A Writer Manqué, But -

244 2. A Writer Manqué, But John M. Munro. James Elroy Flecker (Boston: Twayne, 1976). $6.95. Certain aspects of James Elroy Flecker are attractive. The style is readable, there are clear-cut summaries of trends in the Edwardian era, and references to an article in Arabic on Flecker contribute to our knowledge of the poet. Nevertheless, the book cannot be recommended. John Munro appears to have written in haste, without first gaining a thorough knowledge of Flecker's life and of his writings. Factual errors weaken his presentation throughout. His reprinting of Flecker's words is often careless. In "The Old Ships" he omits a "still," adds a "to," substitutes "Painting" for "Pointing " and "An" for "And," and spells "¿Easa" "Aeaeam" (p. II5); and he prints the sentences, "Ί live here in clear sunshine among damned fools. Both of us are a bit sick of Beirut'" (p. 39), with no indication that "very happy however, when I can get out of town a bit, and wander in the Lebanon" follows "fools" (Some Letters from Abroad [London, 1930], Ρ» 53). His summaries of Flecker's prose and poetry are likewise misleading. To mention one minor example, we do not learn in Don Juan that Tisbea "has married Owen Jones" (p. 98). Furthermore, he is unreliable in his dating. He asserts that Flecker composed his second essay on John Davidson during his stay at Cambridge, at the same time as he wrote an unfinished article centering in Housman. Actually Flecker was in residence at Cambridge from mid-1908 to mid-1910, he appears to have composed the essay on Housman in late I907 (Some Letters, p. 179), and he wrote "John Davidson" in 1913 (Some Letters, pp. 83, 85). The reader who attempts to check Munro's statements will experience difficulties. He is injudicious in his choice of points to document, and the footnotes he does provide are at times inaccurate. He states that he bases his discussion of the writing of Hassan on "Helle Flecker's introduction to Hassan (London, 1922)" (p. I31); hüt this edition does not contain the play's history, and Munro appears to paraphrase an account by John Squire. In addition, the selected bibliography is an unsound guide. Munro states here that "the definitive edition" of Flecker's verse is the third (1946) edition (p. I35). There is as yet no definitive edition. The I946 edition, from which Munro quotes, is no more "complete" and accurate than the first (I916) edition. Accusing Flecker of being "superficial" (p. 54), Munro states that the writer possessed "vanity, complacency, and insensitivity to the feelings of others [which] rendered him incapable of being either a sympathetic husband or an effective member of the foreign service" (p. lió). He was a "dilettante: he dabbled in literature much as he dabbled in diplomacy" (p. 115). The accusation that Flecker cared little for his wife appears to be unfounded. Munro notes that Hellë*s "name is hardly ever mentioned" in Flecker's published correspondence (p. Ill), but, in printing Flecker's letters to Savery, she omitted several references to herself. The critic also suggests that, because Flecker drafted 245 "Oak and Olive" during his stay in Cranham (p. 37) "at the time of his engagement to Helle" (p. 68), the poem is an insult to her. That the lines were drafted at Cranham is questionable, and Flecker was not engaged until after he left the sanatorium. Munro may be nearer to the truth in criticizing Flecker as a consular official, but it is unclear why he thought that on this point he could "set the record straight" (preface). John Sherwood in Np_ Golden Journey (London, 1973) summarized the unfavorable notes made by officials about Flecker's request for a transfer from the Levant service. Therefore, Munro's printing of the longest note provides no surprises. Furthermore, since the note speaks in specific terms only of examinations and of health, it does not back up Munro's claim that Flecker was incompetent in the performance of his daily tasks. Whether or not Flecker neglected his consular duties, Munro errs in placing Flecker's work with the foreign service on a level with his literary career...