Mr. Sermon

by R.F. Delderfield

The enchanting saga of Sebastian Sermon and his remarkable journey through the heartlands of England.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Ronald Frederick Delderfield was a popular English novelist and dramatist, many of whose works have been adapted for television and are still widely read.

Several of Delderfield's historical novels and series involve young men who return from war and lead lives in England that allow the author to portray the sweep of English history and delve deeply into social history from the Edwardian era to the early 1960s.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last straw on the camel's back
19th April, 3:17p.m... 3:18... the tension is building... 3:20 Snap! Mr Sermon ('Preacher' Sermon to the thirteen-year-old school boys) has endured all he can, and a boyish prank sets him on the path of no return.

For years he had lived a blameless, ordinary life. A schoolteacher with a charming, wealthy wife as well as a son and daughter. Having recently turned 49 he suddenly finds that he has had enough. Enough of insolent prankster school boys, enough of the prat of a headmaster, and enough of his own way of living. So without further ado he heads off into the unknown. In the space of fifteen hours "he had sloughed off layer after layer of inhibitions and was still shedding them, a craven host of prejudices and fads and whims and caprices that had been leeching him since he was a boy"

He soon meets new people and does things he has never done before. And he is good at it! He feels liberated, gains confidence and feels more forceful. Women are falling in love with him left, right and centre. At times his adventures turn farcical. In the process he learns more about himself, and he has to make some important decisions.

It is difficult to rate this book. The writing is good, and in the sixties this novel probably had more appeal. However, much of it is now outdated. If there had indeed been a Mr Sermon, he ought to have counted his lucky stars that he did not live about fifty years later as beating the daylights out of thirteen-year-old school boys might just have more serious consequences now than it had then. It is not Preacher Sermon's only act of violence. He beats up a busybody and paddles his wife's backside. In the novel each of these acts makes him a hero, a real he-man, and this just doesn't work anymore.

First published in 1963

[Steve Prentice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. To begin with it is worth noting that I enjoy well written prose and this book, written in the 1960s, was well written. I will definitely read more Delderfield in the future.

The story is a simple romance in which a husband and wife have a falling out, he goes off on his own for a few months, learns that he still loves his wife and in the end they are reconciled on his terms.

I gave the book four stars because it was a pleasant, feel-good story but the plot did have a problem or two. First there are too many hero inducing situations the hero 'Sermon' gets into all within a very short period of time. This stretches credulity to breaking point. And his hero activities result in not 1 but 2 women falling in love with him! Somewhat unlikely (but then truth can be stranger than fiction). Second, it was hard not to feel sympathy with his wife, Sybil. After all, he simply upped and left her, learned the theme of the book (that self-doubt is destructive) and then strong-arms his wife - though she does stab him with a pair if scissors first- into (re)kindling any love she had for him. Modern sensibilities would not accept that a 'he man' strategy would work in such a way. But this what-was-normal-then, old fashioned attitude brought out a fascinating aspect of life in the late 1950s and early 1960s - how difficult it was to get divorced and the sort of evidence required to be successfully divorced once married. This vividly demonstrated the liberalisation of this aspect of life, for good or for bad but it was interesting to be reminded that this was how life used to be.

All in all a well written fascinating glimpse into the past with a happy ever after ending, and that is what made this book so enjoyable for me.

[John Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes by two titles, this one and just plain MR. SERMON. The one I read was named MR. SERMON, but that is not as common of a title. It is somewhat similar to THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY by Rachel Joyce, but that one is much newer, and more of a travelogue. In both books, the main characters leave set lives in England to do something new and unexpected. Mr. Sermon has been teaching for many years and all of a sudden he gets mad at one of his students, hits him, leaves his school, and that night leaves his home and makes his way to Kingsbay, England. Things seem to improve when he arrives there with finding different lucrative ways to make money, finding different connections to women, and becoming more self-confident. It was written back in 1963 and the attitudes sometimes reflect those times, but it still is an interesting read. It is not as strong as Rachel Joyce's book, but it is still interesting to read.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is seriously dated having been written in 1963 by a man, and using the mores, of a generation born shortly before the Great War who had seen everything they believed in and held dear not only torn apart in their youth, bombed almost into submission in their middle thirties and, as they saw it, was now being completely obliterated in the immoral sixties.

Set in 1961, even then it was probably no longer acceptable for a man to beat his almost forty year old wife with a hair brush, although I think that the “stick no thicker than his thumb” rule still applied, but it is the complete transformation of a modest, brow beaten gentleman who would never dream of such an action, into a fully rounded human being who would dare do so, and amazingly triumph, that makes this difficult book and its theme of trying something new and different, so totally relevant today, although I can imagine that feminists sets would hate its presumption.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who love the English countryside and its sometimes quirky inhabitants, this is a marvellous read of one man who turned his back on a conventional schoolmaster's life for one short escape. He returns a wiser man, replete with his experience and with a surer sense of himself.

As an admirer of R.F. Delderfield's novels and a former school teacher myself, this is a book to which I have returned and relished several times.

[Flob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining read and very well written. It is, though, very dated and presents a view of women that was dated in 1961 when it was written. If it is right that there are only 6 plots then this falls into the 'wandering hero' category with an English twist of the 'History of Mr Polly' or 'Coming up for air' type.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the very start it held some promise but then deteriorated. Sure enough the story line reflects some of the attitudes that men had towards women back in the day (early 60s) but by today’s standards the main protagonist in the story would be answering questions to the police….he wouldn’t be cast as a some sort of sage! I won’t be reading anymore RF Delderdield! It’s very dated!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much of its time (written in 1963). It's an enjoyable story but, for the modern reader, has a dated attitude to the treatment of women which makes it quite uncomfortable to read in places.

[Chris Austen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read; and very poignant in that many men will be able to relate to Mr Sermon’s mindset. It is not dated! It portrays life as it was in the 60s.

[Pauline Bicknell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic. Never boring or sugary. Carried me along. Enough interest / intrigue to keep me guessing to the very end

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this in 2023 should perhaps carry a political correctness warning in places. Attitudes have changed fortunately.

[Peter Farness · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a real gem in the rough. Highly recommended. This is one of the times goodreads may have come through for me by reminding me that I need to read this again.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebastian Sermon is a school teacher. He has been conscious for a while of a sense of dissatisfaction with his life. One day a boy in his class misbehaves and Mr Sermon snaps and hits him – and goes on hitting him. He walks out of the school, goes home, and decides, after scaring Sybil, his wife of twenty years, that he will go away for a time. He sets out with a small amount of money in his pocket and a rucksack on his back and ends up in Devon.

What follows is a heart warming and interesting story of the way Mr Sermon finds hidden talents in himself that he never really suspected. The characters he meets are well drawn and the incidents he gets involved in are amusing and believable. I particularly liked Tapper – the antique dealer – who doesn’t like dishonest dealing; the irascible town clerk who sees a man he can deal with in Mr Sermon; Olga – who is on the verge of transforming her life and Fred Gray and his daughter Rachel.

The characters are far from being all sweetness and light and this is not Arcadia. Many of the attitudes expressed and the principles upheld may seem old fashioned to modern readers but perhaps we need to go back and re-examine some of these ways of behaviour in the twenty first century. Relationships are shown as being many shades of grey with imperfect people doing the best they can to make things work.

I first read this book in the early nineteen eighties and have read it many times since then. In spite of the unpromising and very un-PC beginning I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a feel-good read which has a message of hope for everyone who has ever felt that same sense of dis-satisfaction in their lives. The book is well written and entertaining and if you enjoyed Harold fry then you will probably enjoy the Spring Madness of Mr Sermon.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The enchanting saga of Sebastian Sermon and his remarkable journey through the heartlands of England."
~~back cover

I was a bit disappointed in this book. The author is one of my favorites, so I settled into reading it with anxious anticipation. I thought the book got off to a slow start, but then began enjoying it very much, becoming completely caught up in Sebastian's struggle to come to terms with life and how he has been living it and how he wants to begin living it. And then ... the book took a turn I was completely unprepared for, and one I didn't particularly enjoy. All's well that ends well I suppose, but ... I could have wished for a different HEA.

[Kevin Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a 4 star rating, but as the other reviewers have stated, it is dated in its views. But if you can get past that, it is an interesting story and Delderfield is a very good writer.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely showing its age, this very English novel follows a schoolmaster who explodes in class one day, leaves his wife and takes off for a few months to explore other options in life. Not PC and somewhat misogynistic, this is still a light and amusing read...

[J V Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit tedious

Didn't enjoy this much. I don't know whether Delderfied wrote this before he wrote To serve them all my days which is a great book. There are similarities of the schools. The story didn't really convince me. I don't think Sybil could become such a changed woman.

[Dwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of my favorite Anglophile historical novels. About the very successful mid life crisis of a school master. If only.....

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always liked Delderfield but the moral of this story was execrable; "If your wife defies you slap her around, and btw it's ok to cheat on her too!"

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great one by Delderfield. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that Mr. Sermon goes back to his shrewish wife. But it ends happily.