Page 87 - All About History - Issue 29-15

Reviews

ACROSS THE POND

An American Gentleman in Victorian London

Author R D Blumenfeld Publisher Amberley Price £8.99 Released Out n
hroughout history, diary entries have her the bird-cage-like contraption, who ‘tu
provided us with some of the most honest [him] furiously and said ‘Not mine!.’. He co
insights into our past, and Across The Pond “I shall know better next time.”
is no exception. What makes it all the more Equally amusing are his accounts of
T astute is the fact that it is written by an contemporary attitudes towards new tech
outsider unfamiliar with the cults and customs of The motor-car, which has already reached
the British, and what results is a clever, and quite speeds of 24 miles per hour, is “not to be h
simply hysterical, account of Victorian London. on a casual acquaintance,” and the propos
R D Blumenfeld was an American-born journalist Channel Tunnel will inevitably offer an ea
who kept a diary for many years. The entries in invasion route for the French. The rest mu
this book, which span the period between Queen to be believed.
Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and World War I, focus on
the time he spent in Britain at what was one of its
most turbulent and exciting times. The automobile
has just been invented, women are campaigning for
the vote, and a charismatic young politician named
Winston Churchill is beginning to make waves in
the House of Commons.
Blumenfeld’s entries are filled with amusing
anecdotes – many of which have likely grown
funnier with age. One of particular amusement
involves an encounter with a woman’s bustle,
which had slipped from her hips as she was out
walking. Blumenfeld, being the gentleman that he
so evidently was, chases after the lady and offers

LIFE AS A B
BRITAIN SPITFIRE PILOT

A sentimental and thoughtful tale of an RAF band of brothers
Authors Arthur Donahue Publisher Amberley Price £6.99 Released Out now

collection of memoirs from American pilot well as a tear to the eye. The book has a real band
Arthur ‘Art’ Donahue, this is an emotional of brothers feel to it and the daily life of an RAF
journey from start to finish. Only 94 pages pilot is an engaging one, as the author makes new
long, the book was originally aimed at an friends and awaits the orders to scramble. From
AAmerican readership wanting to learn more seeking out a downed Luftwaffe pilot in the woods
about Britain’s involvement in the war, but it is to parachuting out of a falling plane, Art’s story is a
suitable for any audience, both young and old. Hollywood film in the making.
Padding is at a premium in the edited memoirs, This is seriously stirring stuff and is made all
as the book gets straight into the world of dogfights. the more tragic by the author’s sad passing two
A personal and vivid experience, Donahue was years after the events of the book. He would smile
only one of 11 US pilots to serve in the Battle of knowing that his recollections are still being read
Britain. His observations thrust the reader straight and enjoyed to this day. Warmly recommended.
into the cockpit and phrases such as “the eight
Browning guns snarled and barked their terrific
fast staccato,” are both powerful and emotive. The
memoirs are presented in an easy-to-digest set
of chapters and it’s nigh-on impossible not to put
yourself in Donahue’s shoes as Messerschmitts
strafe his tail as he almost blacks out trying to
escape with a series of daring aerobatics. Away
from the battle in the skies, the camaraderie of
the squadron pilots brings a smile to the face as
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