With Malice Toward Some

by Margaret Halsey, Peggy Bacon (Illustrator)

Excerpts from an acerbic diary kept by New Yorker columnist Margaret Halsey on her first trip to Europe just prior to the start of the Second World War.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, Adventure, History

278 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 1938

About the author

Margaret Halsey was an American writer who lived in the United Kingdom for a short time. Her first book With Malice Toward Some grew out of her experiences there. It was a witty and humorous bestseller, selling 600,000 copies.

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Halsey was the wife of a literature professor in New York who did a year long teaching exchange with a professor at Exeter, England, presumably in the mid-1930s. This is her diary of their first six months abroad. It was a best seller in its day, not a surprise as it's a fun read. Halsey is agreeably snarky, and her insights into the English "caste" (her word) system, and the differences between the English and American characters, though painted in very broad strokes, are interesting. We're often told how stoop shouldered and unprepossessing her husband is, but they seem companionable and share jokes. On reading her Wikipedia page, I was a little disappointed to learn that the couple divorced at some point in the 40s. When I got to the end of the diary, and read the entry where her husband says she'll have to give up keeping it so she can type up the drafts of his literature text book, I sort of understood why. In fairness, her alcoholism, which she wrote about in a later book (according to the Goodreads description, anyway), may also have played a role. We do read a fair amount about how much more she enjoys her dinners when they come with drinks, and she's resentful of the English custom of ladies withdrawing after dinner for tea in the drawing room while the gentlemen enjoy their port.

Curiously, the exchange student in Alice Ross Colver's Adventure For a Song: Sheila's Junior Year Abroad, a now obscure YA novel, spends her junior year at Exeter, at roughly the same time.

[Jennifer Nennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister bought this in a used book store. It is old fashioned (because it is old) and does not have much plot, but I found it laugh out loud funny. She says things in an entertaining way: "a large group of beautiful, shiny-looking young people who generally travel about in a flying wedge and whose voices are distressingly reminiscent of seagulls discovering floating orange peel"

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title doesn't lie - this 1930s diary of Halsey's year in England (with trips to Sweden, Norway and France) is often malicious and sometimes downright mean...and yet it is so beautifully written and so very witty that I couldn't help forgiving her for the nasty bits even when I didn't trust her perspective one bit. I laughed out loud over and over again as I read, and I insisted on reading several passages out loud to my husband because they were just so smart and so funny they demanded to be shared. Enormously fun, despite everything.

[Laurie Notaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome old find. If you can get your hands on it, read it. Many copies at abebooks.com or alibris for about a buck plus shipping. Laugh out loud funny. Funnier than Dorothy Paker. Serious. How she became lost to the ages is unbelievable. I was so lucky when I found this!!!!

[Ak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her opening few sections about British manners...some of the funniest stuff I've ever read.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

They don't write'm like that anymore. What a hoot.

[Joan Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a travel diary from Europe between WWI and WWII. It is snarky, and it was written before snarky was even a word! She pokes fun at everyone including herself and her husband. The writing is so witty that I actually had to read it in short doses, or it becomes tedious. Nevertheless, it is brilliant. My only complaint (and this is a "shame on me" admission) is that I picked up a copy with no dust jacket, and there is no intro or preface. The only extra material is a short bio at the end which says the author "has stopped reading everything except detective stories." So... being an avid mystery fan, and with a rather noir title, I thought it was going to be a mystery. I kept waiting for the plot to begin! Halfway through, I searched for more info, and discovered it to be a travel book, into which genre it fits perfectly.

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic book of English travel that used to be much better known than it is nowadays. Written in 1938, it's the sort of book that simply wasn't produced back then. The author is thoroughly bitchy and witty about the English, and her attitude is very refreshing. I'm still amused by her description of an English soup, "tasting like something poured out of an umbrella stand."

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny book, almost too funny. I found that I had to put it down after a hour of reading and take it up the next day to do the same. One hour of humor a day is enough for me plus the neighbors would start to wonder about all the out loud laughing coming from me alone in the house.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Halsley's writing a great deal. She is witty and observant with a lot of snark.

[Kevin Kosar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Best Seller in 1938 That Remains a Fun Read. Margaret Halsey was all of 27 years of age when she published With Malice Toward Some...(read more)

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halsey is beyond witty and creative. I wanted to underline every other sentence and appropriate it as my own. Still, I got the idea and stopped reading halfway through. The English are quirky, Halsey is hilarious, what else? I couldn't see the point.

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the 1930's but really-really funny!

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections of an American woman living for a time in England with trips through Sweden and Norway and to Paris, circa 1937. Smart and funny.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny on every other page. Contains the most perfect descriptions of people & places I've ever read. If you can get your hands on this, do it right now.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came to this book from an excerpt on a travel program on Oxford and Cambridge. So expected a good take on English college life in the 30's. Sort of a pre-war Bill Bryson book on stuffy college deans in the olden days. A major disappointment. Very little of of the college life and community come under any sharp observation. Good traveling around England, Norway, Sweden and Paris. But, frankly, the snarky observations just don't do it for today's reader, or, at least me. Its not that they are too mean, banal, poorly written or anything like that. At least half just don't make any sense. A bon mot should make make the reader laugh or go "that nails it", these just leave on trying to figure out what is really meant. Dog's ears like "ragged pillow cases" and others that just leave you scratching your head. 1938 is not that long ago, the literary style should not have changed that much to make what was funny then so incomprehensible now. But that is humor of the moment, a hit then, and squib now. I don't wish this to be meaner than it should, but that happens with a book you expect to be a hidden treasure turns out to be 50% off, and 50% pretty good.

[Anna Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Halsey kept a diary during during the year she accompanied her professor husband to Exeter, and her sharp, witty, and yes, somewhat malicious observations are laugh-out-loud funny. She spent most of her year in England, but trips to Paris, Norway, and Sweden are covered with equal snark. I really appreciate this genre of clever-women-observing- E.M. Delafield and Florence King come to mind. It's a glimpse of the quotidian details that literature and history often ignore, and frequently leads me down Wikipedia rabbit holes about people and places. If the past is a foreign country, postcards like this give at least some idea of the shape of life at the time. Good for readers obsessed with the interwar period or social history- and a good deal of snark.

"London, with its alleys and areaways and juttings and recessions and general brownish tone, is Dickensian; but Paris is suave and Thackerayan. The wide boulevards and grey, uniform, impersonal house fronts make Paris look like a well-shaven jaw. But Stockholm, for all its sleek design and fresh paint....seems like old sobersides of a city compared to this alert, perceptive, humorous place."

[Shirley Scribner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, somewhat dated book. Still very enjoyable. Very sharp perceptions. Not a life changer, but it does give one something to think about regarding how careful we tend to be regarding our thoughts and political correctness.

[Colleen Benelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely light reading. Henry and Peg spend a year in England where Henry is a visiting professor. Peg is an astute and acerbic observer. I laughed out loud at her self-deprecation. It's a peek at a different time and place which we now think was simpler but it really wasn't.

[LettheSea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites!!

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting! It is very much of its time, the 1930s. Halsey is a very witty writer.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peg Halsey's "With Malice Toward Some" certainly is aptly-named. My library (a.k.a. one of my most favorite places) was throwing out some unwanted antique books...books from the 1840's. The bibliophile in me couldn't pass up the thirty sad, historic volumes sitting on the shelf all alone, destined for the trashcan. So "Malice," a travel narrative written in 1938, managed to find its way into my car. And several months later, I just finished reading it.
Peg is an American who travels to Europe with her husband, Henry. Beginning in England, they tour Sweden, Paris and a few other locations. Her book describes the people, scenery, food, customs and architecture of Europe. It's all written in the style of a journal, split into a few key parts. Peg's syntax, similes and metaphors tend to be whimsical; regrettably, she also writes with a snarky, negative attitude. It seems as though she's resolved: pick on the Brits. Especially mock their food and conversations. She often has a smug sense of humor and tends toward harsh characterizations when meeting anyone new.
This book was definitely not my favorite travel journal. In fact, I'm rather disappointed.

[Cydni Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The author jokes continuously, and I found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions and feeling generally amused the rest of the time. It's a little bit like Bridget Jones' Diary, or rather a more restrained version of it. As if Bridget Jones' grandmother had a cousin who visited England in the 1930s and kept a diary of it. The author's favorite thing to do is watch people and point out their absurdities - so much so, in fact, that when she writes about her trip to the Louvre she details the actions of other people rather than her own reaction to the artwork. It's hilarious, and I'm really glad I discovered it.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1938, this is a bit of a period piece, but is still fun to read. Margaret Halsey goes to England for year when her professor husband takes part in an exchange to Exeter. While he goes about his professional duties, she learns to take part in the English rituals of calling on people in the village where they have rented property. They also take advantage of being in Europe to travel to Sweden, Norway, and France. Her descriptions of their life that year are a mixture of gleeful enjoyment (English gardens, Paris), and snarky remarks (the English food and climate). Still, it never feels malicious, despite the title.

[Jennifer Aitkens · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is so critical of everything British! What began as humorous, quickly became tiresome. Although I was looking forward to reading about pre-WW II England, I couldn't finish it.

[Lizziebeth10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb companion read to go with D.E. Stevenson's "Mrs. Tim" books.