The British Barbarians

The book was first offered to Chattos in 1889, and rejected with a friendly warning that it could destroy Allens career. However, following the success of "The Woman Who Did," (John Lane, 1895) Lane snapped up "The British Barbarians" for his Keynotes series. The hero of the book, Bertram Ingledew, turns up in a Surrey village, where he proceeds to reveal the taboos and absurdities of late 19th century life, as if the people he finds are members of a savage tribe, and applying the same techniques as an anthropologist. The class system, property ownership, marriage and the status of women all come under scrutiny. The narrative is driven by the mystery surrounding Ingledews origins, and the source of his opinions. Frida Monteith, the wife of an unimaginative and boorish businessman, falls for him and runs away with him. Ingledew is shot by the jealous husband, and promptly evaporates, leaving behind only a pleasant smell and the revelation of his identity as a 25th century anthropology student. The novel closes with Frida contemplating drowning herself and her children in order to join him. The novel is preceded by a whining essay on the state of literature, and how authors are prevented from saying what they truly want to by publishers and editors, and the distressingly lowbrow tastes of the mass readership. Buoyed up by the success of "The Woman Who Did" Allen intended to write a series of "Hill Top" novels, distinguished by the authors refusal to pander to the marketplace and such lesser considerations. This was the only "Hill Top" novel to appear.


Genre: Literary Fiction