Review:An Appreciation of Sir John French/Christopher Roden
This review of the booklet "An Appreciation of Sir John French", by Arthur Conan Doyle was written by Christopher Roden and published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 10, may 2000).
This review presents An Appreciation of Sir John French mainly as a wartime propaganda text, arguing that Philip Weller's afterword is more valuable than Conan Doyle's original piece. It sees the booklet as most useful for specialists studying Conan Doyle's military writings and for collectors interested in rare reprints.
Review
- The Rupert Books Monograph Series
- An Appreciation of Sir John French
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Monograph #13. Cambridge: Rupert Books, 1999; 52pp.
- ISBN: 1-902791-03-7; £10.00 (Limited to 400 copies).
Reviewed by Christopher Roden
The latest booklet in the Rupert Books Monograph Series reprints 1916's An Appreciation of Sir John French, which first appeared in The Daily Chronicle on 20 December 1915.
The Appreciation was intended to mark French's retirement, but Philip Weller's extensive Afterword makes it clear that this was, in fact, ACD contributing to war-time propaganda: French had been demoted as a result of his poor leadership in France and Flanders.
In reality, Weller's Afterword, providing as it does background to the events of the early months of World War I, is far more interesting than ACD's Appreciation. He covers various aspects of French in some detail, and one has to conclude that French emerges with little credit. And, as in To Arms! and The Story of British Prisoners, Weller questions the value of ACD's contribution to military history. Few, I think, would disagree with him.
This text itself is likely to be of prime interest to those wishing to study ACD's military writings; but it is a rarity and, as such, will be welcomed by all those who collect ACD's work.
Christopher Roden
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
