Esprit De Corps

Antrobus stories #1

by Lawrence Durrell

" Dépassé par l'ampleur de ma tâche, je demandai désespérément un assistant. La presse sur place comptait une cinquantaine d'âmes, si on estime que les journalistes ont une âme. Je ne parvenais pas à leur donner à tous l'impression d'être aimés et indispensables. Le problème de Trieste pesait sur nous, avec la redoutable éventualité de voir un conflit éclater là-bas. Seule la propagande, m'avait-on dit, pouvait maintenir l'équilibre et permettre de ne voir éclater que des pétards. Je réclamai de l'aide au Foreign Office. Elle arriva avec la rapidité et l'efficacité qui sont traditionnelles dans le service diplomatique. Au bout de deux mois, mon onzième télégramme éveilla quelque part un écho compatissant et on m'annonça qu'Edgar Albert Ponting était en route. Ce fut un immense soulagement ; mes efforts de fraternisation avec la presse avaient à cette époque fait monter le niveau de ma consommation d'alcool à trente slivovitza par jour. Bientôt, Ponting serait à mes côtés, à lever le coude suivant ce rythme régulier qu'acquièrent si facilement les chargés de presse de par le monde. Je portai un toast d'Alka Seltzer à Ponting et je me fis apporter le dossier " Affaires urgentes ". " Esprit de corps est le premier d'une série de récits inédits consacrés aux mésaventures de la communauté diplomatique de Sa Très Gracieuse Majesté, la reine d'Angleterre, en Yougoslavie. Lawrence Durrell y fut Attaché d'Ambassade. Il nous en restitue l'atmosphère et les extravagances avec une irrésistible drôlerie.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Short Stories, Travel, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Comedy

89 pages, Paperback

First published December 9, 1957

About the author

Lawrence George Durrell was a critically hailed and beloved novelist, poet, humorist, and travel writer best known for The Alexandria Quartet novels, which were ranked by the Modern Library as among the greatest works of English literature in the twentieth century. A passionate and dedicated writer from an early age, Durrell’s prolific career also included the groundbreaking Avignon Quintet, whose first novel, Monsieur (1974), won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and whose third novel, Constance (1982), was nominated for the Booker Prize. He also penned the celebrated travel memoir Bitter Lemons of Cyprus (1957), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. Durrell corresponded with author Henry Miller for forty-five years, and Miller influenced much of his early work, including a provocative and controversial novel, The Black Book (1938). Durrell died in France in 1990.

The time Lawrence spent with his family, mother Louisa, siblings Leslie, Margaret Durrell, and Gerald Durrell, on the island of Corfu were the subject of Gerald's memoirs and have been filmed numerous times for TV.

Reviews

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 1 out of 5]

God! This place feels so far from the Mediterranean. Flat, landlocked, inhabited by pigs indistinguishable from Serbs and Serbs vice versa: no olives: blank stupid geese: dust in summer and fog in winter.

This excerpt from a letter Durrell wrote while posted as press officer to the British Embassy in postwar Belgrade, Yugoslavia, captures his affection for the Balkan settings of this collection of short stories based on his own experiences.

In one, he describes the composition room of the English language newspaper in Belgrade as:

staffed by half a dozen hirsute Serbian peasants with greasy elf-locks and hands like shovels. Bowed and drooling and uttering weird eldrich cries from time to time they went up and down the type-boxes with the air of half-emancipated baboons hunting for fleas.

In another, the chauffeurs of the Belgrade Diplomatic Corps:

were mostly Serbian and virtually constituted a Corps on their own; jutting foreheads, lowering forelocks, buck teeth, webbed hands and feet, vast outcrops of untamed hair stretching away to every skyline.

In fairness, his contempt extends to women, gay men, whom he euphemizes as female impersonators, and most every nationality on earth, but he has a special warmth for Serbians.

Full disclosure. I think I would have found this hysterically funny as a young man, smug and proud at "getting it", deserving of fitting in with the sophisticates of the Foreign Office. And, if I encountered it when it was an artifact of a more distant past, rather than of my own lifetime, I think I would find it less objectionable and more interesting; but it isn't and I don't.

On the upside, this was the first ebook I've read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? For any who have spent time pushing cookies under the watchful eyes of a protocol officer, this stuff is hilarious. I spent more time pushing goat roasted over an open fire in the mountains of Nuristan than in embassy ballrooms, but I still found myself laughing out loud. Durrell has mastered the Cantabrigian pretentiousness of a certain type of British F.O. professional (and you know who you are), although he failed his entrance exams to Cambridge. Of course, he went on to write one of the masterpieces of English literature in the twentieth century (The Alexandria Quartet) was a great friend of Henry Miller for forty-five years, and served as the inspiring butt of his younger brother Gerald's hilariously humorous accounts of the Durrell family in the Greek islands before the war. The collection is humorous not only for its very non-PC style (think Robert Byron's The Road to Oxiana but with an ironic wink of the eye) but also for its content - the account of a diplomatic party on a raft on the Sava headed for disaster at the confluence with the Danube has to be one of the funniest stories ever. Who knew that the older Durrell brother would be able to write such funny prose? I guess he got some of the same genes as Gerry. This is as good as Saki and better than Wodehouse.

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I begin? Esprit de Corps, a short (89 pages) collection of stories about life in the Foreign Office, especially as lived in the Balkans, is one of the funniest I've encountered, and I've encountered James Thurber, P G Wodehouse, Saki, and many others. It is the first of three little books collectively called Antrobus Complete. It is almost impossible to believe the author of the Alexandria Quartet (Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, Clea)j which is so dismal I've been unable to get through even the first of the books, could have written these lively, sardonic, ironic, and ludicrously hilarious stories. . . .

To read the rest of my review, go to my blog at:

http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...

[Peter Heinrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly a product of its time, the humor in this book relies heavily on social, cultural, and racial stereotypes. It's amusing, but surprisingly physical, considering Durrell's reputation as a great wit.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming little sketches about life in a very Wodehouse version of the British diplomatic service somewhere in an imaginary Balkans. Funny, delightful, and occasionally quite sardonic. Worth finding.

[Zuberino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can only imagine that the four years Durrell spent in the Belgrade mission between 1948 and 1952 left a lasting impact on him. Not only did he come up with the plot for White Eagles Over Serbia, he also drew on his time in the Diplomatic to pen these brief comic sketches. They are moderately amusing for the most part, although it’s a good thing they don’t go on for too long. There’s only so much Oxbridge-educated, mid-century English superiority and snobbery that one take, that too of the Foreign Office variety. There is absolutely no insight into Tito’s Yugo, but one suspects that is precisely the point.

And so Antrobus relates these tales from the depths of his armchair. There is one bonafide LOL-worthy uproarious skit here - the one that introduces darling boy De Mandeville who undoes Polk-Mowbray’s hopes for his daughter Angela as soon as he alights from his lover-driven Rolls. Polk-Mowbray, Antrobus, De Mandeville, the butler Drage - you could say they have a minor claim in the annals of English humour.

[Prudence and the Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much the stuff of its time, wouldn't be out of place in a Yes, Minister script, but also contains a description of an ambassador choking on a moth which made me laugh, and laugh, in a way I haven't in a good long while, and the trick was repeated when I read it, and select other passages out to the Crow later on. Recommended, with a pinch of salt and a preparedness for the approach of 1957.

Also, would absolutely watch a TV series about the Egyptian and Italian Ambassadoresses aboard a train across then-Yugoslavia.

[Polyxena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still laugh out loud funny just as it was the last time I read it decades ago. Not one to read on the metro if you don’t like being overtaken by uncontrollable laughter. However, at home in lockdowned Melbourne perfect!!

[Alex Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly amusing but rather dated.

[s.e · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look at this guy. Doesn't he look just great?
[image error]
It's Antrobus. : (

Surprisingly good n funny considering I'm not in the diplomatic corps and I wasn't out and about in 1951. My grandpa though was an American diplomat guy and did that quite a bit and even some after he retired. ("You know how Grandpa's always running off to Africa?" "oh yeah.")

So here are the stories in order of appearance:

The Ghost Train- The Serbian train incarnation of a shuttle to hell. Best chapter because of it's ecstatically well-meaning and purely evil hilarity.

Case History- "Help! The Americans are taking over the English language with their shitty words!" or, Antrobus has a heart attack over some Coca Cola.

Frying the Flag- Two sisters on typewriters writing for a shitty little newspaper warp the world around them. It's great.

Jots and Tittles- Someone eats a moth.

For Immediate Release- A hopelessly useless but enticing diplomat gets run around from post to post since he can't do anything right. He likes the Leaning Tower though.

White Man's Milk- An alluring but harmful dance occurs.

Drage's Divine Discontent- Drage sees the fiery angels of god. He gets baptised but due to a mix up is under the impression that he's about to be assassinated.

Noblesse Oblige- De Mandeville and Dennis walk some Siamese cats around while being gay.

Call of the Sea- A whole party of diplomats gets swept down a river on a raft while having said party. They get shot at quite a bit. Similar energy to the Ghost Train except the ghost train was more joyful and sinister.

Overall a pretty nice weird and outdated little book. The illustrations were smashing of course. Maybe one day I'll learn more about Diplomatic Life and reread it.

[Simona Moschini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se amate Gerald Durrell, saprete che ha un fratello (gloriosamente sfottuto in "La mia famiglia e altri animali") anch'egli scrittore ma "serio", considerato nel mondo letterario un decadente,erotico mix tra D'Annuncio e D.H. Lawrence in salsa mediorientale.

Bene, non si sa se per malsopite rivalità fraterne (Adesso ti faccio vedere io chi è l'umorista di famiglia!), scopriamo qui che anche il buon Lawrence, quando voleva, sapeva dilettarsi e dilettare il lettore sfanculando il prossimo, e lo fece prendendo di mira lo stile e la prosopopea del glorioso mondo delle ambasciate.
Non perdetevi quindi questa breve raccolta di racconti sulle surreali avventure del Corpo Diplomatico (rigorosamente con la maiuscola) Britannico e di altri paesi nell'inospitale terra jugoslava, ove tra alcolisti, pazzi, mezzosoprani insopportabili, indigeni pelosi e partite a calcio all'ultimo sangue si delinea l'inevitabile decadenza dell'Impero di Sua Maestà Britannica.
E sì che mancavano ancora molti anni all'avvento di Nigel Farage, Theresa May e Boris Johnson...

[Paula Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawrence Durrell did everything, went everywhere, knew everybody, and wrote over 200 books. This is a charming little book about his time in the British Diplomatic Corps in and around Yugoslavia. It is told by an old hand in the foreign office, telling a younger colleague of his many adventures. It is funny and whimsical and even has illustrations. It's the perfect book when you just need a little palette cleanser.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge: Published before I was born)
Familiar as I am with Gerald Durrell’s work, this is my first introduction to his eldest brother’s writing. I started at the lighter end of the spectrum with this short selection of humorous sketches, published in 1957, of Diplomatic Life, (saving the Alexandria Quartet for another time). You can only imagine the guffaws these tales would illicit after dinner amongst men of a certain era, age and education over a cognac and cigar in an exclusive gentleman’s club

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually short stories of adventures of diplomats while serving. It was fun reading filled with typical British humor. Durrell was a successful author of several books and came from a well-known family of particularly individualistic individuals. An interesting family you can learn more about (sort of) by watching the PBS series 'The Durrells in Corfu'.

[Betsy Garside · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short trip back to the Foreign Office of the mid-twentieth century, with all the characters you might hope for - the over-drinkers, the under-smart, the politically incorrect, and the pompous. Durrell has nailed the all, and written a collection of stories as funny as Wodehouse.

[James Junke · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining short read by a master of prose and irony. Set in pre and post WWII Belgrade. First read this over forty years ago when I joined the Canadian foreign service which inherited many of its practices from the UK, good and bad. Very funny and not far off the truth.

[James Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the Antrobus series. The light hyperbole and comedy of manners drawing on Durrell's time in diplomacy is fun. Across 70 years one could wish the descriptions of people were more 21C as the humour would still work.

[TroTro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taru recommended this one. Quite funny with classic British silly quotations. I loved the way he spoofs Yugoslav town names. And the chapter about the train was a riot.

[russell barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing short of genius, and the thing is 70 odd years later elements of this fictionalised Civil Service world still ring true. Looking forward to organising my next team party on a floating log raft down a river...

[The Contented · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh dear, the short story about the newspaper made me laugh and laugh.

On to the Balkan Trilogy next, I think

(Sorry for the bits that were hugely politically incorrect)

[Michelle Kreder crooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful light read full of English humor!

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this too dated despite years of living in England.

[Suzette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny. The caveat is that it was published in 1957, is based on Durrell's experiences in the diplomatic corps, and contains stories from the 30s, 40s and 50s that would be deemed horribly politically incorrect these days. That said, you'll still laugh out loud.

[Madeleine]

Absolutely delicious little volume of diplomatic blunders. Light, charming, vintage, possibly the most digestible work by Mr Durrell I have read so far. (less)

[Jill Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sparkling and jolly.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gasping-for-breath funny. A gem.

[DW · Rating 3 out of 5]

No more dated than Pride and Prejudice.

[Maxe McRitchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a cute little novel i picked up at my local second hand book shop during the summer of 2021. i started reading it but i lent i to delph and it took more than a year to get it back and 4 month to finish it but it was all worth it! it's 10 (i think) short(ish) chapters that each retell an anecdote of diplomatic life in the 50s. this is cool cause it's a subject that interests me and the author writes with a lovely restrained british humour.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/725316.html[return][return]Well, one cannot call it Great Literature, and he is rather patronising about the Yugoslavs (though in fairness the British diplomats are equally ludicrous stereotypes); it is, however, laugh-out-loud funny in places. The inside front cover quotes John Betjeman saying in a review, "I have not laughed at a new humorous book so much since the days of Stephen Potter's Gamesmanship" (which is a bit ambiguous as to whether or not he actually found Potter funny, but leaves no doubt about Durrell). The episode of the botched baptism, the butler's wig and the unfortunate confusion around the bishop's crozier is probably the most memorable scene. There are some nice illustrations by V.H. Drummond, whose work I don't think I knew, but I don't think I can scan them without wrecking the binding so you'll have to take my word for it. Apparently there are two sequels, Stiff Upper Lip and Sauve Qui Peut, but I don't feel the need to order them unless I get a positive recommendation (or, of course, unless I see them in a shop when I'm looking for something else).

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wit and humor of this book rivals those of Patrick Dennis. The jokes and puns are so slyly interwoven with the story that if you blink you'll miss them. But they roll, one right after another. This is, as Durrell may have said, a "reading with writhings," but writhings with laughter rather than agony. Of course, some of what is written is offensive to today's sensibilities, but the reader understands that the narrator of the story is not at all concerned about giving proper respect to anyone of a different nationality or background, despite being a part of a diplomatic service, which is part of the point.

A bit reminiscent of The Maker of Heavenly Trousers and much, much funnier than the Jeeves books by Wodehouse.