''England, Their England'' (1933) is an affectionately satirical

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literar ...

of 1920s English urban and rural society by the Scottish writer A. G. Macdonell. It is particularly famed for its portrayal of

village cricket Village cricket is a term, sometimes pejorative, given to the playing of cricket in rural villages in England and Wales. Many villages have their own teams that play at varying levels in local or regional club cricket leagues. When organised cric ...

Social satire

One of a genre at the time, the novel examines the changing nature of English society during the interwar period. The style and subject matter recall the works of

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 ...

and

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

, Macdonell's contemporaries, as well as earlier writers such as

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

. It is also known for its description of traditional village cricket. The novel is purported to be a

roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship be ...

. The novel won the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

for fiction in 1933. The title alludes to the refrain "England, My England" of the poem "Pro Rege Nostro" by

William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the o ...

Plot

Set in 1920s England, the book takes the form of a travel memoir by a young

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

who has been invalided away from the Western Front, "Donald Cameron", whose father's will forces him to reside in England. There he writes for a series of London newspapers, before being commissioned by a Welshman to write a book about the English from the view of a foreigner. Taking to the country and provincial cities, Donald spends his time doing research for a book on the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by consorting with journalists and minor poets, attending a country house weekend, serving as

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

to a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, attending the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

, and playing village cricket. The village cricket match is the most celebrated episode in the novel, and a reason cited for its enduring appeal. An important character is Mr Hodge, a caricature of Sir John Squire (poet and editor of the '' London Mercury''), while the cricket team described in the book's most famous chapter is a representation of Sir John's Cricket Club – the Invalids – which survives today. Jeremy Paul. Sing Willow. Book Guild Ltd, Lewes. (2002) ''The true history of the Invalids Cricket Club'' The book ends in the ancient city of Winchester, where Macdonell went to school.

References

*Margaret Drabble and Jenny Stringer
"England, Their England." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
(2003). Accessed May 23, 2009.

External links

* 1933 British novels Books about England British comedy novels Novels about cricket British political satire British satirical novels Scottish novels Macmillan Publishers books Novels set in the 1920s Cultural depictions of English people {{1930s-satirical-novel-stub