British Lion Research Articles

Like Any Good Wife

The relationships between Canada and other nations, and especially those with Britain and United States, have repeatedly been described through gendered imagery by academics, journalists, popular writers, and cartoonists, and sometimes by politicians themselves. It would indeed be surprising if Canada proved to be exception to rule that countries are imagined and personified by their citizens as figures with strong masculine or feminine attributes. As scholars working in a number of fields have emphasized, political elites seek to construct images of themselves and their nation as strong, masculine, and adult.1 Canadian nationalist writers, however, have often been disappointed by what they see as a failure on part of their leaders to achieve a sufficiently high standing in world. A common response is to sardonically depict Canada in a feminine or juvenile male role.Nor is this gendered discourse merely a convenient shorthand, embodying abstract situations in concrete terms that will readily be understood by masses.2 Instead, assumptions about gender have always profoundly shaped nationalist aspirations. Their power was perhaps at its height during early and middle years of Cold War. This article examines interplay between realities of Canadian foreign policy and gendered representations, focusing on period from 1945 to 1975, and especially on two decades when Lester Pearson and John Diefenbaker dominated political scene. The 1950s were period of Canada's greatest success in international affairs, and by end of decade call for an ever stronger, more independent, and manly stance on world stage had become a characteristic feature of Canadian nationalist writing. Both Pearson and Diefenbaker did their best to meet such demands, at least on level of rhetoric. However, they could not evade fact that American power placed Canada in a subordinate position. By late 1960s country's diplomats, once figures viewed with an admiration bordering on reverence, were increasingly seen as obsolete and irrelevant in the era of sit-in.3 Pearson's diplomatic skill during 1956 Suez crisis and Diefenbaker's landslide 1958 election victory had marked two men as outstanding Canadian public figures of their time. But in 1960s Diefenbaker was labeled as an indecisive fumbler, while Pearson seemed like a mere shadow of his earlier confident self. Both had apparently failed test of national leadership. Rather than being a unifying source of pride and strength for nation, foreign policy gave rise to angry, divisive debates. During early 1970s, Canadian diplomacy was target of sharp and exceptionally bitter criticism from younger generation of nationalist writers.A persistent and obviously very deeply felt subtext running through journalism and popular writing of this period was need to forge an indisputably masculine national identity. It had not always been so: from Confederation to time of Second World War, images of a feminine Canada were successfully combined with other representations of country as a vigorous young man. In 19th and early 20th centuries, Canadians drew on rich political iconography of British empire, which included both strong male symbols like John Bull and British lion and powerful, but nurturing, figures of Britannia and great white mother, Queen Victoria. At this time, Canada was often envisioned as daughter of mother Britain. In political cartoons, she was a demure young lady who politely but firmly rejected attentions of her cousin Jonathan. This feminine persona was not incompatible with an independent stance: Canada could deny her powerful American suitor, and Rudyard Kipling had her declare to Britain, Daughter am I in my mother's house/But mistress in my own.4However, when Canadian autonomy was under discussion, nation was usually represented as Britain's son, now grown to verge of manhood. …

British and German Cartoons as Weapons in World War I: Invectives and Ideology of Political Cartoons. A Cognitive Linguistics Approach by Wolfgang K. Hünig (review)

858 Reviews whereas Forster 'discovered' India. The geographical point of intersection that exerted fascination on both writers was India. Calcutta, which Duras firstvisited aged seventeen en route to France, helped lay the imaginative foundations for her India cycle, referred to by Yves Clavaron as 'la "constellation" India Song' (p. 41). But if the India that absorbed her, as she asserts in Les Parleuses, was not the land of the maharajas but Tlndepresque caricaturale de la lepre et de la faim' (p. 139), Forster's contacts were different.He firstwent to India as the guest of Syed Ross Masood, the dedicatee of A Passage to India who belonged to the Muslim elite, and returned later at the invitation of a Hindu maharaja. These strong, instructive contrasts provide Clavaron with the infrastructure for a lucid comparative study that connects intelligently with contemporary postcolo? nial debate about colonial literature and its legacy. His methodological premiss is to explore the fictional production of that era historically. Within the geopolitical and cultural frameworks that he recontructs, he singles out Forster's uneasiness working on A Passage to India, citing a letter to Masood in which he protests: 'When I began the book I thought of it as a little bridge of sympathy between East and West, but [. . .] my sense of truth forbids anything so comfortable' (p. 48). Troubled by this complex cultural encounter, Forster works to distance himself from his contempo? raries' politicized readings of his novel. Hence the appeal in The Hill of Devi to a universalist discourse that privileges the Indian earth and sky. 'The Life to Come' admittedly provides Forster with the opportunity to criticize what he sees as an arrogant Catholic Church pursuing its own branch ofthe civilizing mission. Yet Clavaron skilfully shows Forster's European humanism as itself failing ultimately to allow Indian culture its alterity by adhering to Western aesthetics. If Forster's preferred route is irony in the face of what he frequently labels 'muddle' in A Passage to India, Duras regularly opts for violent satire. Thus the world of finance is denounced in Un barrage contre le Pacifique as 'la crapule de cette engeance blanche de la colonie' (P- 75) and colonial Saigon houses the Mecca for colonial financiers. Clavaron also deftlyexplores the motifs of misogyny, sexuality, the family narrative, and the missing father in relation to his two colonial authors. Royal Holloway, University of London Edward Hughes British and German Cartoons as Weapons in World War I: Invectives and Ideology of Political Cartoons. A Cognitive Linguistics Approach. By Wolfgang K. Hunig. Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang. 2003. 242 pp. ?23. ISBN 3-631-50211-7 (pbk). Punch and Simplicissimus, best known for their debunking of social behaviour, also included trenchant political cartoons, especially during the First World War. Wolf? gang Hiinig examines 325 examples to reveal parallels in invective against the enemy. Through the interplay of the sketches, the headings, and the captions, differentpat? terns of humour, irony,and sarcasm emerge that either support or contradict prejudices and stereotypes. Using the methods of cognitive linguistics, Hiinig focuses on the condensation ofcomplex ideas into a single image and into a related metaphor. The abstract or unfamiliar is made both visually and verbally concrete, often by reference to well-known cultural examples. Figures such as John Bull or Kaiser Bill become metonymies when they represent nations; emblems such as the British Lion or the German Eagle provide rich sources forthe use of discourse spoken by commentators to express invective or ridicule. Hiinig develops a convincing theory of mental spaces and blends. These interconnect and create an artificial world where the viewer or reader is fascinated and then manipulated to accept its premisses. The cartoonist strikes a balance between MLRy 99.3, 2004 859 'downright aggression and humorous insinuation' (p. 26) in order to appeal to feel? ings of superiority, relief, or incongruity. The scenarios may become totally absurd, but they provide the necessary distance to make the propaganda acceptable. Hiinig differentiates between scenes that are everyday, non-combatant military, war, counterfactual , or metonymic, and further subdivides these as communicative situations, internal interactions between sketch and caption, and communicative situations that interact with the captions. Such categorization and the...

Dancing or Stricken Peacock? Than Shwe, Suu Kyi and the Politics of Institutional Change in Myanmar

In a country where signs, symbols and astrology have played key roles in its political and cultural evolution, the peacock as the emblem of an independent state has had a chequered history in Myanmar (Burma). Frequently juxtaposed to the Sheldrake, emblem of the Southern Mon kingdom centred on Pegu until incorporation into the larger Burmese empire in the mid-18th century, the country peacock could not withstand the advances of the rampant British lion during the 19th century. It is now a protected bird accorded sanctuary, and placed on a pedestal with reverence almost equal to that of the sacred ‘White Elephant’ found recently in the jungles of Arakan. Such indigenous institutions are playing a critical role as the transitional state of Myanmar seeks to transform its political and socio-economic fabric after 26 years of socialist policies (1962-1988). In analyzing the politics of institutional change in contemporary Myanmar, we are forced to take account of Muthiah Alagappa’s observation that transitional states are not necessarily in linear evolution to Western models of democratic governance, for this expected trajectory ‘has not been borne out in practice’ whilst ‘politics in developing countries has its own dynamics.’ Alagappa’s views resonate also in the writings of Robert Taylor who notes the complexity and problematic task of grafting multi-party democratic systems onto societies like Myanmar with weak traditions of civil society, low levels of economic development and patronclientalist politico-social structures. The following paper focuses on some of the key political and socio-economic issues at the heart of achieving evolutionary institutional change in Myanmar (Burma).

British and German Cartoons as Weapons in World War I: Invectives and Ideology of Political Cartoons. A Cognitive Linguistics Approach (review)

858 Reviews whereas Forster 'discovered' India. The geographical point of intersection that exerted fascination on both writers was India. Calcutta, which Duras firstvisited aged seventeen en route to France, helped lay the imaginative foundations for her India cycle, referred to by Yves Clavaron as 'la "constellation" India Song' (p. 41). But if the India that absorbed her, as she asserts in Les Parleuses, was not the land of the maharajas but Tlndepresque caricaturale de la lepre et de la faim' (p. 139), Forster's contacts were different.He firstwent to India as the guest of Syed Ross Masood, the dedicatee of A Passage to India who belonged to the Muslim elite, and returned later at the invitation of a Hindu maharaja. These strong, instructive contrasts provide Clavaron with the infrastructure for a lucid comparative study that connects intelligently with contemporary postcolo? nial debate about colonial literature and its legacy. His methodological premiss is to explore the fictional production of that era historically. Within the geopolitical and cultural frameworks that he recontructs, he singles out Forster's uneasiness working on A Passage to India, citing a letter to Masood in which he protests: 'When I began the book I thought of it as a little bridge of sympathy between East and West, but [. . .] my sense of truth forbids anything so comfortable' (p. 48). Troubled by this complex cultural encounter, Forster works to distance himself from his contempo? raries' politicized readings of his novel. Hence the appeal in The Hill of Devi to a universalist discourse that privileges the Indian earth and sky. 'The Life to Come' admittedly provides Forster with the opportunity to criticize what he sees as an arrogant Catholic Church pursuing its own branch ofthe civilizing mission. Yet Clavaron skilfully shows Forster's European humanism as itself failing ultimately to allow Indian culture its alterity by adhering to Western aesthetics. If Forster's preferred route is irony in the face of what he frequently labels 'muddle' in A Passage to India, Duras regularly opts for violent satire. Thus the world of finance is denounced in Un barrage contre le Pacifique as 'la crapule de cette engeance blanche de la colonie' (P- 75) and colonial Saigon houses the Mecca for colonial financiers. Clavaron also deftlyexplores the motifs of misogyny, sexuality, the family narrative, and the missing father in relation to his two colonial authors. Royal Holloway, University of London Edward Hughes British and German Cartoons as Weapons in World War I: Invectives and Ideology of Political Cartoons. A Cognitive Linguistics Approach. By Wolfgang K. Hunig. Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang. 2003. 242 pp. ?23. ISBN 3-631-50211-7 (pbk). Punch and Simplicissimus, best known for their debunking of social behaviour, also included trenchant political cartoons, especially during the First World War. Wolf? gang Hiinig examines 325 examples to reveal parallels in invective against the enemy. Through the interplay of the sketches, the headings, and the captions, differentpat? terns of humour, irony,and sarcasm emerge that either support or contradict prejudices and stereotypes. Using the methods of cognitive linguistics, Hiinig focuses on the condensation ofcomplex ideas into a single image and into a related metaphor. The abstract or unfamiliar is made both visually and verbally concrete, often by reference to well-known cultural examples. Figures such as John Bull or Kaiser Bill become metonymies when they represent nations; emblems such as the British Lion or the German Eagle provide rich sources forthe use of discourse spoken by commentators to express invective or ridicule. Hiinig develops a convincing theory of mental spaces and blends. These interconnect and create an artificial world where the viewer or reader is fascinated and then manipulated to accept its premisses. The cartoonist strikes a balance between MLRy 99.3, 2004 859 'downright aggression and humorous insinuation' (p. 26) in order to appeal to feel? ings of superiority, relief, or incongruity. The scenarios may become totally absurd, but they provide the necessary distance to make the propaganda acceptable. Hiinig differentiates between scenes that are everyday, non-combatant military, war, counterfactual , or metonymic, and further subdivides these as communicative situations, internal interactions between sketch and caption, and communicative situations that interact with the captions. Such categorization and the...

Actors on The Burmese Stage: A Trilogy of the Anglo-Burmese; Wars Volume One: The British Lion and The Burmese Tiger: Campbell and Maha Bandula; Volume Two: A Sadistic Scholar: Captain Latter's War; Volume Three: an Ill-Conditioned Cad: Mr Moylan of the Times. By Terence R. Blackburn. pp. x, 71; xvi, 109; viii, 75. New Delhi, APH Publishing Corporation, 2002.

Actors on The Burmese Stage: A Trilogy of the Anglo-Burmese; Wars Volume One: The British Lion and The Burmese Tiger: Campbell and Maha Bandula; Volume Two: A Sadistic Scholar: Captain Latter's War; Volume Three: an Ill-Conditioned Cad: Mr Moylan of the Times. By Terence R. Blackburn. pp. x, 71; xvi, 109; viii, 75. New Delhi, APH Publishing Corporation, 2002.

Book reviews

P. Hutton, G.M. Cooper and F.M. James III, eds Butterworth, 2002 I was delighted to be asked to review this book, particularly as one of the editors is the current President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. I set about my task with enthusiasm. However, two things became immediately apparent. The first was that the errata came before any written text. To quote the legendary Willie John McBride, captain of the British Lions in South Africa, ‘get your retaliation in first’. The second was that the first of the four sections was written almost completely by Professor Hutton which is unusual, considering that he is one of the main editors. Although the chapters in the first section are clearly set out and well written, they do not flow in a set pattern, for example, emergence from anaesthesia precedes the major chapters on peri-operative care. This may leave the reader slightly confused. Nevertheless, as befits the author, this section is full of good common sense allied to the appropriate science. Any tyro in anaesthesia would benefit enormously from spending time reading this section. The second section is devoted to integrated basic sciences which are the foundation of anaesthetic practice. Each chapter is written by colleagues well versed in their subjects, and it is mandatory reading for those preparing for examinations. However, it may well be advisable to read one chapter at fixed intervals otherwise the reader may become overwhelmed by, or even drown in, facts, figures and diagrams. Furthermore, clinical teachers may also benefit from these chapters as they form an excellent basis for tutorials and presentations. It was about this far into the book that the colour and lay out of tables and graphs began to impinge on the memory. The background colour of purple seems to throw the various messages towards the reader. However, the continued absence of American authors and the very limited, rather dated, references had also become apparent, which was somewhat disappointing. Nevertheless, armed with the knowledge gained in this section, vanity raised its ugly head and your reviewer felt he could tackle the Primary FRCA examination. Whether he would have passed, fortunately will never be tested! The third section regarding the presenting patient was therefore a logical progression. Once again, it is based on a solid scientific background and leads the reader into the best practice regarding patient care. It is highly recommended for both trainees and trainers. At the start of the fourth and final section, more than three-quarters of the way through this tome of some 1000 pages, I felt like an early settler in the western exploration of the USA, Red Indians all around and things looking grim. However, at the last minute come the bugle and the 7th Cavalry, alias most of the contributions from the USA. To my mind, this section is quite extraordinary. Some chapters are no more than two pages long and, I regret to say that, in my view, many would not have been accepted by most peer-reviewed journals. In fact, I have read better accounts of many of these subjects in recent journals relating to continuing professional development . Thus, after more than three months reading this latest textbook, I find myself in a quandary. The first three sections are of excellent quality and are of benefit to those who wish to establish their practice on the biblical rock. They are, therefore, recommended reading for those who aspire to the highest standards. However, the last section most certainly detracted from the excellent standard set in the first three sections. This weakness must be addressed in future editions. It comes as no surprise that I would not recommend the purchase of this textbook by individuals. However, both library and departmental copies would be most beneficial.

Britannia : Grandeur et infortune d’une allégorie nationale dans l’univers du cartoon britannique 1842-1999

Britannia, sometimes accompanied by the emblematic British Lion, has long been personifying justice, liberty, and the British Empire on coins and stamps as well as in graphic satire. Originally of Roman origin, she became the visual representation of Britain after being revived in the sixteenth century. This article is based on the analysis of over four hundred cartoons featuring this symbol. It argues that between 1860 and the 1950s, Britannia striking a solemn pose, that of the Graeco-Roman goddess created by Tenniel, exalted Victorian greatness and the early twentieth century great power twice victorious in the World Wars. On the other hand, since the inter-war years, Low and his followers had been challenging this supposedly immutable image. They turned her into a definitely helpless and obsolete symbol whose identity was sometimes usurped by such anti-heroes as Colonel Blimp. Finally, from the 1960s, in a context of continuous British decline and growing permissiveness, cartoonists increasingly followed the example of the old masters of 18th century caricature and early Punch cartoonists, even though aggressiveness and vulgarity have remained much less explicit.

The Robert Clark Account: Films released in Britain by Associated British Pictures, British Lion, MGM, and Warner Bros., 1946‐1957

(2000). The Robert Clark Account: Films released in Britain by Associated British Pictures, British Lion, MGM, and Warner Bros., 1946‐1957. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 469-511.

Individualised Fixed Load Inspiratory Muscle Training Responses in a Patient with Severe Restrictive Lung Disease and an Élite Sportsman: Case Report

We have suggested ( Chatham et al., 1999 Chatham K Baldwin J Griffiths H Summers L Enright S ‘Inspiratory muscle training improves shuttle run performance in healthy subjects’. Physiotherapy. 1999; 85: 676-683 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (32) Google Scholar ) that inspiratory muscle training (IMT) may be prescribed successfully to individuals with all grades of respiratory fitness if set at 80% of their individual sustained maximum inspiratory pressure (SMIP). Two subjects underwent eight weeks of IMT. One man was referred by his senior registrar and had restrictive lung disease secondary to severe kyphoscoliosis and poliomyositis. The second individual was Ian Gough, who is a Welsh Rugby international player, second row. He had been forced to withdraw from the Wales tour of Argentina due to a spiral fracture of the radius. He was aware of Rob Howley's use of the Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance (TIRE) IMT after dislocating his shoulder on the British Lions tour of South Africa in 1997. Rob has continued training with the device and Ian wanted to try to maintain his fitness while in a plaster cast.

The Problem of God in a Hypervisual Society: An Essay in American Aesthetics

Journal of American CultureVolume 20, Issue 3 p. 67-71 The Problem of God in a Hypervisual Society: An Essay in American Aesthetics William E. H. Meyer Jr, William E. H. Meyer Jr Beaumont, Texas.Search for more papers by this author William E. H. Meyer Jr, William E. H. Meyer Jr Beaumont, Texas.Search for more papers by this author First published: 10 June 2004 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-734X.1997.00067.xCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume20, Issue3Fall 1997Pages 67-71 RelatedInformation

The Paradoxes of Tender Conscience

The Paradoxes of Tender Conscience Steven N. Zwicker Toward the end of Dryden’s Hind and the Panther, in that elaborate and mysterious exchange of aviary fables that comprises much of part 3 of the poem, the Hind introduces the person of James II disguised as a “Plain good Man.” 1 For the Hind the allegory is transparent because in this age, “So few deserve the name of Plain and Good” (3.907). James has appeared briefly before in the poem, and rather more conventionally, roaring and shaking his mane as the British lion (1.289, 304). But in the longest portrait of the king, this protector of hapless Roman Catholics, proclaimer of Toleration, and patron of the recently converted laureate is displayed neither in the glory of military exploit, nor in the conventional imagery of Stuart panegyric, nor even in the language of piety and wisdom so prominent in the dissenters’ thankful addresses for the Toleration, but rather in the dress of a blunt and gullible farmer of domestic poultry. 2 Even allowing for the fabular character of the poem as a whole and for the idiom of the Panther’s particular fable which the Hind is about to engage and contest, the decision to cast James II as the barnyard landlord is puzzling. More than one of Dryden’s contemporaries remarked the embarrassing oddity of the portrait, contrasting the slack and effeminate character of this panegyric with the strength of the laureate’s earlier praise of Oliver Cromwell. 3 Perhaps in a poem that turns on mysteries, we ought not to be wholly surprised by the turn of this portrait, but it remains a rather large puzzle deposited near the poem’s oracular conclusion. To cite Burnet’s remark that James was noted neither for wit nor fancy, does not, I think, solve the rhetorical mystery of the portrait; nor does it explain the portrait’s function to suggest, on the evidence of the poem, that Dryden needed to keep the portrait simple and restrained. 4 The laureate had not, up to this point, been known for either the realism or the restraint of his Stuart panegyrics, and the spring of 1687 seems an odd moment for Dryden to begin experimenting with paradoxical encomia: strength of mind figured as gullibility, imperial sovereignty as barnyard sway. But the puzzles and paradoxes of The Hind and the Panther hardly begin in part 3. They are present where we have learned most immediately to expect this poet to begin unfolding the characteristic [End Page 851] modes of his work: the prefatory address to the reader. Here we discover that Dryden composed the poem “during the last Winter and the beginning of this Spring” (468, ll. 58), and that two weeks before it was finished, and in a disconcerting surprise to the poet, James issued his Declaration of Indulgence. Dryden distances the Declaration from his poem, claiming that if he had “so soon” expected the Declaration, he would have spared himself “the labour of writing many things which are contain’d in the third part of it” (468, ll. 61–62). But neither Dryden’s first readers, a number of whom shrewdly and maliciously combed over Dryden’s text looking for just such problems, nor more recent and more sympathetic students have been able to identify what about part 3 was rendered superfluous by the Declaration. 5 As we might expect, the puzzles that Dryden flagged in the Preface are only the beginning. The Declaration was a surprise, so this idealist tells us, because he had clung that spring to “some hope, that the Church of England might have been perswaded to have taken off the Penal Lawes and the Test, which was one Design of the Poem when I propos’d to my self the writing of it” (468, ll. 63–65). Setting aside the poet’s “surprise” in April of 1687 (and how many other well-placed apologists of the court could have been surprised by the London Declaration of 4 April?), we might wonder exactly what in the poet’s exhaustive and abusive handling of the origins, character, and conscience of the Anglican confession, or the motives and tactics...

"Tricky Dick": Struwwelpeter and American Politics

“Tricky Dick”: Struwwelpeter and American Politics1 Gerhard Weiss (bio) When in 1845 the newly founded “Literarische Anstalt” in Frankfurt, Germany, printed a little book entitled Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön colorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3 bis 6 Jahren, neither the author, who hid behind the pseudonym Reimerich Kinderlieb, nor the publishers, Messers, Rütten and Loening, suspected that they had made history. For the publishers, it was a children’s book like many others, intended for local consumption. Its author, the Frankfurt physician Heinrich Hoffmann, was a complete dilettante as a writer and illustrator, whose sole ambition had been to create an entertaining and wholesome book to give his little son Carl for Christmas. Nobody expected that these Lustige Geschichten, known as Der Struwwelpeter since their 3rd edition in 1847, would go through countless more editions and become a text that rivals in popularity with the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Even for those who may never have read a line of the book, the image of “Struwwelpeter,” the messy fellow with his unkempt hair and uncut fingernails, has become an icon of popular culture, competing with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Today, his image can be found on orange wrappers, coffee mugs, paper napkins, and sundry other paraphernalia. The publication of Der Struwwelpeter was a spark that lit fires all over the world. Almost immediately the book was translated into English and other languages. A number of these translations actually were printed by the “Literarische Anstalt” in Frankfurt and became an important export item for the city. The Struwwelpeter franchise turned out to be excellent business. In the early 1880s, the Frankfurt English Struwwelpeter “based on the 125th edition of the celebrated German work,” reached its 29th edition. As an extra selling point abroad, the color lithographs of the export editions were prepared with particular care. 2 [End Page 217] What is of special interest to us today is not so much the commercial success of Der Struwwelpeter, but the miracle that this little book, with its simple verse and its rather dilettante illustrations, almost immediately turned into a worldwide hit, leading not only to a multitude of translations, but also to innumerable adaptations, parodies, and imitations. This is particularly surprising, since German children’s books traditionally have had a difficult time being accepted—as has German literature in general—beyond the German language borders. German literature simply does not translate well. Yet, Der Struwwelpeter obviously struck a responsive cord abroad, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. Outside of Grimm’s Märchen, it has become the only German children’s book of world renown. It also has taken on a life of its own, as a spoof work for adults. There even exists a Großer Struwwelpeter (written by Richard Schmidt-Cabanis and published in 1877), which was dedicated to “children from 17 to 77.” The many parodies and adaptations that have evolved outside the German speaking countries are a matter of particular fascination. After all, to be effective, these works presuppose a close acquaintance with the prototype to which they allude. Since some of these versions have appeared in substantial editions, one can conclude that the publishers could count on a reading public well acquainted with the original. These adaptations—many of which are quite sophisticated—predominantly address an adult audience. Almost all have a strong political slant. In Great Britain, where the earliest translation of Heinrich Hoffmann’s work became available in 1848, a whole series of parodies and adaptations reached the market around the turn of the century. As far as can be ascertained, the earliest has been Edward Harold Begbie’s The Political Struwwelpeter, published in London in 1899. It uses the Struwwelpeter theme to satirize the British political scene of the day; its messy fellow is the “neglected” British Lion, with unkempt mane and uncut claws: See the British Lion pose Wildly groping for his foes! Men who tinker up the laws Never manicure his claws: And you will observe with pain No one ever crimps his mane; Seeing that he’s so neglected Do you wonder he’s dejected? 3 Another work by the...

‘But will it satisfy Mrs Prosser from Pontlottyn?’

In April 1987, in a back-street bar in Cardiff, the rebel regime at Radio Wales were plotting a coup. Their secret weapon was a daily magazine programme of music and current affairs called Streetlife. The would-be front-men, Ray Gravell (British Lions centre) and Frank Hennessy (Cardiff-Irish folk singer) had just persuaded the Editor that it needed an ‘agony uncle'… when I walked in.

Looking for Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the British Lions

IN NOVEMBER 1803 A TWENTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD IRISHMAN LANDED in Norfolk, Virginia. The town struck him as really a most comical place, where nothing dogs and negroes were to be seen in streets. Thomas Moore had launched his voyage to wilds of America from salons of London, in which he had been welcomed as translator of Odes ofAnacreon and a memorable entertainer at evening parties. He sang his own songs at pianoforte in an inexpressibly sweet voice, making men weep and women faint. In his first exposure to American culture, Anacreon Moore was cheered to find one friendly drawing room, complete with harpsichord. This looked like civilisation, but, as he declared to his mother, music here is like whistling to a wilderness. 1 Six months later Moore followed Virginia's break-neck roads to Washington, passing the Potomac, Rappahannock, Occoquan, . . . and many other rivers, with names as barbarous as inhabitants. He wrote home that every step I take not only reconciles, but endears to me, not only excellencies but even errors of Old England. After accepting hospitality of expatriate Tories and Virginia Federalists, he arrived in capital well educated in errors of Jeffersonianism. Further instruction came from

The nature of the Rothschild loan: International capital and South African railway diplomacy, politics, and construction 1891–1892

Abstract “Mr, Harry Currey tells me privately that Rothschilds have been in communication with Mr. Rhodes regarding the (railway) loan (to the Transvaal) … and Rhodes said he favoured it.” 1 Given the anti-Boer ambitions of Cecil Rhodes, Prime Minister of Great Britain's Cape Colony, this was odd. Throughout the late 1880s and 1890s, imperialist Rhodes, drawing here, envisioning there, used private and public resources to sketch an encircled Transvaal — the Republican ox beleaguered by the British lion was his would-be imperial masterpiece. On the eve of the Rothschild Loan, floated primarily to connect the Transvaal's goldfields with a non-British port, the two Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal were almost completely enclosed by British territory. Only directly east did the Transvaal share a border with a non-British dominion and port, Portuguese Mozambique and Lorenco Marques. Paul Kruger, the Transvaal President, tried to negotiate a customs and railway agreement or purchase of ...

Churchill and De Gaulle

From the very beginning to the very end of World War I, Churchill was constant in his support of France. As First Lord of the Admiralty, he was among the first ‘interventionists’ – those who believed that both selfinterest and honour obliged London to back France and Belgium. Once hostilities were declared, he took personal charge of the air and landdefence of Dunkirk, and went several times to Paris to talk with members of the French government. After he left the government as a result of the Dardanelles debâcle, he disembarked at Boulogne to take part in the war of the trenches as a reserve officer. He fought there for six months, and French and British alike were struck by his courage, his determination, his energy, his luck . . . and his drinking capacity. He in turn would always be impressed by the gallantry and tenacity of the French soldier. But it was from the summer of 1917 onwards, when Churchill became armaments minister, that his closest links with France were forged. He went there many times to inspect the front, supervise joint arms production, and talk with leading civil and military figures. Two of them left an unforgettable impression on him: General Foch, the commander-in-chief of the Allied armies, and Clemenceau, the Tiger, whom he described as follows:As much as any single human being, miraculously magnified, can ever be a nation, he was France. Fancy paints nations in symbolic animals – the British Lion, the American Eagle, the Russian double-headed ditto, the Gallic Cock. But the Old Tiger, with his quaint stylish cap, his white moustache and burning eye, would make a truer mascot for France than any barnyard fowl. He was an apparition of the French Revolution at its sublime moment . . .2

Fugitive Slaves in Britain: The Odyssey of William and Ellen Craft

Early on a December morning in 1848, long before anyone else stirred, two slaves, a man and woman, made their bid for freedom from a plantation, just outside Macon, Georgia. She, almost white, was dressed as a slave master, he as her valet. In four days they were in Philadelphia; three weeks later they moved to the safer city of Boston where they remained until the passing of the infamous Fugitive Slave Bill in September 1850 forced them to flee to England. Nineteen years were spent under the “ mane of the British lion ” free from the “ claws of the American eagle.” Finally, after the Civil War they returned as farmers to their native Georgia. Their bold odyssey in 1848 brought them fame and renown. It was a story of love, determination and resilience, the virtues of frontier America, conquering all odds. No other escape, with the possible exception of Frederick Douglass' and Josiah Henson's, created such a stir in ante-bellum America as did the Crafts'.

The British Lion and the Secession Ass

The British Lion and the Secession Ass

English Politics Today. We Mean Freedom

The part assigned to me today is a humble one. It is not that of the specialist who diagnoses and prescribes for the disease, but that of the attendant who induces the patient to practise the regimen ordered, by persuading him that, repulsive as at first sight it appears, he will find it in reality not only forțifying, but positively agreeable; that it involves the surrender of no habits or activities which a sensible man ought to wish to retain; and that, if only he will pluck up the courage to give it a trial, bc will end by being astonished that he did not take to it before. I am only too conscious of my inability to utter convincingly the reassuring noises which such a rôle requires; but, in doing business with so experienced and wary an animal as the British lion, an approach which allays his initial alarms is undoubtedly expedient, and, not less undoubtedly, the kernel of his apprehensions is to be found in the region indicated by the title of my essay.

The British lion

The British lion