The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
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Humphry Clinker week 2: The above to the End of Volume 1 on page 117, ending with a letter to Sir Watkin Phillips from J Melford.
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So we’ve now met Humphry Clinker, and he has led to a shift in the power dynamics between the squire and his sister. About time! Clinker seems to be one of those innocent literalist characters so beloved of satirists—in a world where nothing is as it seems and nobody means what they say, he should be a rich source of humor.I must say I’m struggling with the inordinate number of scenes where cruelty toward a dog is played for laughs. I know, attitudes of the times, but I have no stomach for it. If it keeps up I may have to drop out of the read because I have enough dog-centered nightmares as it is.
Mod
"Whatever mischief they may do in other respects, they certainly contribute, in one particular, to the advantages of government; for those defamatory articles have multiplied papers in such a manner, and augmented their sale to such a degree, that the duty upon stamps and advertisements has made a very considerable addition to the revenue" - (that is, gossip sells!)
and
". . the daemon of party seems to have usurped every department of life. Even the world of literature and taste is divided into the most virulent factions, which revile, decry, and trade the works of one another. " (this could have been written today!)
On another subject, Humphry seems to be a forerunner of Sam Weller from The Pickwick Papers. He is honest, perhaps to a fault, loyal, original in speech, is a jack-of-all-trades.
Mod
Agreed-this is often a challenge with literature from another time, and I know in this group and others there have been similar discussions around issues of racism/classism/sexism written as if both the writer and reader will find these acceptable. Fingers crossed that now that the dog has been transferred to another owner we won't encounter that issue again. I felt something similar when the cart was overturned-so much (understandable) concern for the people involved but no thought of the horses!
Definitely not a novel for dog lovers. It would be at least 50 years before anyone would be held to account for any sort of cruelty to animals - and even longer for dogs.https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/who...
What an unusual introduction to the hero(?) of the novel ( at last). I can’t think of any other character in my reading who has been subject to an argument over his exposed posterior. He seems to have all the attributes of a hero including one which the others don’t seem to possess - modesty ( apart from the exposure problem). He has already impressed both his colleagues and employers by improving the situation in the family by helping to quell the arguments between Tabitha and Matthew as well as stepping in to prevent tipsy Winifred from being molested in the pleasure gardens.
I enjoyed Winifred’s letters the most this week, particularly the one’s referring to the lion - (informative and amusing) and her boasting about her own literacy skills. The fact that Winifred can write a letter at all is remarkable but her oneupmanship on poor Mary regarding her writing skills was rather naughty.
’ Dear Mary Jones! An please God when I return, I’ll bring you a new cap, with a turkey-shell coom, and a pyehouse sermon, that was preached in the Tabernacle; and I pray of all love, you will mind your vriting and your spilling; for, craving your pardon, Molly, it made me suet to disseyffer your last scrabble, which was delivered by the hind at Bath—0, voman! voman! if thou had’st but the least consumption of what pleasure we scullers have, when we can cunster the crabbidst buck off hand, and spell the ethnitch vords without lucking at the primmer. As for Mr Klinker, he is qualified to be a clerk to a parish—But I’ll say no more—Remember me to Saul—poor sole! it goes to my hart to think she don’t yet know her letters—But all in God’s good time—It shall go hard, but I will bring her the A B C in gingerbread; and that, you nose, will be learning to her taste.
Smollett did have a lot to say ( through Matthew ) about the state of the nation and London which was very informative. His statements about the press and politicians are still very relevant today.
Hmm, scampering off to recheck the reading schedule. I think I stopped at the wrong point this week!
Have now caught up to where I was supposed to be, and read the introduction to my edition for good measure.Much of the London section seems to be very roman à clef, and I wish I knew more about the politics and personalities of the day. Was trying to figure out if anyone was Samuel Johnson but couldn’t recognize him, even in the meeting of the authors.
The Duke of N— appears to have been the Duke of Newcastle (here’s his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...), apparently considered mediocre and a buffoon as well as devoted to maintaining power through patronage. We can see elements of that characterization in his scenes, but I’m sure much of the London material was a lot more pointed in Smollett’s day and it must have shocked and amused his contemporary readers.
My intro also mentioned that Mr. Serle, who has a cameo in the Bath letters, was a self-portrait, leaving me to wonder who was the Paunceford who treated him so badly! And I would love to know more about the people mentioned in passing in the scene at the Court of St. James. The king was George III, still quite young when this was written (about 30) and he had not been king for very long—but clearly already well started on his large family! This was before any of his fits of porphyria-induced insanity.
My favorite scene so far was the tea party at Jack Holder’s with Quin, described by Jery—such a free flow of wit and reference! Reminded me of tea parties I attended at college.
It’s interesting that there’s so much talk of Britain’s recent increase in prosperity but so little talk of where it came from—the exploitation of the colonies and foreign trade. This atmosphere of myopia must have made the rebellion of the American colonies, just a few years later, come as quite a shock!
I am not quite done with this section. But there are a few things that are striking. A lot of black and white going on. One character hates almost everything in London, others love it. Scenes are played out to the maximal effect. It’s satire after all. How serious can we take the over the top descriptions? I am sure lots of it was true at the time, but the real picture was likely more moderate. High Society was then, as it is now, pretty oblivious to anybody not belonging to the „set“. They have no clue about what is going on outside their sphere of life.The Press in England apparently has not changed a lot, but the freedom of press is still very important, even if Brumble only can find the worst offenses. His conclusions are one-sided, unfortunately reminiscent of what we see today.
It appears that Brumble‘s point of view is still held by a lot of people even today. He says a lot of true things, but is unable to see anything good in societal changes. He certainly would not embrace democracy.
So far it is a mystery to me why Humphry Clinker is featured prominently in the title. So far it’s really not his „expedition“, but we might get further insights into this as we go along. And is also unclear to me why we had to wait such a long time to be introduced to this character.
I am enjoying this so far.
Abigail wrote: "Have now caught up to where I was supposed to be, and read the introduction to my edition for good measure.And I would love to know more about the people mentioned in passing in the scene at the Court of St. James. The king was George III, still quite young when this was written (about 30) and he had not been king for very long—but clearly already well started on his large family! This was before any of his fits of porphyria-induced insanity.."
I gained a lot of knowledge about mid to late eighteenth century life and personalities by reading the twelve Poldark novels. You might not be a fan of historical fiction, but the author, Winston Graham, was meticulous about historical accuracy, by including the most prominent political figures and making sure of such detail as the correct names of naval vessels of the time etc. The novels begin with a homecoming from the American Revolutionary War in 1783, some ten years later than our story and continue for the best part of the next 40 years. The main protagonist usually takes a stand in opposition to the established views of the time so you can gain an insight into the political arguments of most concern without having to wade through complex historical textbooks or essays. The books are easy to read but they are much more than just the soapy love stories promoted in the TV series,
Haha, Trev, not only a fan but an author of historical fiction! (My era is a bit later, the year 1800.) Winston Graham is certainly meticulous in his research but I confess to not loving his novels.
I am somewhat enjoying the story, but I am finding myself at the 1/3 mark, entertained but without a compelling desire to read on. I knew to expect more episodes than plot development in these 18th century novels (I think Trev reminded us too), but it still leaves a certain emptiness.While I do like this epistolary novel a bit more than Evalina, or The History of a Young Lady's Entrance Into the World, that novel, by being more of a bildungsroman, at least had a progression in the title character. The progression is the Expedition itself seems more immaterial here - its not like going around the world in 80 days - to the reaching of any plot climax.
I will try to be content with finding satisfaction in the thoughts and actions described in each individual letter rather than in how it may advance any plot. Still, I do hope for some more entertaining plot events for our participants and, perhaps, more conflicts.
Mod
And I would love to know more about the people mentioned in passing in t..."
I thought of Poldark too! I've only read about 4 of the books but the TV series has a section where Ross and Demelza go to London and find it both wonderful and horrifying at the same time. Another book series from this time is based on the actual judge, John Fielding, brother of novelist Henry Fielding, He was a respected judge despite being blind. There is a lot of detail about London life in the 1770's. And there was another PBS series called Garrow's Law, based on an actual lawyer who campaigned for the establishment of defense attorneys, which didn't exist. It's also roughly around this time. The show took liberties with some things about the character and the topics covered, but it also has a good view of the high and low parts of London. I have always learned about history and culture from historical novels or historical movies/TV!
For another view of England, especially London, during the late 18th century I found a pretty entertaining book by a German, Karl Philipp Moritz. The Book is called: Reisen eines Deutschen in England im Jahre 1782“ (Journeys of a German in England in 1782). There is an English translation on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5249/...Interesting to read a different perspective. It gives us a better understanding of Smollett‘s exaggerations in This satire.
Abigail wrote: "Haha, Trev, not only a fan but an author of historical fiction! (My era is a bit later, the year 1800.) Winston Graham is certainly meticulous in his research but I confess to not loving his novels."Sorry for not knowing about your writing and congratulations at the same time. Helen Dunmore’s Birdcage Walk is set in the last decade of the eighteenth century. I enjoyed the descriptions in that book of the terrace of townhouses being built in Bath as well as her depiction of that period’s forgotten women of literature.
Thank you for the link, Detlef, that looks interesting. I'm about halfway through this section. I can sympathise with Mr Bramble feeling politically homeless! Wonder who Paunceford was and also enjoyed the little story about the duel between the would-be vicar and his reluctant patron.
Humphry's first appearance, mooning the company, must be unique in all literature and provides some comic relief although it's sad that he got into such straits. I recently came across an article about a similar event in France in the 1760s.
Jeffrey S. Ravel, 'The Coachman's Bare Rump: An Eighteenth Century French Cover-Up, Eighteenth-Century Studies, December 2007, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 279-308. Here's the abstract:
"On 21 January 1763, a wealthy nobleman staged a performance of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Devin de village at his Parisian townhouse. The soirée was attended by military and financial elites. After the curtain fell, several of the master's servants were joking with each other backstage. When the coachman dropped his trousers and displayed his buttocks to a young black page, the latter abruptly raised the curtain to expose the coachman's bare rump to the remaining elites in the room. Their master then called the neighborhood police to arrest the coachman. This article explores issues of social distinction, race, and state authority raised by this incident."
So although Tabby's reaction may seem harsh, at least she didn't march poor Humphry off to the police!
"Pimlico and Knightsbridge are now almost joined to Chelsea and Kensington" - a reminder from Squire Bramble that London is really two cities (London and Westminster) and a lot of villages which gradually merged through ribbon development. The major expansions of the Victorian and inter-war period have yet to come, but Bramble is right to worry about the negative effect on the rest of the country.
No reason you should know about it, Trev! I’m all about the reading in this group.
I finished this section so I've completed Volume 1. But like Brian, I also don't feel a "compelling desire to read on". I had trouble focusing my attention on some of the letters and overall found that the letters in this section are less entertaining compared with the previous one. However, I enjoyed Smollet's satire expressed through Mr. Bramble, and also how London was viewed by different characters. All your insightful comments made clear some of the puzzling points. I think I'll be rereading some of the letters, now that I can view them in a different light, before proceeding with Volume 2.
Mod
Mrs. Tabitha is certainly an obnoxious character, overall, but I think she knows that Mr. Bramble has finally stated his feelings, and she can't always have it her own way.
I thought it was interesting just how much theft was going on in Bath, in Jenkins letter.
Yes, this was just before England started developing something resembling professional police. There were hot debates in Parliament about the appropriateness of establishing police forces during the 1780s through early 1800s. In villages, constables were appointed, generally for one-year terms, from among the middle classes (shopkeepers and the like), but the cities had not yet evolved any meaningful safety structures.
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
Birdcage Walk (other topics)Evalina, or The History of a Young Lady's Entrance Into the World (other topics)
As I become used to the language and rhythm of this epistolary novel, and to the characters of the various letter-writers, it becomes clear that Smollett has a lot to say about society of his time, with sharp commentary on the cities of Bath and of London, on the Clergy, on Society and its amusements, on the Aristocracy, on Parliament, on The Press, on writers and critics.
For example, in an early letter in this section, her writes
There is always a great shew of the clergy at Bath; none of your thin, puny, yellow hectic figures, exhausted with abstinence and hard study, labouring under the morbi éruditorum; but great overgrown dignitaries and rectors, with rubicund noses and gouty ancles, or broad bloated faces, dragging along great swag bellies; the emblems of sloth and indigestion- and follows this with an anecdote about clergy preferments which shows the unfairness bordering on corruption of the system for awarding clerical positions.
There is a fascinating commentary on London, how it has grown so much as to dominate the country and to pull much of the populace to live there, leaving the rest of the country abandoned-how relevant this remains today!
Please share your thoughts on this section-were you particularly struck by any of the passages or impressions? What do you think of how our characters and their situations are developing?