Victor Canning - Mr Finchley Discovers His England

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Very enjoyable

I enjoyed Mr Finchley Discovers His England. Originally published in 1934, it’s a celebration of an ideal of rural England and of a staid, dull Londoner who discovers the joys of adventure and the outdoors, and of his own resilience.

The story consists of a series of mildly improbable vignettes as Mr. Finchley, a single solicitors’ clerk, takes his first holiday in over 20 years. Events conspire to take Mr Finchley not to Margate as planned but on a curious adventure through the South West of England in which he meets gypsies, tramps and thieves (quite literally), eccentric aristocrats, smugglers and so on. He ends up in a life on the road, with loving descriptions of English countryside and features as well as some adventures in which he adopts all kinds of unfamiliar roles. There is almost a feel of Bilbo Baggins about Mr F as he is taken well out of what would now be called his comfort zone and discovers some of his own qualities. The sense of the book is probably summed up in the heading for Chapter IX: “How Mr Finchley is nearly throttled and finds happiness in a view.”

The prose is enjoyable and very readable and the whole book is a warm, escapist treat. Recommended.