The Hysteron Proteron Club, sometimes spelt "Husteron Proteron", was a dining club at Balliol College, Oxford, in the 1920s.

Name

The name refers to a

hysteron proteron The hysteron proteron (from the el, ὕστερον πρότερον, ''hýsteron próteron'', "later earlier") is a rhetorical device. It occurs when the first key word of the idea refers to something that happens temporally later than the second ...

, a rhetorical device and figure of speech in which a natural or rational order is reversed, as in phrase "then came the thunder and the lightning".

History

The main purpose of the Hysteron Proteron Club was to eat meals backwards, and there was at least one dinner per term, which began with coffee and liqueurs and ended with the soup course. However, the Club's activities went beyond this.

Neville Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect h ...

later remembered a meal which lasted for twelve hours, beginning at 9 am and going on until 9 pm, starting with coffee and followed by a naked swim at Parsons' Pleasure, usually a pre-breakfast activity.John Hely-Hutchinson, ''Carol Symphony: the life and times of Victor Hely-Hutchinson''
pp. 39-40
Another dinner was a so-called “circular feast”, at which the courses were, as usual, eaten backwards and each was eaten at a different place around Oxford, beginning and ending at rooms in St Michael's Street.

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

was a member and told his mother that once a term the club had a "backwards day". He reported that after finishing with porridge "we then returned backwards to Balliol... This morning started with

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in dinner jackets".Norman Sherry, ''The Life of Graham Greene Volume 1: 1904-1939'' (Penguin Books, 1990)
p. 120
/ref>

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

, who had been at another college from 1922 to 1924, similarly recalled in '' A Little Learning'' that members "put themselves to great discomfort by living a day in reverse". In 1954, Keith Hancock (1898–1988), a distinguished Australian historian, who was at Balliol in the 1920s, revealed that he had "hankered secretly for an invitation to join the Husteron Proteron Club". The club was revived in 1980 at Trinity, Oxford by a classicist and the full day backwards was properly done, beginning the day with cigars, brandy and port in black tie.

Allusions

In 1999, Peter Brooke, the son of a Club member, referred to the Club during a debate in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on the Greater London Authority Bill:Greater London Authority Bill
debate at publications.parliament.uk, accessed 2 August 2016 He mentioned the Club again in a debate on the Learning and Skills Bill in 2000, and again in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

in July 2002.Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill
at hansard.millbanksystems.com, accessed 2 August 2016

Notable members

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...

(1899–1960) * Victor Hely-Hutchinson (1901–1947) * Henry Brooke (1903–1984) *

(1904–1991)

Notes

{{reflist Balliol College, Oxford Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford

Name

History

Allusions

Notable members

See also

Notes