Anglo-Saxon Attitudes
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''Anglo-Saxon Attitudes'' is a satirical novel by
Angus Wilson Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson (11 August 191331 May 1991) was an English novelist and short story writer. He was one of England's first openly gay authors. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for '' The Middle Age of Mrs ...
, published in 1956. It was Wilson's most popular book, and many consider it his best work.


Plot summary

The novel deals with the significance of two connected events that happened on the same day, long before the opening of the novel. The first was the excavation of an ancient and valuable archaeological idol, a
phallic A phallus (: phalli or phalluses) is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history, a figure with an erect penis is described as ''ithyphallic''. Any object that symbo ...
figure unearthed from the tomb of an Anglo-Saxon bishop Eorpwald, known as the "Melpham excavation". Gerald has long been haunted by a drunken revelation by his friend Gilbert, who was involved with this excavation, that the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated to embarrass Gilbert's father. Gilbert told Gerald that he put the idol there. Gerald, while feeling that his friend was telling the truth, pushed the matter to the back of his mind and tried to forget about it. He now feels ashamed that he, a history professor, has never had the courage to try to resolve the matter one way or another. The second is that Gerald Middleton fell in love with Dollie, Gilbert's fiancée, and had an affair with her when his friend went off to fight in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. When Gilbert was killed at the front, Dollie refused to marry Gerald. He ended up marrying a Scandinavian woman named Inge but continued his affair with Dollie, who became an
alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...
. Gerald and Inge later separated. ''Anglo-Saxon Attitudes'' is full of side-plots and coincidences and contains a host of eccentric characters. Some of these characters are Gerald's family. Robin, his eldest son, is a womaniser who cannot decide whether to leave his wife or his mistress. Kay has an unhappy marriage and a deeply embittered view of her father, whom she appears to blame for everything that has gone wrong in her life, including her withered hand (which was actually caused by her mother). Gerald's estranged wife, Inge, is a grotesquely deluded woman who cannot bring herself to acknowledge her younger son John's homosexuality or her daughter's physical disability. Gerald feels responsible for Dollie's plight and for those of his children. He feels that the knowledge of his complicity over the Melpham affair has drained his morale and made him withdrawn and indecisive. The novel begins with him resolving to make good the 'bloody shameful waste' of his life, by investigating the Melpham affair and making peace with Dollie. He also attempts to develop better relationships with his grown-up children and with Inge. By the novel's end, Gerald achieves a measure of peace with his past. He persuades Dollie to come forward with a letter from Gilbert's father's colleague, Canon Portway, proving that the Melpham incident was a hoax; then he and Dollie begin a platonic friendship. He gives up on achieving good relations with his family.


Sources of inspiration

The theme of the novel was suggested to Wilson by archaeological disputes, notably the Piltdown Man hoax (1908–1912) and an accusation that the
Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles ( ) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7 ...
had been mishandled by the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, later substantiated. The book alludes to the
Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Archaeology, Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when an undisturbed ship burial containing a wea ...
ship-burial discovery of 1939, in a country-house setting near
Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and around north-east of London. In 2011 it had a populat ...
. The Melpham discovery is similarly set among the 'East Folk' on the east coast of England. Eorpwald (also the name of the Melpham bishop) is in reality the unique Anglo-Saxon name of the successor of Raedwald, who was popularly thought to have been buried in the famous ship. That discovery, essentially a pagan style of burial in which Christian artefacts were included, raised many disputes among academics (as Angus Wilson knew).


Television adaptation

The novel was made into a three-part television mini-series in 1992 by the
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
subsidiary
Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston ...
. The screenplay was written by Andrew Davies and featured Richard Johnson in the role of Gerald Middleton. Tara Fitzgerald played a major supporting role as the young Dollie and there were appearances by a 16-year-old
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...
, and by
Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...
as Gilbert. The film won the
BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...
for Best Drama Serial; Davies and Johnson also won awards from the
Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...
and the Broadcasting Press Guild respectively. The series is available on DVD in both the UK and USA.


The phrase "Anglo-Saxon attitudes"

"Anglo-Saxon attitudes" is a phrase originated by
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
in ''
Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
'' (1871): :"All this was lost on Alice, who was still looking intently along the road, shading her eyes with one hand. 'I see somebody now!' she exclaimed at last. 'But he's coming very slowly—and what curious attitudes he goes into!' :(For the Messenger kept skipping up and down, and wriggling like an eel, as he came along, with his great hands spread out like fans on each side.) :'Not at all,' said the King. 'He's an Anglo-Saxon Messenger—and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes. He only does them when he's happy.'" Wilson uses part of this quotation at the front of his novel. Lewis Carroll is referring to a ninth- to eleventh-century style in English drawing, in which the figures are shown in swaying positions with the palms held out in exaggerated positions.See, for instance, the Utrecht Psalter, the Easter Tables (British Library MS Caligula.A.XV) or the Psychomachia of
Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He probably died in the Iberian Peninsula some ...
(British Library MS Add. 24199). (D. Talbot Rice, ''English Art 871-1100'', Clarendon Press, Oxford 1952)).


Other works

''Anglo-Saxon Attitudes'' has also been used as the title of several subsequent literary works. John Maddocks' review of Carleton S. Coon's ''The Origin of Races'' for the first issue of ''
New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
'' in February 1963, was headed "Anglo-Saxon Attitudes". ''
History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...
'' titled its report of the opening of a new museum at
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
in Kent, on the site of
St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury's death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a mon ...
, "Anglo-Saxon Attitudes". ''Anglo-Saxon Attitudes'' was also the name of an historical conference "in pursuit of the English" to define the evolution of the English "cultural self-image" held at the
University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...
on 9–11 July 1999.


Footnotes


External links

* {{IMDb title, qid=Q26183508, title=Anglo-Saxon Attitudes 1992 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series 1990s British television miniseries Television shows based on British novels Novels by Angus Wilson 1956 British novels Television shows written by Andrew Davies British novels adapted into films Secker & Warburg books ITV television dramas Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows Television series by Euston Films Elgin Marbles Archaeology in popular culture