The Mint (book)
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''The Mint'' is a book written by
T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
and published posthumously in 1955. It describes his time in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, working, despite having held senior rank in the army (colonel), as an ordinary
aircraftman Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". Aircraftman ranks below leading ...
, under an assumed name, 352087 Ross. The book is notable, despite flaws noted by critics, for its sharp observation, for the insight it gives into Lawrence himself, and for the
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
issues around its publication. The novelist
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
corresponded with Lawrence, in 1929 writing two detailed letters to him criticising ''The Mint'', which he liked, and advising on how it might be improved.


''The Mint''

''The Mint'' concerns the period following the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
when Lawrence decided to disappear from public view. He enlisted in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
under an assumed name, becoming 352087
Aircraftman Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". Aircraftman ranks below leading ...
Ross. The book is a closely observed autobiographical account of his experiences in the RAF. The book covers his initial training at
RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...
in 1922 and a part of his service at
RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...
, 1925–26. The book is divided into three parts: * Part I: 'The Raw Material', with 29 chapters (many are 2 or 3 pages); * Part II: 'In the Mill', with 22 chapters; * Part III: 'Service', with 18 chapters. The book's title likens the RAF training to a coin factory, with the men as 'The Raw Material' (part I) and life in the training camp as being 'In the Mill' (part II) that stamps the coins out of the blank metal. Lawrence appears to have wanted to have his past life and fame obliterated, when he wrote to
Edward Garnett Edward William Garnett (5 January 1868 – 19 February 1937) was an English writer, critic and literary editor, who was instrumental in the publication of D. H. Lawrence's ''Sons and Lovers''. Early life and family Edward Garnett was born i ...
:T. E. Lawrence. ''The Mint''. 1955. Letter to Edward Garnett quoted in ''Note by A.W. Lawrence''. page 8.


Self-censorship

Lawrence stated that the book should not be published until after his death; in the prefatory note by his brother,
A. W. Lawrence Arnold Walter Lawrence (2 May 1900 – 31 March 1991) was a British authority on classical sculpture and architecture. He was Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s in Accra he ...
, who edited the text for publication, a letter from T. E. Lawrence to
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
is summarized "he felt unable to publish the book because of 'the horror the fellows with me in the force would feel at my giving them away... so ''The Mint'' shall not be circulated before 1950".Note by A. W. Lawrence (his brother), The Mint, pages 7-10. Lawrence's brother took the further precaution of substituting "new names" in the expurgated edition for characters in A/c Ross's squad "in all passages which might have caused embarrassment or distress". However, A. W. Lawrence notes that his brother had :"intended, in fact, to print a limited edition himself on a hand-press, and had already obtained enough copies for its frontispiece of a reproduction .. of a portrait drawing by
Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...
, now in the
Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
." Lawrence himself wrote "I shall bequeath you my notes on life in the recruits camp of the R.A.F. hich became ''The Mint''They will disappoint you." In fact a
limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
of no more than 50 copies was published to protect United States copyright in 1936 by Doubleday, Doran and Company in
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
, probably around November, under Lawrence's pseudonym. Only 10 of these were (nominally) for general sale and priced at a prohibitive US$500,000 each.


Censorship

When ''The Mint'' finally achieved general publication in 1955 there were two editions, the expurgated edition and a limited edition containing the full uncensored text. The delay in publication and sensitivity surrounding the full text mainly concerned its barrack-room language (i.e., many "
four-letter words The phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English-language words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or slang terms for excretory functions, sexual activity and genitalia, blasphemies, terms re ...
") and frank references to bodily functions, which some people might still find offensive. However, social
mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...
have changed since the 1950s with the result that the original text is now widely available. For example, Chapter 19: 'SHIT-CART' was published under the clipped and apparently obscure title '    -CART' (see illustration). However any doubt as to the missing word is soon resolved as the chapter begins: :"At eight in the morning four of us stood about the Transport Yard feeling out of sorts with life. Just our luck to have clicked '
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
cart on a Monday, the double-load day."The Mint, page 64
Unexpurgated Text
A few lines later, '352087 A/c Ross' treats his readers to an even rougher word in common RAF usage: :"
Hillingdon House Hillingdon House is a Grade II listed mansion in Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that inclu ...
looked forlorn, because of its black windows, behind whose wideness the clerks lounged with their first cups of tea. 'Jammy unts' sneered Sailor enviously."


Reception

The novelist
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
corresponded with Lawrence, and in 1929 Forster wrote two detailed letters, as a sharply literary friend, criticising ''The Mint''. There were many features that Forster liked, including the word picture of the drill sergeant "Stiffy" and the energy and style of parts I and II. Forster was not happy with the conclusion to the book which he felt to be insipid and trying too hard to be fair. But he much liked chapters 9 and 10 of part III, on the day of Queen Alexandra's funeral, and "Dance Night", when a soldier has his first sexual encounter. Reviewing Forster's letters, Jeffrey Meyers writes that "Forster rightly judged ''The Mint'' unequal to ''Seven Pillars''". The critic
Irving Howe Irving Howe (; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American literary and social critic and a prominent figure of the Democratic Socialists of America. Early years Howe was born as Irving Horenstein in The Bronx, New York. He was the son o ...
described Lawrence's ''The Mint'' in ''
The Hudson Review ''The Hudson Review'' is a quarterly journal of literature and the arts. History It was founded in 1947 in New York, by William Arrowsmith, Joseph Deericks Bennett, and George Frederick Morgan. The first issue was introduced in the spring of 1 ...
'' as a "severely chiselled picture of barrack life:
Joycean A text is deemed Joycean when it is reminiscent of the writings of James Joyce, particularly '' Ulysses'' or ''Finnegans Wake''. Joycean fiction exhibits a high degree of verbal play, usually within the framework of stream of consciousness. Works ...
in style, sometimes brilliant in evocation, structured as a series of set-pieces, showing a decided advance in control over ''The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' but too markedly an exercise, a self-conscious effort to ''write''."
Jeremy Wilson Jeremy Michael Wilson (1944 – 2 April 2017) was a British historian, biographer, writer, editor, and fine-press publisher. He was also a business copywriter and editor working for major corporations. Biography Wilson was born in Cambridge. ...
writes that "''The Mint'', written in a very different style to ''
Seven Pillars Seven pillars may refer to: * Seven Pillars for Prosperity, policy statement of the Progressive Canadian Party * Seven Pillars Institute for Global Finance and Ethics (SPI) in Lawrence, Kansas *Seven pillars of Ismailism in Shia Islam and in Nizari ...
'', is, like
Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...
's ''
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' (russian: links=no, italics=yes, Один день Ивана Денисовича, Odin den' Ivana Denisovicha, ) is a short novel by the Russian writer and Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first p ...
'', a work of observation written by a highly intelligent man who found himself effectively imprisoned. Lawrence distilled its spare descriptions from events that he had witnessed over and over again. Both ''Seven Pillars'' and ''The Mint'' were for many years ranked among Penguin's Modern Classics." Thomas J. O'Donnell studies and compares ''The Mint'' and ''Seven Pillars'' for clues to Lawrence's personality, writing that "in ''The Mint'' Lawrence in fact does assert his will to mastery, asserts himself against authority, and leads from the ranks", using his writing to "keep him known, embody his complexities, and perpetuate his dramatization of self".


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
The full, unexpurgated text of ''The Mint''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mint, The 1955 non-fiction books Books published posthumously British non-fiction books Jonathan Cape books Military autobiographies Royal Air Force mass media T. E. Lawrence