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Running the Gauntlet
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
450 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2012
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About the author
Edmund Hodgson Yates
320 books2 followersEdmund Hodgson Yates was a British journalist, novelist and dramatist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 21, 2019
Victorian social satire from a minor maestro, nearly forgotten now.
Colonel Laurence Alsager returns to England after a few years on the continent recuperating from a failed love affair, whereupon he immediately falls in love again with a married woman, Lady Mitford.
Her husband Charles is something of a rotter ("a lout, a great, overgrown schoolboy sort of fellow" according to the urbane Alsager) who once forged a check and chases after a dangerous flirt named Laura Hammond, who also happens to be Alsager's ex. The title refers to the social ignominy Lady Mitford has to face being married to such a man and from which Colonel Alsager would like to spare her, purely for platonic reasons, or so he tells himself.
Running the Gauntlet is a gentle satire, the type in which a low comedian can go by the name of Mugger, and a popular restaurant is called Foodle's. When Alsager first returns to his club from self-imposed exile he soon gets back into the spirit of things ("You've done admirably, old fellow," said Laurence. "'Pon my oath I don't think there's hardly any one we know that you haven't had something pleasantly unpleasant to say about.")
Yates was a dab-hand at setting a scene, whether it be the smoking room of a gentleman's club, recreating the business lingo unique to the theatrical world, or sketching the various patrons of the gaming tables in Baden.
The two most striking characters are in support roles. Lizzie Ponsford is a vibrant woman with a bad past masquerading as a governesses, Lord Dollomore a cynical social observer who whispers secrets to his Malacca cane.
In the author's own words, 'every thing was à tort et à travers, as it has been, is, and always shall be, in the great world of London.'
Colonel Laurence Alsager returns to England after a few years on the continent recuperating from a failed love affair, whereupon he immediately falls in love again with a married woman, Lady Mitford.
Her husband Charles is something of a rotter ("a lout, a great, overgrown schoolboy sort of fellow" according to the urbane Alsager) who once forged a check and chases after a dangerous flirt named Laura Hammond, who also happens to be Alsager's ex. The title refers to the social ignominy Lady Mitford has to face being married to such a man and from which Colonel Alsager would like to spare her, purely for platonic reasons, or so he tells himself.
Running the Gauntlet is a gentle satire, the type in which a low comedian can go by the name of Mugger, and a popular restaurant is called Foodle's. When Alsager first returns to his club from self-imposed exile he soon gets back into the spirit of things ("You've done admirably, old fellow," said Laurence. "'Pon my oath I don't think there's hardly any one we know that you haven't had something pleasantly unpleasant to say about.")
Yates was a dab-hand at setting a scene, whether it be the smoking room of a gentleman's club, recreating the business lingo unique to the theatrical world, or sketching the various patrons of the gaming tables in Baden.
The two most striking characters are in support roles. Lizzie Ponsford is a vibrant woman with a bad past masquerading as a governesses, Lord Dollomore a cynical social observer who whispers secrets to his Malacca cane.
In the author's own words, 'every thing was à tort et à travers, as it has been, is, and always shall be, in the great world of London.'
Displaying 1 of 1 review