lengthy sentences, and much of the text filled with abstract concepts, quasi philosophical thoughts by the protagonist or narrator on the action, this is still an easy book to read, and the writing definitely flows, despite its occasional complexity. I know I shall look for more books by this famous author. Interestingly, B. Traven wrote "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" - which was later made into an acclaimed film that I count as one of my all-time favorites.

The introduction describes the mystery of B. Traven's identity and explains how his real name (Otto Feige) was eventually uncovered, despite Mr. Feige's efforts to hide his identity. Feige/Traven was on the run from the authorities in his native Germany because he had been involved in a short-lived anarchist government in Munich in 1919 - which was suppressed by soldiers from Berlin. The instigators including Traven were to be summarily tried and shot, but Traven managed to escape through the sympathetic actions of a soldier. He went on the run to Vienna, Berlin, Cologne, Canada, England, and Mexico. Once in Mexico, he sent stories back to Germany to be published in the leftist newspaper Vorwarts. The name Ret Marut was the name he took during the first phase of his life, in Germany, before his escape. (Marut may be an anagram for Traum - dream. Since Traven was an anti-authoritarian anarchist, Ret may simply refer to the word red.) He began writing under the name B. Traven and calling himself T. Torsvan in Mexico.

I thought this book was highly unusual, passionate in its exposition of anti-authoritarian principles via the format of fictional short stories, using many times paradox and irony, and well-written, with only a few very minor continuity problems or gaps here and there. The title story - like some others about WWI - is an anti-war study - the writings of a man at the front, as he watches his own death draw nearer and nearer. Ironically, he is repeatedly promoted and decorated for bravery, although in truth, he is not a conventional patriot, and in fact many times invites death. When he tries to explain to his superiors why he does not deserve medals, they won't hear of it and insist he keep the medals and promotions. He eventually gives up on trying to reject the medals and promotions.

I would recommend this unique book of short stories to any reader, especially anyone interested in the pre-WW1 era and WW1 itself.

"The Story of a Nun" - was an eerie quasi horror story about a distant ancestor who fatefully reclaims a contemporary descendant.
"The Silk Scarf" - was an anti-war anti-authoritarian story about the sad fate of a shattered couple, due to war and twisted circumstance by a farm owner.
"The Actor and the King" - was a pleasant paradoxical story which questions the legitimacy of monarchs.
"A Writer of Shrewd Serpentine Shrewdness" - was more like an extended joke mocking publishers, authors, and the reading public - in light of modern society wishing to take things in quickly - as at the cinema - rather than read a lengthy novel. It is perhaps presciently apt to our era - given the shortened attention spans of most folks, addicted as they are to the internet, Youtube, cable TV channel surfing, etc.
"The BLue-Speckled SParroW" - was an humorously ironic comment about the fate of a rather meaningless honorary medal awarded to a theater company by a bored monarch, The Order of The BLue-Speckled SParroW.
"Originality" - is about an actor who adopts unorthodox methods (such as cutting up a play and randomly rearranging the sections and then performing that as the play) in order to be original and to his surprise finds that he is now wildly successful.
"Deceivers" - about a man who doesn't abandon his mother, whose story of abstention and denial is then used as a positive example by a schoolmaster. The question is, who is the deceiver - the man, the mother, the schoolmaster - or all three?
"Titles" - is about the unending efforts of a bourgeois boor to obtain an honorary title and state employment, which is facilitated in a most ironic way by his wife.
"My Visit to the Writer Pguwlkschrj Rnfajbzwlquy" - about a prolific and successful albeit mysterious writer who developed a devoted/cult following; the narrator eventually tracks him down, and discovers that he has been an inpatient at an insane asylum for several years. He won't reveal the surprising information to the crowd of P.R.'s zealous admirers since they might not believe him, and moreover might then turn abusive - accusing him of trying to smear P.R.'s name.
"The Art of the Painter" - an ironic story about how an excellent painter whose work had not been accepted to a group show, managed nonetheless to successfully insert a canvas into the show - as the centerpiece of the exhibition. This story is obviously a wry comment on the art market, art critics, and art buyers (since the canvas was sold twice).
"The Kind of Thing that can happen in France" - is about a French writer of romances who turned to war writing once WWI started, on the strength of a few visits to the front. He wrote a story about the outstanding actions of a fictional hero; an enterprising newspaperman researched the randomly selected name and found that it belonged to an actual enlistee. Long story short, the enlistee was eventually honored by the top French general for the fictional heroism. This story is a critique of society's need to build up heroes, even fictional ones - and the work of publicists (even then) in whipping up a frenzy, even over a totally fictional hero.
"Mother Beleke" - is about a humble peasant mother's words to her soldier son ("Don't be in no hurry, Herbert dear, them Russkies bite!) which become a sort of joke in his platoon, but then also serve to hearten the soldiers as they attack despite withering enemy fire.
"In the Fog" - is the story of a soldier at the front, who is enveloped by fog while he on a scouting mission; in no man's land, he meets a French soldier and both startled, they briefly bow to each other, and shake each other's hands. As the book says: "What else was either of them to have done, once he had recognized that standing before him was a man? For they were both stricken by blindness and did not see the enemy." Meaning, neither had seen the other coming due to the fog..
"The Unknown Soldier" - is about a severely wounded unidentified soldier who briefly regains consciousness at a field hospital, to have an intimate exchange with a nurse - even asking her to marry him on the spot - only to relapse into unconsciousness and sadly death. An extremely sad commentary on how war rips bodies and society to shreds, or wraiths that cannot be understood or loved as an individual before they become a gloomy anonymous statistic.
"To the Honorable Miss S..." - the title story, as discussed above, is the long story of a soldier who has no interest in living, and decides to write a narrative of his horrific experiences in the war, to be delivered to Miss S upon his death. After practically being initially driven crazy by war, in a communications outpost, stuck with the bodies of two dead comrades, he takes a more proactive stance, and organizes stragglers and wounded men in an organized squad that is quite effective in winning a battle. He is at the front endlessly, eventually fighting the English. He subsequently repeats similar feats in other seemingly hopeless situations, and is repeatedly honored with promotions and medals, which he tries to reject. Toward the end, he has a soldier named Zeitz under his command. Zeitz - after a shocking discovery at home - also wants to die since he has no place to return to, becomes the soldier's right-hand man. Both meet their fate, and the story is the (unnamed) soldier's testament, perhaps confession of affection, to the object of his affection, Miss S.... This story is truly a total and searing condemnation of war.