A DIARY OF THE GREAT WARR (E BOOKS FOR ANTIQUARIANS)

A Diary of the Great Warr (Robert Massie) Available on the Internet Archive

 

Greetings fellow shut-ins!  As we round into a full year under COVID limitations, I find myself rediscovering and re-reading some of my favorite books, particularly those that can provide some light diversion.  A perfect example, and one with interest to those who dabble in military history, is the Diary of the Great Warr (pictured above)--publicly available online at the above URL.  The conceit of the book is ingenious: it is written in the persona of a descendant of the 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys--and the writing is also in the same 17th Century style, which is quite an achievement. Our narrator is a 50-something fellow of the upper middle class, late of Her Majesty's Naval Office, who documents the day to day life in the United Kingdom during the Great War.  

Actually written during the war years (the first was published in 1917), eventually, there would be three volumes. I stumbled across them I forgot where, but I am fortunate to have acquired them all.  As you can see in the above illustration, these originally came with dust jacket, of which I only have one (for the second diary).  You can tell something of a book by its cover, and I think the dust jacket captures the tone and approach of the books very well.  As usual, you may clix pix to get BIG PIX in this post (and hopefully to expand the passages for ease of reading). By assuming the persona of a somewhat self important--but earnest--fellow of a certain age on the home front during the Great War, the author is able to good-naturedly poke fun at the attitudes and events of the day, as well as to provide a light diversion in dark times.  In this post, I only drew upon bits from the first diary, but they are all equally rich.

     CAPTURING A SPY AND THE DOGS OF SCARBOROUGH

As any patriotic Briton, our narrator is on the lookout for saboteurs and infiltrators, and quite willing to do his part to thwart them (sometimes with unforseen consequences)...  

...and he carefully evaluates the many rumors of the day.  Here's an example of a popular rumor dealt with in the book, one of many (this one from the bombardment of Scarborough):

DOMESTIC BLISS

We are treated to various and sundry trials and tribulations of his married life...

...of particular fun are the sticky situations that arise from his dalliance with the hilariously named Polish "Countess Xczwpqmyssl" (as he calls her), none more entertaining than when he is out with her in a hat shop and runs into his wife...

LETTERS TO THE PAPERS AND SUPPORT FOR THE WAR EFFORT 

Our narrator is not shy about forwarding ideas to help the war effort, such as the family recipe for the making of toe plasters...but it seems that his efforts go strangely unappreciated...

 

HARPOONS, GIANT LOBSTER POTS, AND ELECTRIC LIGHTS

Our narrator regularly encounters a cast of characters at his club, Gen (retired) Pirpleton, Admiral (retired) Topper, and old running mate Squillinger, among others, all of whom are eager to share opinions and ideas for winning the war.  Although the proposed bomb-proof "umbrelloes" to ward off zeppelin raids deserve honorable mention, among the most brilliant are the several and sundry "cunnning, feasabile" proposals for dealing with the German submarine menace...

REAL EVENTS AND THE REALITY OF WAR

It is easy to forget that this book was written by someone living in a combatant country while events were unfolding and not after the fact from histories and other references. As such, the reader sees key events reflected in the text as told from the contemporary perspective, and I would add done with rather remarkable accuracy.  The accounts deftly walk the line between conveying the soberness warranted given the events and audience while still delivering a redeeming light touch...

The Naval Battle of the Falklands

The Battle of the Marne

The Failure of the Neuve Chappelle Offensive

The Dardanelles Naval Campaign (Anticipating the Gallipoli Landings)

...

The Human Cost Brought Home

 Highly Recommended

These are just a few snippets. There is so much more to be found in these books. I am thoroughly enjoying my second read-through (as if you couldn't guess). Not only are they highly amusing and distracting, but they are a remarkable literary performance--not only is the content diverting, but the deft handling of the distinctive linguistic register provides a level of amusement all its own (then again, perhaps I am just easily amused, being something of a "fond, silly, fellowe").  Highly recommended, certainly worth checking out given that it is an open resource text available online. For another diversion, I would also highly recommend the audio version of the actual Diary of Samuel Pepys: read by Kenneth Branaugh: his reading is a revelation and really brings the text to life, particularly good to listen to if you're painting pike and shot.

Excelsior!