''The Brother of Daphne'' is a 1914 collection of comic short stories by the English author

Dornford Yates Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the ''Berry'' books), some Thriller (genre), thrillers (the ''Chandos ...

(Cecil William Mercer), the first book published under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

he had been using for magazine pieces since 1910. This was also the first book to feature the group of characters that featured in many of his future works: Bertram ('Berry') Pleydell, his wife and cousin Daphne Pleydell, Daphne's brother Boy Pleydell, another cousin Jonathan ('Jonah') Mansel, and Jonah's younger sister Jill Mansel. The group of five - Berry, Daphne, Boy, Jonah and Jill - later came to be known collectively as 'Berry and Co'. The short stories in the collection were originally published in ''

The Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

'', their publication in book form having been suggested to Mercer by the ''Windsors editor Arthur Hutchinson.

Fifteen short stories recounting the comic adventures of Boy, Daphne, Berry, Jonah and Jill, set in

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, and

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. They are narrated in the first person by Boy.

Background

Mercer was living in London and working as a barrister at the time these stories were written. He had sold short stories previously to ''Punch'' (1910), ''The Harmsworth Red magazine'' (1910) and ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribut ...

'' (1910 and 1912) before developing a working relationship with ''The Windsor Magazine'' that continued (with breaks during the war years and between 1929 and 1935) until the magazine's final issue in 1939. The Berry family characters first appear in "The Babes in the Wood" in ''Pearson's'' in September 1910, in a story that has never appeared in book form.

Chapters

Illustrations

The first edition of the book, published in 1914, included plates of the illustrations by George Cecil Wilmshurst (1873-1930), originally included in ''The'' ''Windsor'' ''Magazine'' serialisations, for the stories included as chapters 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. The illustration from Chapter 15 "All Found" was also used on the dustjacket of the first edition. Wilmshurst's illustrations for chapters 5 and 7, and the illustrations by the three artists from the 1911 serialisations, were not included in the book. The book was reprinted in 1920, and that and subsequent editions did not include any illustrations.

Dedication

* "To Her. Who smiles for me, though I essay no jest, Whose eyes are glad at my coming, though I bring her no gift, Who suffers me readily, though I do her no honour, My Mother."

Critical reception

The book was reviewed favourably by ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' in August 1914. The reviewer called the stories "agreeable nonsense", in which the narrator "apparently could not go out for the simplest walk without meeting some amiable young woman, divinely fair and supernaturally witty, with whom he presently exchanged airy badinage".

Dramatisation

An episode of the ITV '' Hannay'' series, "A Point of Honour", was based on the eponymous story published as Chapter IX of ''The Brother of Daphne'', but the source was uncredited.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brother of Daphne, The 1914 short story collections Ward, Lock & Co. books Short story collections by Dornford Yates

Contents