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The Tinted Venus
Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934), was an English novelist and journalist, who wrote his comic novels under the pseudonym F. Anstey. He was educated at King's College London and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1880. But the popular success of his story Vice Versa (1882) with its topsy-turvy substitution of a father for his schoolboy son, at once made his reputation as a humorist of an original type. He published in 1883 a serious novel, The Giant's Robe; but, in spite of its excellence, he discovered that it was not as a serious novelist but as a humorist that the public insisted on regarding him. As such his reputation was further confirmed by The Black Poodle (1884), The Tinted Venus (1885), and A Fallen Idol (1886). Many of Anstey's stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures. The Tinted Venus (1885) was adapted by S. J. Perelman, Ogden Nash, and Kurt Weill into One Touch of Venus in 1943.
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1885
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About the author
F. Anstey
239 books9 followersThomas Anstey Guthrie was an English novelist and journalist, who wrote his comic novels under the pseudonym F. Anstey.
He was born in Kensington, London, to Augusta Amherst Austen, an organist and composer, and Thomas Anstey Guthrie. He was educated at King's College School and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1880. But the popular success of his story Vice Versa (1882) with its topsy turvy substitution of a father for his schoolboy son, at once made his reputation as a humorist of an original type. He published in 1883 a serious novel, The Giant's Robe; but, in spite of its excellence, he discovered (and again in 1889 with The Pariah) that it was not as a serious novelist but as a humorist that the public insisted on regarding him. As such, his reputation was further confirmed by The Black Poodle (1884), The Tinted Venus (1885), A Fallen Idol (1886), and other works. Baboo Jabberjee B.A. (1897) , and A Bayard from Bengal (1902) are humorous yet truthful studies of the East Indian with a veneer of English civilization.
Guthrie became an important member of the staff of Punch magazine, in which his voces populi and his humorous parodies of a reciter's stock-piece (Burglar Bill, &c.) represent his best work. In 1901, his successful farce The Man from Blankleys, based on a story that originally appeared in Punch, was first produced at the Prince of Wales Theatre, in London. He wrote Only Toys (1903) and Salted Almonds (1906).
Many of Anstey's stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures. The Tinted Venus was adapted by S.J. Perelman, Ogden Nash, and Kurt Weill into One Touch of Venus in 1943. Vice Versa has been filmed many times, usually transposed in setting and without any credit to the original book. Another of his novels, The Brass Bottle, has also been filmed more than once, including The Brass Bottle (1964).
He was born in Kensington, London, to Augusta Amherst Austen, an organist and composer, and Thomas Anstey Guthrie. He was educated at King's College School and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1880. But the popular success of his story Vice Versa (1882) with its topsy turvy substitution of a father for his schoolboy son, at once made his reputation as a humorist of an original type. He published in 1883 a serious novel, The Giant's Robe; but, in spite of its excellence, he discovered (and again in 1889 with The Pariah) that it was not as a serious novelist but as a humorist that the public insisted on regarding him. As such, his reputation was further confirmed by The Black Poodle (1884), The Tinted Venus (1885), A Fallen Idol (1886), and other works. Baboo Jabberjee B.A. (1897) , and A Bayard from Bengal (1902) are humorous yet truthful studies of the East Indian with a veneer of English civilization.
Guthrie became an important member of the staff of Punch magazine, in which his voces populi and his humorous parodies of a reciter's stock-piece (Burglar Bill, &c.) represent his best work. In 1901, his successful farce The Man from Blankleys, based on a story that originally appeared in Punch, was first produced at the Prince of Wales Theatre, in London. He wrote Only Toys (1903) and Salted Almonds (1906).
Many of Anstey's stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures. The Tinted Venus was adapted by S.J. Perelman, Ogden Nash, and Kurt Weill into One Touch of Venus in 1943. Vice Versa has been filmed many times, usually transposed in setting and without any credit to the original book. Another of his novels, The Brass Bottle, has also been filmed more than once, including The Brass Bottle (1964).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 16, 2015
Doesn't hold up over time. The premise is promising but the story doesn't answer. Too many inconsistencies and lines that just aren't funny. Not worth the time to read unless doing a report on bad books.
July 18, 2023
A comic treatment of a theme that Prosper Merimee, in his
La Venus de Ille
, treated as horror. The source for both was a medieval legend of a young man who accidentally betroths himself to Venus by putting a ring on her statue; the elderly scholar who advises the hero at one point mentions William Morris's poem
The Earthly Paradise
as a source, though he's very unreliable and I can't find it in there, nor is it likely to have been in Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, the other source he mentions. The earliest known version of the story is by William of Malmesbury, but it was often retold by other medieval writers.
This version of the story involves a young London hairdresser, Leander, whose friend drops him into an awkward situation; the friend is engaged to the sister of a young woman who Leander had previously been interested in, before meeting Mathilda, now his fiancée, and the friend has arranged a trip to the Rosherwich Pleasure Gardens (a transparent pseudonym for the actual Rosherville Gardens) along with the two sisters. Leander tries to get out of it, but in the end has to explain to Ada, his former interest, that she's been superseded by Mathilda. In the course of the conversation, he mentions Mathilda's small hands, and demonstrates by putting the engagement ring he happens to have just picked up from a jeweler (who has altered it to fit Mathilda; it's a family ring of Leander's) on the notably small hand of a statue of Venus in the sculpture garden.
Unfortunately, this brings the statue to life, infused with the power and personality of the goddess, and she insists that he's committed himself to be hers. He has to resist her attempts to take him away to her isle of Cyprus as her lover (he's not attracted to her, and is faithful to his Mathilda), while also dealing with the fact that the statue, which was stolen property before it ended up in the sculpture garden, is being sought by both the police and the criminals who had parked it there until the hue and cry died down. His case becomes more and more desperate, as he tries to do the right thing and extricate himself from the situation.
The title refers to his subterfuge of applying makeup (which he invents and compounds as part of his business) to the statue to make it attract less attention when it walks around in London.
One thing I didn't like about the book was that the author makes mockery of this honest and good-hearted tradesman for his lack of education, though he also has the scene with the elderly and disagreeable scholar, who is portrayed as unpleasant and snobbish when he mocks Leander for his ignorance (despite his own unreliable memory). Still, Leander comes across as a hapless but well-intentioned, honest and faithful person, and he does eventually solve his problem himself by his own intelligence. His Mathilda is also very understanding and forgiving, once she understands what's going on, and faithful to him in turn. They are portrayed positively for rejecting the wild sexuality represented by Venus and remaining within respectable bounds; apparently this is not so much the case with the 1921 silent film based on the book, if Wikipedia is to be believed, and very much not the case with the 1941 musical A Touch of Venus, also based on this book.
I found it amusing, more for the farcical shenanigans than the hero's malapropisms and ignorant errors. It's not comparable to classic Wodehouse, but then when it was published nor was Wodehouse (as another reviewer has remarked); I'd say it's as funny as Three Men on the Bummel , though not as funny as Three Men in a Boat . It's not the author's best-known work, either, so I might take a look at some of the others.
This version of the story involves a young London hairdresser, Leander, whose friend drops him into an awkward situation; the friend is engaged to the sister of a young woman who Leander had previously been interested in, before meeting Mathilda, now his fiancée, and the friend has arranged a trip to the Rosherwich Pleasure Gardens (a transparent pseudonym for the actual Rosherville Gardens) along with the two sisters. Leander tries to get out of it, but in the end has to explain to Ada, his former interest, that she's been superseded by Mathilda. In the course of the conversation, he mentions Mathilda's small hands, and demonstrates by putting the engagement ring he happens to have just picked up from a jeweler (who has altered it to fit Mathilda; it's a family ring of Leander's) on the notably small hand of a statue of Venus in the sculpture garden.
Unfortunately, this brings the statue to life, infused with the power and personality of the goddess, and she insists that he's committed himself to be hers. He has to resist her attempts to take him away to her isle of Cyprus as her lover (he's not attracted to her, and is faithful to his Mathilda), while also dealing with the fact that the statue, which was stolen property before it ended up in the sculpture garden, is being sought by both the police and the criminals who had parked it there until the hue and cry died down. His case becomes more and more desperate, as he tries to do the right thing and extricate himself from the situation.
The title refers to his subterfuge of applying makeup (which he invents and compounds as part of his business) to the statue to make it attract less attention when it walks around in London.
One thing I didn't like about the book was that the author makes mockery of this honest and good-hearted tradesman for his lack of education, though he also has the scene with the elderly and disagreeable scholar, who is portrayed as unpleasant and snobbish when he mocks Leander for his ignorance (despite his own unreliable memory). Still, Leander comes across as a hapless but well-intentioned, honest and faithful person, and he does eventually solve his problem himself by his own intelligence. His Mathilda is also very understanding and forgiving, once she understands what's going on, and faithful to him in turn. They are portrayed positively for rejecting the wild sexuality represented by Venus and remaining within respectable bounds; apparently this is not so much the case with the 1921 silent film based on the book, if Wikipedia is to be believed, and very much not the case with the 1941 musical A Touch of Venus, also based on this book.
I found it amusing, more for the farcical shenanigans than the hero's malapropisms and ignorant errors. It's not comparable to classic Wodehouse, but then when it was published nor was Wodehouse (as another reviewer has remarked); I'd say it's as funny as Three Men on the Bummel , though not as funny as Three Men in a Boat . It's not the author's best-known work, either, so I might take a look at some of the others.
July 6, 2017
I stumbled upon this late 19th century British writer via an article in either the NY Times or the Wash Post recommending the under-read author. I decided on reading it to introduce me to Anstey because it also inspired the musical One Touch of Venus, with music by Kurt Weill. I'm a theatrical fellow, so I thought, "Why not?"
Its story is in the category of humorous fantasy, wherein a London hairdresser places his engagement ring on a statue of Venus and accidentally brings it to life. A clever trifle, but I was in the mood for one, given the political atmosphere in the world today. AND it is well-written. I don't generally indulge in pop fiction, as it often features decent plots with poor writing. Anstey writes well and cleverly, and I found myself reading passages aloud - clearly intended for the theatre.
However, like its progeny, One Touch of Venus, The Tinted Venus gathers dust. Not much dust to be had in my Kindle version, and I must say, I enjoyed it. Wikipedia claims that it relies on some shades of the Pygmalion myth. I agree, but I also found myself wondering if Oscar Wilde got the idea for Lady Bracknell (The Importance of Being Earnest) from the monster mother of the hairdresser's intended.
It is short, it is clever, it is diverting - have a look if you like.
Its story is in the category of humorous fantasy, wherein a London hairdresser places his engagement ring on a statue of Venus and accidentally brings it to life. A clever trifle, but I was in the mood for one, given the political atmosphere in the world today. AND it is well-written. I don't generally indulge in pop fiction, as it often features decent plots with poor writing. Anstey writes well and cleverly, and I found myself reading passages aloud - clearly intended for the theatre.
However, like its progeny, One Touch of Venus, The Tinted Venus gathers dust. Not much dust to be had in my Kindle version, and I must say, I enjoyed it. Wikipedia claims that it relies on some shades of the Pygmalion myth. I agree, but I also found myself wondering if Oscar Wilde got the idea for Lady Bracknell (The Importance of Being Earnest) from the monster mother of the hairdresser's intended.
It is short, it is clever, it is diverting - have a look if you like.
March 23, 2017
This was just a bit (ie very) strange!! It wasnt really funny... just... strange. A man gets his partner's engagement ring stuck on a statues finger and somehow the statue ends up in his house and keeps coming to life, I recall her (the statue) making strong demands of him since he placed this wedding ring on her finger. Gets in some tricky situations because she seems to think he needs to be devoted to her. Bit silly. Found it last year on librovox.
November 4, 2011
This is a Victorian comic novel about a man who accidentally brings a statue of Venus to life, with *hilarious* consequences. I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg for some inexplicable reason I can no longer remember. Anyway, I ended up reading it. As humorous writing goes, it hasn't aged too badly, but it's still a bit plonking. Shrug.
August 14, 2013
Good fun. Better than I expected, if a tad anachronistic in places. A silly story that holds together well. Will 'Venus' get the English barber ir not? You'll have to read to find out! You can get a free e-version from Project Guttenberg.
July 17, 2011
A bit of a come down after "Vice versa" but still a pleasant vintage comic fantasy. Complications arise when a statue of Venus comes to life and pursues a young, recently engaged hairdresser.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews