Bapton Books Aphorisms: On children's literature

8/2/2019 Bapton Books Aphorisms: On children's literature

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Bapton Books Aphorisms

Childrens Literature: What we believe

Markham Shaw Pyle

GMW Wemyss

Bapton Books


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References to:

The Bapton Books Sampler: a literary chrestomathyAmazon UKAmazon US

The Annotated Wind in the Willows,for for Adults and SensibleChildren (or, possibly, Children and Sensible Adults)

Amazon UKAmazon USPaperback on demand

The Complete MowliStories, !uly AnnotatedAmazon UK

Amazon USPaperback on demand

The Transatlantic !isputations: "ssays # $bser%ationsAmazon UKAmazon USPaperback on demand
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007029QGUhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B007029QGUhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Annotated-Sensible-Children-possibly-ebook/dp/B005DT9LZ8/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Sensible-Children-possibly-ebook/dp/B005DT9LZ8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4http://www.lulu.com/shop/kenneth-grahame-and-gmw-wemyss-editor-and-markham-shaw-pyle-editor/the-annotated-wind-in-the-willows-for-adults-and-sensible-children-or-possibly-for-children-and-sensible-adults/paperback/product-16262194.htmlhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Mowgli-Stories-Annotated-ebook/dp/B006H9NPEQ/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Mowgli-Stories-Annotated-ebook/dp/B006H9NPEQ/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4http://www.lulu.com/shop/gmw-wemyss-and-markham-shaw-pyle-and-rudyard-kipling/the-complete-mowgli-stories-duly-annotated/paperback/product-17510255.htmlhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Transatlantic-Disputations-Meditations-ebook/dp/B006WS3LVY/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335808239&sr=1-5http://www.amazon.com/The-Transatlantic-Disputations-Meditations-ebook/dp/B006WS3LVY/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335808248&sr=1-4http://www.lulu.com/shop/gmw-wemyss-and-markham-shaw-pyle/the-transatlantic-disputations-essays-and-meditations/paperback/product-18821915.htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B007029QGUhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Annotated-Sensible-Children-possibly-ebook/dp/B005DT9LZ8/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Sensible-Children-possibly-ebook/dp/B005DT9LZ8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4http://www.lulu.com/shop/kenneth-grahame-and-gmw-wemyss-editor-and-markham-shaw-pyle-editor/the-annotated-wind-in-the-willows-for-adults-and-sensible-children-or-possibly-for-children-and-sensible-adults/paperback/product-16262194.htmlhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Mowgli-Stories-Annotated-ebook/dp/B006H9NPEQ/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Mowgli-Stories-Annotated-ebook/dp/B006H9NPEQ/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4http://www.lulu.com/shop/gmw-wemyss-and-markham-shaw-pyle-and-rudyard-kipling/the-complete-mowgli-stories-duly-annotated/paperback/product-17510255.htmlhttp://www.lulu.com/shop/gmw-wemyss-and-markham-shaw-pyle/the-transatlantic-disputations-essays-and-meditations/paperback/product-18821915.htmlhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Transatlantic-Disputations-Meditations-ebook/dp/B006WS3LVY/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335808239&sr=1-5http://www.amazon.com/The-Transatlantic-Disputations-Meditations-ebook/dp/B006WS3LVY/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1335808248&sr=1-4https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007029QGU


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MSP, on childrens books:! " hold, with #$ S$ %ewis, thatoodchildrens books, which

are nat&rall' remembered and treas&red, are, simpl', (ood

books, ones that can profitabl' and pleas&rabl' be re)read b'

ad&lts$

*!+ We write off childrens literat&re 'et it is the hand

that t&rns the pa(e, far more than the hand that rocks the

cradle, which tr&l' r&les the world$ And we write off as bein(

childrens literat&re some of what o&r own fathers reco(nized

as the masterworks of man, from -sop to #onrad to .omer

to Robert %o&is Ste/enson to 0ean Swift$ We are in short

fools, so lon( as we are blind to the facts that literar'

snobber' is a treason to the mind and so&l, and that the

books the child reads toda' midwife the ad&lt of tomorrow$

*!+ " s&ppose the (eneral attit&de is, if it in/ol/es talkin(

b&nnies, hand it to the toddlin( crowd$ 1he fact that the

fables of -sop, the contes of Re'nard the 2o3, the stor' of

#hanticleer, for millennia ta&(ht ethics to princes and

prelates, kni(hts and emperors, is e/identl' immaterial to


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what we ma' la&(hin(l' call the modern mind$ When

pil(rims wendin( their wa' to #anterb&r' 4 or St 5ames

#ompostela 4 tell s&ch tales, the' tell them not to children

b&t to prioresses and millers and a certain 6n(lish b&rea&crat

named 7eoffre' #ha&cer$ 8&t we in o&r h&bris toss them

aside, as fit onl' for babes$

Well, as people far wiser than " ha/e noted 4 Madeleine

%6n(le, for one, and #S %ewis for another 4 tr&th and

wisdom not onl' come from the mo&ths of infants, in the

di/ine econom', b&t are also often whispered in their ears b'

ad&lts who themsel/es o/erlook the words the' read$

8' the time a 'o&n( man is a 'o&th, he sho&ld be makin(

the ac9&aintance of 6pictet&s, Socrates and Plato, Marc&s

A&reli&s, and Aristotle, s&rel' b&t he sho&ld be prepared, he

had best ha/e been prepared, to find in the Crito or the

Meditations or especiall' in the &icomach'an "thics concepts

lon( familiar fromThe ouse At ooh Corner, The *ind in the

*illows,andThe Tale of eter +abbit

*!+ 1he rior and osterior Analytics of Aristotle 1he

Socratic dialo(&es Witt(enstein All well eno&(h, in their

t&rn: b&t 4 Watson; 1he (ames afoot;


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1he a&thors, on Kiplin( and his world:! "f the Mother #o&ntr' e3erted onl' an ambi(&o&s claim

&pon Kiplin(s filial lo'alties: what sho&ld the' know of

6n(land who onl' 6n(land know 'e contented 'o&r

so&ls < With the flannelled fools at the wicket or the m&ddied

oafs at the (oals: it was in no small part beca&se 8omba' was

Mother of #ities to him, and in no small part beca&se it was

in "ndia that his own Mother remained whilst he s&ffered and

was ab&sed and be(an to lose his si(ht in 6n(lish care$

%ike #h&rchill, Kiplin( co&ld not bear to and simpl'

ref&sed to blame his parents for his childhood misfort&nes

and mistreatment: and the Mother was to him as the m&ch

less worth' %ad' Randolph was to 'o&n( Winston, the

6/enin( Star, lo/ed dearl' 4 b&t at a distance$ 2or #h&rchill,

the distance was emotional =on his mothers side, not b' an'

choice of his> for Kiplin(, literal and spatial$ Mrs %ockwood

Kiplin(, Alice Mac0onald as was, was appalled b' the

mistreatment her children had s&ffered as boarders with the

.ollowa's, and 1ook Steps the former 5enn' 5erome left


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Winston to the care of Mrs 6/erest, who was in most respects

#h&rchills tr&e mother in all b&t blood$

Alice =Mrs %ockwood> Kiplin( was, in an' case, a m&ch

better and more interestin( person than the d&ke of

Marlboro&(hs American)born da&(hter)in)law =and she, if

not /irt&o&s, was interestin( eno&(h in her own ri(ht>$ 1he

former Alice Mac0onald was one of fo&r celebrated sisters 4

as celebrated in their da' and in their fashion as those So&ls

the W'ndham Sisters or those hons and rebels the Mitford

(irls 4 who married men almost as celebrated ! and

commonl' bore more celebrated children 'et$ 7eor(ina

married the Pre)Raphaelite painter Sir 6dward 8&rne)5ones

A(nes married the president of the Ro'al Academ', Sir

6dward Po'nter %o&isa, the onl' one of them not to marr'

an artist, married a Warwickshire ironmaster and 1or' MP,

Alfred 8aldwin, whose son Stanle' became, disastro&sl',

Prime Minister and Alice, of co&rse, married %ockwood

Kiplin( and became R&d'ards mother, ac9&irin( also the

character e3pressed b' a ?icero', that d&llness and she co&ld

not e3ist in the same room$

"t is little wonder that the fi(&re of the Mother, the %ittle

Mother, so sat&rates Kiplin(s works$

@et the fi(&re of the Mother #o&ntr', incarnate perhaps in

the Widow of Windsor, also o/ershadows his works: and that

relationship is more e9&i/ocal$ 1he Mother #o&ntr' is, after

all, the Mother .i/e, foolishl' open, laz', 0ane(eld)pa'in(,


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the midden on which s&ch as Pa(ett MP crowed$ "t is fatall'

eas' to look back &pon Kiplin( as a racist or racialist, an

imperialist tout court, a in(o and a 3enophobe$ "t is also facile

and s&perficial so to do$ .e is immensel' ambi/alent abo&t

the Mother #o&ntr', be it 6n(land as s&ch or 8ritains 6mpire

or the a/atars thereof s&ch as the Seeonee Wolf Pack, the 2ree

People$ .and in hand with his distaste for or(anised reli(ion

4 in the rukh he is, like M&ller, at least half Pa(an 4 is his

wholehearted 2reemasonr'$ 6ast is 6ast and West is West and

ne/er the twain shall meet 4 and 'et there is neither "ast nor

*est, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, *hen two stron men stand

face to face, tho- they come from the ends of the earth1he %esser

8reeds Witho&t the %aw are not lawless beca&se the' are

lesser, b&t lesser beca&se the' are lawless$

*!+ Kiplin( str&((led all his life to capt&re what he

meant, b&t was hampered b' the terms of his da': race,

nation, creed, colo&r, caste =and the last is most nearl' what

he had in mind>$ Kiplin( 4 like the Wol/es and the .&ntin()

People and all the peoples of the 5&n(le 4 e3cept the

Monke')2olk who li/e in the trees *and+ ha/e no %aw 4 was

not, at bottom, a racist or a nationalist: he was a tribalist "t

was perhaps onl' in the Mow(li stories and in the two.unle

Books (enerall' that he was able to e3press himself clearl' in

that re(ard$ Sir 5ohn Kee(an has noted that the 8ritish

re(imental s'stem remains tribal more (enerall', men who

ha/e ser/ed &nder arms are of one tribe, at bottom for


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Kiplin(, it was, finall', ones craft that made ones tribe and

caste$ 1here is neither 6ast nor West, 8order, nor 8reed, nor

8irth, When two stron( men stand face to face, tho the'

come from the ends of the earth we be of one blood, tho&

and " once a priest, alwa's a priest once a Mason, alwa's a

Mason b&t once a o&rnalist, alwa's and for e/er a

o&rnalist: these were the ideals that dro/e him$ When the

8oer commander Piet 5o&bert died in the Second 8oer War,

Kiplin( commended him in /erse as an hono&rable enem'$

1he tribes which attracted Kiplin( were the soldiers and the

en(ineers and the Men Who !id 1hin(s$ Priests and MPs and

#it' men and capitalists (enerall', he despised: there was a

Radical inside Kiplin(, peepin( o&t$ A tribe is a brotherhood,

and brothers are spr&n( of the same mother, the Mother #raft

or the Mother %od(e$


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1he a&thors, on 7rahame, Ri/er 8ank, and hisworld:

! *7rahames+ The /olden Ae and !ream !ays arent m&ch

read toda', perhaps beca&se the children are rather

&ncomfortabl' poised between S'l/ie)and)8r&noism *%ewis

#arroll+ and 0an)and)Una realism *Kiplin(+$ @et their

&nremittin( str&((le a(ainst the ad&lts in their li/es 'et

resonates, and the' were as m&ch an infl&ence &pon 0an and

Una in uck of ook-s ill and +ewards and 0airies B Kiplin(

p&blished uck ele/en 'ears after The /olden Ae came o&t B

as the' are &pon 6$ Cesbits 8astables and 6nid 8l'tons

2amo&s 2i/e$ What has li/ed on is one stor' from !ream!ays: that of the Rel&ctant 0ra(on$ 1he poetic)minded

0ra(on =it will be immediatel' recalled that Ratt' is a poet>

fathered 7ordon 0icksons dra(ons, of co&rse he has a

certain 0&nsan' air he infl&enced 6&stace Scr&bb, one rather

s&spects and he is &n9&estionabl' an ancestor of

#hr'soph'la3 0i/es, in 1ollers 2armer 7iles of .am, if not

also of Sma&( himself$


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*!+ Kenneth 7rahames father had reacted to the death of

his wife, Kenneths mother, b' ha/in( a breakdown that

mer(ed seamlessl' into a lifelon( p&b)crawl$ Kenneth

7rahames son and onl' child, Alastair, to whom these stories

were first told, was born blind in one e'e, and, it appears,

mentall' &nstable as well$ .e co&ld not stick R&(b' School,

had a breakdown when sent instead to 6ton, and, shortl'

before t&rnin( twent' 'ears in a(e, whilst &p at the .o&se

=MSP, to o/erseas readers: .e means the bo' was an

&nder(rad&ate at #hrist #h&rch, D3ford>, killed himself b'

takin( a prone position with his neck on the rail of a railwa'

line and waitin(, apparentl' calml' or ea(erl', for a train to

decapitate him$ 1his had been foreshadowed, had his parents

not been wilf&ll' blind to it, b' his childhood habit of l'in(

down in the road before approachin( motorcars and forcin(

them to stop if the' werent to dri/e o/er him$ "n retrospect, it

is diffic&lt to read of 1oads misad/ent&res witho&t a certain

horror it is little wonder that 7rahame ne/er wrote another

book after, altho&(h he li/ed a 9&arter)cent&r' more after its

p&blication$

*!+ "n the chapter, 1he Wild Wood, *7rahame+ shows &s

Ratt' as .olmes$ And, in the latter episode, Mole as 0r

Watson$

*!+ *Mole 6nd is described th&sl': Mole reached down a

lantern from a nail on the wall and lit it, and the Rat, lookin(

ro&nd him, saw that the' were in a sort of fore)co&rt$ A


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(arden)seat stood on one side of the door, and on the other a

roller for the Mole, who was a tid' animal when at home,

co&ld not stand ha/in( his (ro&nd kicked &p b' other

animals into little r&ns that ended in earth)heaps$ Dn the

walls h&n( wire baskets with ferns in them, alternatin( with

brackets carr'in( plaster stat&ar' B 7aribaldi, and the infant

Sam&el, and E&een ?ictoria, and other heroes of modern

"tal'$+ 1Mole, who was a tidy animal when at home, could not

stand ha%in his round kicked up by other animals into little runs

that ended in earth2heaps-: An'one who has had to do with

moles m&st find this hilario&s$

1 other heroes of modern 3taly-: 1his is a trick' one

nowada's: 7aribaldi is of co&rse an "talian hero 'et that is

not what 7rahame meant$ Cote, pra', that this is plaster

stat&ar' and if 'o& are at all familiar with the .olmesian

canon, 'o& will recall 1he Ad/ent&re of the Si3 Capoleons,

and recall as 'o& do so that the man&fact&re of plaster

stat&ar' was at the time carried on in 6n(land lar(el' b'

"talians$

*!+ *Df the scene of 1oads trial:+ 1he local 5P, a local

worth' witho&t an' le(al back(ro&nd the 8ench of

Ma(istrates are ad/ised b' a trained man of law, the #lerk$$$$

1his is a classic specimen of the old, sa/a(e breed, to be

mentioned alon(side Sir 1hos "n(ell, 8t, MP, in Kiplin(s

immortal 1he ?illa(e 1hat ?oted the 6arth Was 2lat$ 1hat, it

m&st be added, is a stor' that m&stnt be missed: it has the


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romance of o&rnalism in it B as this edition (oes to press, the

news is of the scandal and death of The &ews of the *orld, 'et

it m&st be remembered that Kiplin( was a o&rnalist, and

#hesterton, and Drwell B and #h&rchill MSP adds 8en

2ranklin, %eon .ale, %'nn Ashb', ?ir(ini&s 0abne', 5ames 5

Kilpatrick, 0o&(las So&thall 2reeman, and the baseball writer

Ro(er Kahn: there is a romance to o&rnalism, and it has had

its tri&mphs and (lories B and Kiplin(s tale, which is one of

the f&nniest 'o& shall e/er read, has as a character the

theatrical =in both senses> impresario 8at Mas9&erier, that

ma(nificent man, whose literar' descendants t&rn &p in

0ame C(aio Marsh and Michael 7ilbert and all manner of

lo/el' places and works$

*!+ "t is depressin( in the e3treme that this chapter *1he

Piper at the 7ates of 0awn+ is often e3cised from the book

nowada's$ 2&ndamentalists B emphasis &pon mental B in

the American 0issentin(, #hapel tradition, are aller(ic to it

conscientio&s class warriors of the sort who p&t paid to

(rammar schools, wish to close 6ton and the lesser p&blic

schools, sho&ld like to torch D3ford and e/en 2enland Pol',

and wish to ban an'thin( elitist, censor it, and ha/e seen to

it that most people ha/e no idea who Pan is in an' case and

e/en ed&cated taste has become a trifle tired of #lassical

all&sion, as Richard 5enk'ns noted some time a(o$ 2leckers

da' is done: .e *8acch&s or Silen&s: the poem is ambi(&o&s+

spake in 7reek, which 8ritons speak < Seldom, and


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circ&mspectl' < 8&t Mr 5&dd, that man of m&d, < 1ranslated

it correctl': and perhaps that is ine/itable$ MSP notes that in

American literat&re, the closest parallel, in +abbit ill,

in/ol/es St 2rancis, which is perhaps better done for one

m&stnt i(nore the fact that Arcadia is itself red in tooth and

claw, the lamb is destined for the spit howe/er ?er(il frames

a (eor(ic or howe/er prettil' Po&ssin dra&(hts the scene, and

(olden (irls and bo's all m&st, like chimne' sweepers, come

to d&st$ "t eo in Arcadia @et it is intolerable that taste or

pre&dice sho&ld pre/ent the readin( of a chapter in which a

lost child B one more biddable b' all acco&nts than poor

Alastair 7rahame, and more fort&nate B is fo&nd safe and

ret&rned to his an3io&s father$ ! "t is diffic&lt not to wonder

if this chapter infl&enced 0&nsan', and the conception of

2aer' far from the fields we know 'et marchin( &pon the

/er' /er(es and borders and hed(erows of the fields we

know$ "t certainl' seems to ha/e had its infl&ence &pon

1olkiens landscapes of .am and Wootten Maor$ ! 1he

con/entional /iew of 7rahame is the /iew of 7rahame as

con/entional$ Dne of the =redbrick> academ's terms of

approbation, in these thin and pipin( times, is s&b/ersi/e:

the editors sho&ld like to know, with partic&lar reference to

Apollo, Pan, Mars'as, and Midas, &st how m&ch more

s&b/ersi/e an a&thor can be than 7rahame is here$

*!+ People B partic&larl' children, who are sa/a(es at

heart, little barbarians B like 1oad for the same reasons the'


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like 2lashman$ Mind, if one dealt with either in person on an'

sort of re(&lar basis, one sho&ld wrin( the be((ars neck$

63plicit %iber

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