Customer Reviews

Curing Hiccups with Small Fires: A Delightful Miscellany of Great British Eccentrics

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book in the airport on my way on holiday. I picked it up just as an easy read for the beach - I can honestly say this is one of the most interesting and funny books I have read in a long time! I literally was laughing out loud. I have now passed it to loads of my friends who have also loved it.

Books such as Karl Shaw's "Curing Hiccups with Small Fires" are by their very nature problematic. On the one hand there's the danger of repeating existing tales, even if they're false, while on the other there's the danger of being too trite and failing to research properly. In addition, the word "eccentric" usually means out of the ordinary while some of the incidents referring to are simply cases of bad manners and ill-breeding. Finally there's the problem of relevance. For example, Fred Archer killed himself at the age of 29 but no reference was made to the fact that he had suffered the loss of his first child and the death of his wife in quick succession and was suffering from delirium at the time of his suicide. It may have placed his death in its proper conext.

The lack of a rounded picture in one instance tends to leads to skepticism in others. Hence when Shaw reports the death of Helen Exeter as occuring in 1914 when in fact it was September 1918 further doubts are raised. Curiosity aroused, the trail then leads to the Rector of Skiffey, Harold Davidson, someone not unfamiliar to the reviewer but of whom Shaw appears to know little. According to Shaw, Davidson travelled to Paddington (which was part of the Great Western Railway) every Monday morning when in fact he travelled from Norfolk to Liverpool Street on the Great Eastern line. Shaw claims Davidson returned on a Friday night when in fact he travelled back on Saturday night. When Davidson missed the last train in November 1930 he missed the Armistice Day service the following day. In addition, notwithstanding what Shaw and Wikipedia claim, Davidson's wife was named Moyra (Mimi) not Molly. Davidson's grand-daughter has recently published a book about him which includes additional evidence which she claims proves his innocence.

It's a pity too that the piece on George Brown is inaccurate. The phrase "tired and emotional" was not coined by Private Eye, they merely popularised the comment which was coined by Brown's political agent. In addition, it would only have taken a couple of minutes of proper research to discover that George Brown never visited Peru during his time in office. Between 2-14 January 1966 the then Foreign Secretary, Michael Stewart, visited Peru, Chile and Argentina - the first visit by a British Foreign Minister. The Archbishop of Lima story was originally circulated about Stewart. Brown himself never visited Peru during his time in office. It was surprising Screaming Lord Such failed to be included, although he could be considered too well balanced, though this did not stop him commiting suicide. In addition, Shaw's piece on the Third Earl of Clarendon, including the alleged portrait in drag, is repetition of contemporary gossip. The facts he regurgitates have been challenged and undermined by modern scholarship.

Some of the shortest entries are incorrect. For example, Mike Bagley did not eat the referee's notebook, only the page on which his name was written. Fatty Foulke never ended his playing career on Blackpool beach. Although it's understandable why it's not mentioned, the fact that fast bowler John Jackson died in Liverpool's Brownlow Hill workhouse might have provided completeness to the entry. There's no reason to dispute the veracity of the piece about Dorothy Paget, in fact, as with a number of pieces, there's an incentive to conduct further research rather than just dwell on what's been written.

Regretably too many entries give the impression of favouring sensationalism above accuracy and it's not a book this reviewer would buy. Then again purchasers of Shaw's brief volume may consider this review too fastidious for their taste. It's been awarded four stars (a book with so many errors does not deserve five) primarily because for its ease of reading and internal organisation.

I was going through one of the 'Why Not' phases when you come across bargin books, although I was cautious considering the in depth review but 'Neutral' in 15/10/10. However 'Why Not' won out in this case. So bearing in mind there is a question of the accuracy of some of the entries it was still one of those books that you find yourself saying, 'err..I'll just read one more item then I must get on with...'. There are a few funny and a number of very interesting reads, however I was quite suprised how many of these characters just plain annoyed me by their antics. In this it was a reminder to me that eccentric is not always amusing, only at distance of time and place. (And also an example of the old adage along the lines of ' Rich and Influential are eccenrtic. Poor and lower classes are mad or criminals'