The Black Shirts in London: A Study of the popularity of Fascism in Britain

The inept and unimaginative
Sir Oswald Mosley

            During interwar period, Europe became exposed to new political ideologies: Communism and Fascism.  Fascism was able to gain notice on the world stage and had established a strong presence in Germany and Italy.  It also found some popularity in Britain during the 1930s, most notably under the leadership of Sir Oswald Mosley and his party the British Union of Fascists (BUF).  Through looking at the case of Sir Oswald Mosley, this blog post will show that Fascism gained a foothold in Britain due to a variety of issues in the 1930s.

            It is first important to understand the reasoning behind Mosley’s turn to Fascism.  His motivation was partially rooted in the crash of the United States stock market in October 1929.[1]  The crash was only a part of other events that helped to bring about the Great Depression.  High grain prices during the First World War allowed for farmers to “put more land into production,”[2] but the end of the war caused both prices and demand to drop during the interwar period.[3]  The first to be affected by this were the smaller Eastern European states, who pressured their governments to introduce tariff barriers on imported agricultural goods.[4]  Britain faced a similar situation with the coal industry; a staple of its economy since the industrial revolution, though it was also facing displacement from oil by this time.[5]

            In addition, the move to return to the gold standard played into the economic issues.  The move to do so was based on the idea that currencies would be secured and be protected from “wild fluctuations in exchange rates that would result in inflation and social disorder.”[6]  The British government chose to reinstitute the gold standard in 1925 in order to respond to the balance-of-payments deficits.[7]  This was hazardous to the economy due to the fact that previously Britain had been importing too many goods and were paying for these goods with their gold supplies.[8]

James Ramsay Macdonald

            By 1931, unemployment in Britain grew from ten percent to sixteen percent while exports had declined by half.[9]  To combat these issues, the British Labour government under James Ramsay Macdonald, in an attempt to keep Liberal support, chose to face the economic crisis through classic economic solutions by implementing austerity measures such as “sharp increases in taxation and drastic spending cuts.” [10]  Mosley did not support these measures.  To Mosley, the 1929 crash had proven to him that Britain’s structural and ideological basis were now lost and the future of the British economy was now “bound up within a competing global market place.”[11]  While critics were looking to the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, who proposed “increased governmental spending and lower interest rates to stimulate the economy,”[12] or Stalin’s fine-year-plans, Mosley looked to Mussolini’s corporate state for a solution.

Benito Mussolini (left) and Sir Oswald Mosley(right)

            Mosley lacked faith in the democratic system.  Mosley had originally been a member of the Conservative Party when he first ran for the riding of Harrow in 1918.[13]  In 1920, Mosley crossed the floor of the House of Commons over conflictions with the Conservative Party to join the Labour Party in 1924, only to leave the party sometime after.[14]  According to Matthew Worley’s article “Why Fascism? Sir Oswald Mosley and the Conception of the British Union of Fascists,” the basis for Mosley’s departure from the Labour Party derived from his experience as a government minister, which “undermined his belief in the efficiency of a of a democratically elected parliamentary government.”[15]

This conclusion came from the fact that all of Mosley’s proposals to combat unemployment were simply knocked down by senior colleagues in both the cabinet and the treasury.[16]  For this reason Mosley believed that the “archaic traditions of parliamentary procedure” were “ill-suited to tackling the severe economic problems” that were effecting Britain.[17]  The British parliamentary system, according to Mosley, was prone to being tedious and easily caught up in party politics.[18]  In the case of the Macdonald government, Mosley thought the Labour party’s approach to the economic crisis as similar to “the Salvation Army taking to its heels and running away from the Day of Judgment.”[19]

For Mosley, the alternative was simple: replace Parliament with a five minister cabinet that would be given the power to carry through the necessary emergency policies.[20]  This platform was adapted by Mosley’s newly formed New Party, along with plans to streamline parliament to the point where government issued orders would only be subjected to “limited parliamentary discussion and accepted or rejected within a specific time frame.”[21]

Flag of the British Union of Fascists

In September 1931, Mosley had the New Party renamed the British Union of Fascists.[22]    It was not the only Fascist party to appear in Britain, nor was it the first.  The earliest party to form in Britain was the British Fascisti in 1923 by Rotha Lintorn-Orman.[23]  Seen as a more conservative form of fascism, the party was well known for volunteering “personal services for patriotic purposes” and for having a role in the 1926 General Strike.[24]  Another fascist party that appeared before the BUF was the Imperial Fascist League, co-founded by Arnold Leese in 1928.[25]  Unlike the other fascist parties who were eventually incorporated into the BUF, Leese refused to allow his party to be absorbed, though he did collaborate with Mosley’s party in “joint ventures.”[26]  Leese did not approve of the British Union of Fascists, dubbing Mosley to be only a “Jew fascist” running a group of “kosher fascists” and called the BUF “The British Jewnion of Fascists.”[27]

It can be noted that among the BUF’s supporters were members of the Anglican Church.  In late February 1934, a group of BUF members were openly welcomed at a special service by the minister if Saint John’s Church, Sutton-on-Plym.[28]  That same week, an entire BUF attended christening was held at Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Square, London.[29]  According to Thomas Linehan, the Anglican Church’s support for fascism was based from their dislike toward Bolshevik communism.[30]  Communist treatment of the Orthodox Church in Russia and the Roman Catholic Church in Spain had pushed Anglican clerics into emotional fits of hatred.[31]  In one case, the Reverend M. Yate Allen described Christian priests and nuns being “cruelly tortured and slain” by these communist groups as if it were “by a tribe of most cruel savages.”[32]  In the same piece of anti-communist rhetoric, Allen presented that there were only two sides to choose: the side of fascism where there was God, “health, purity, industry, faith, hope, [and] charity;”[33] or communism, the cradle of “cruelty, murder, filth, immorality,” and the Devil and Antichrist.[34] 

Officially, the BUF supported the role of Christian church.  It saw churches as having a significant part in developing social law and wanted to develop a fascist society based upon Christian principles.[35]  The BUF also promised to protect the “principle of religious belief and worship” from the threat of “secular liberalism and communism.”[36]  Though this was the case, Mosley himself could not care for the Christian faith, finding its methods “puritanical and ‘dull’” for being used to recruit the youth.[37]  In siding with the Church of England, the BUF was able to show itself to the British public, mainly those of the middle class, that they were a morally just party.

Another form of appeal to the public came in the use of Anti-Semitism, the “crassest of blunt instruments” used by the BUF.[38]  In Jewish households in Britain, Mosley became a monstrous figure who would go after Jewish children if they did not behave.[39]  Though Mosley used anti-Semitic values since he ran for the Conservative Party in 1918 under his anti-immigration platform, it, like the conception of a fascist political party, it was not an original idea.[40]  Between 1901 and 1905, the British Brothers League stood against Jewish immigration and a strong position toward eugenics.[41]  This anti-Semitic sentiment was also popular among pro-fascist Anglican clerics, who feverously spread such rhetoric in the BUF press.  One cleric, who went under the pseudonym “Vicar”, accused Jews of hiding in Britain, “cloaking their identities under ‘assumed’ English names.”[42]  The Vicar of Saint Bede Church in Bristol, George Henry Dymock, argued that Jews in Britain were plotting to flood the world in a “bath of blood” through “supposed war-talk in the press,”[43] feelings that find their way in the speeches of Enoch Powel in the 1970s.

The equally inept and
unimaginative Enoch Powell

Despite Mosley’s use of anti-Semitism to gain public support, it was limited in gaining a mass following with such a discourse.  Robert Benewick’s article, “Interpretations of British Fascism” points out that the BUF were only successful in gaining public support through such a platform in East London.[44]  The reason, according to Benewick, was because of locations such as Birmingham.[45]  These towns were not attracted as much to the BUF due to its “relative prosperity and the low density of Jewish population.”[46]

Though the BUF was unable to gain support via anti-sentiment, the party was able to gain support through the use of violence.  According to Jon Lawrence, violence was “the essence for Mosley’s ‘fascism’.”[47]  It is even believed that British fascism was formed from the “disorderly Ashton by-election in May 1931.”[48]  That same year, Mosley had his personal bodyguards known as “Biff Boys” reformatted into the Nuppa Youth Movement.[49]  Nuppa would serve as an “embryo” for the BUF’s Fascist Defence League, which acted on the party’s behalf in combating communist groups.[50]

Olympia Rally, 1934

The best example of fascist violence can be seen in the Mosley’s address at Olympia on June 7, 1934.[51]  Here Mosley was meant to publicize the BUF before an estimated audience of fifteen thousand people.[52]  The disorder caused at Olympia allowed for Labour and Liberal newspapers to make fascist violence an issue, running articles, such as the case of the News Chronicle, of “gang attacks on single victims.”[53]  The issue was even brought before Parliament, where it became the hope of the National Government to discredit both Mosley and the BUF.[54]  The Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, believed that fascism was as dangerous as communism, citing both group’s needs to “supress opposition” and their need for dictatorial methods.”[55]  The violence committed at Olympia eventually put the British Union of Fascists into decline.  The anti-fascist interpretations of what happened began to dominate and influence the public over the months that followed.[56]

As the summer of 1934 progressed, the BUF began to lose supporters and influence.[57]  The root of this decline was the fact that the British Union of Fascists only “threatened public order” and not the state.[58]  Britain’s system of “institutional legitimacy” of a “secure position [for] the ruling groups and the entrenched class basis of political loyalties” prevented the party from gaining any actual influence.[59]  In addition, Mosley caused confusion for party supporters by allying with Christian pacifists, communists, and fascists in campaigns in 1939 to keep Britain from going to war.[60]  This conflicted with the party message of “empire patriotism” for BUF members, who went on to join the British armed forces when war did eventually break out.[61]

In closing, the formation of fascism in Britain was a reaction to the events of the interwar period.  Ramsey Macdonald’s response to the economic crisis facing Britain caused many to look to other alternatives, such as Keynesian economics.  For Sir Oswald Mosley, the answer to Britain’s troubles was fascism.  The formation of the British Union of Fascists came as a result of Mosley trying to form a better alternative to the parties in power after feeling that the parliamentary system was too long-winded to address the economic issues.  The party gained support through its hatred of communism and use of anti-Semitism by providing the British public with something to blame for the issues facing the empire.  Though the party was gaining much support from influential institution, like the Church of England, the BUF eventually fell into decline by the mid-thirties because of its growing use of violence.  The established British system and its contradiction in philosophy, made party rhetoric difficult to follow for members.  For this reason the British Union of Fascists makes fascism to be nothing more than a passing movement in British history.

Bibliography

Benewick, Robert. “Interpretations of British Fascism.” Political Studies 24, no. 3 (September 1976): 320-324. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 15, 2014).

Di Scala, Spencer M. Europe’s Long History: Society Politics, and Culture, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Lawrence, Jon. “Fascist violence and the politics of public order in inter-war Britain: the Olympia debate revisited.” Historical Research 76, no. 192 (May 2003): 238-267. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 15, 2014).

------. “‘Why Olympia mattered’.” Historical Research 78, no. 200 (May 2005): 263-272. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 16, 2014).

Linehan, Thomas. “‘On the Side of Christ’: Fascist Clerics in 1930s Britain.” Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions 8, no. 2 (June 2007): 287-301. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 15, 2014).

Martin, Paul. “Contexualising Mosley.” History Today 48, no. 5 (May 1998): 62-63. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 16, 2014).

Worley, Matthew. “Why Fascism? Sir Oswald Mosley and the Conception of the British Union of Fascists.” History 96, no. 321 (January 2011): 68-83. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 15, 2014).

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[1] Spencer M. Di Scala, Europe’s Long History: Society Politics, and Culture, 1900-1945, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 239.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Di Scala, 241.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid., 243.

[10] Ibid., 242.

[11] Matthew Worley, “Why Fascism? Sir Oswald Mosley and the Conception of the British Union of Fascists,” History 96, no. 321 (January 2011): 72, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[12] Di Scala, 242.

[13] Paul Martin, “Contexualising Mosley.” History Today 48, no. 5 (May 1998): 62. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[14] Worley, 72.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid., 72-73.

[19] Ibid. 73.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Worley, 73.

[22] Ibid. 81-82.

[23] Martin, 62.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid., 63.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Thomas Linehan, “‘On the Side of Christ’: Fascist Clerics in 1930s Britain,” Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions 8, no. 2 (June 2007): 287, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[29] Linehan, 287.

[30] Linehan, 289.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibid.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Ibid., 297.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Martin, 62.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Linehan, 295.

[43] Ibid., 296.

[44] Robert Benewick, “Interpretations of British Fascism,” Political Studies 24, no. 3 (September 1976): 322, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[45] Benewick, 321.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Jon Lawrence, “Fascist violence and the politics of public order in inter-war Britain: the Olympia debate revisited,” Historical Research 76, no. 192 (May 2003): 245, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[48] Ibid., 244.

[49] Ibid., 245.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Ibid., 238.

[52] Ibid.

[53] Ibid., 246.

[54] Jon Lawrence, “‘Why Olympia mattered’,” Historical Research 78, no. 200 (May 2005): 268, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.

[55] Jon Lawrence, “‘Why Olympia mattered’,” 268.

[56] Ibid.

[57] Ibid.

[58] Benewick, 322.

[59] Ibid.

[60] Martin, 63.

[61] Ibid.

Into the Faerie Lands: Chapter 13

Into the Faerie Lands

By J. R Bennett

<Chapter XII~*~Christmas in the Farielands Part I>

Chapter XIII

Making Things Done

~*~

            “You lot are amazing,” Bloom said confidently, in the hospital room. “We wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for you lot.”

            It had been several days since the Pedigree had brought everyone back to the island. They were delivered to Bathill where Bloom arranged for everyone to be taken to a nearby hospital to be looked over. Ed was rushed off to surgery for the gash on his face while Zach was easily bandaged. Zach seemed to have no problems with being fussed over by the nurses, especially when he found himself attracted to one of the younger lady nurses who needed to draw blood for a sample. Now, the party sat in a private room waiting to be updated on Ed’s condition. Bug-a-Boo had vanished again and was nowhere to be seen, leaving Sir Guthrie Bloom to entertain them.

            “When you are all better, I think you should stay with my wife and me at our apartments in the city,” Bloom insisted. "Her Majesty would like to have an audience with you as thanks for your efforts.”

            Zach let out a snort, he had no time for monarchs and the like.

            “Both Her Majesty and the Lord Chancellor agree that you have all earned an Order of the Deltic Empire,” Bloom went on, “for services in the protection of the Empire.”

            There came a knock at the door and a nurse entered the room.

            “Mr. Worsley is ready to accept visitors,” the nurse said, curtly.

            Bloom stepped forward.

            “He asked specifically for you lot,” the nurse added, gesturing toward Zach, Alice and Travis.

            The nurse led the trio down the whitewashed hall to a corridor, and then up a flight of stairs to another corridor and another whitewashed hall. The nurse stopped at a door and entered alone; after a few seconds her head appeared from a crack. “He is ready for you now,” was the announcement.

            Everyone found Ed in a hospital bed looking haggard. Half his face was covered in a white bandage with a pad of cotton on his left eye.

            “Well,” announced Zach, “we’ll have to call you Cotton-Eye Joe­­­­­­­­ from now on.”

            Ed didn’t seem to crack a smile.

            “This is all my fault,” Ed croaked, looking evermore in pain from his wounds.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zach replied. “No one died…Well, besides Manoo, those who fought outside—”

            Zach was cut off by a powerful elbow to the stomach by Alice.

            “Ed,” Travis said, “you’ve done nothing wrong. You warned everyone when something was wrong and we all saved the day. If anything you made us heroes…or a couple of Mary Sues. I don’t think I could stand being called Mary…”

            Ed let out a weak smile. “Thanks,” Ed replied, and then lifted his left hand to gesture toward his bandaged eye. “They had to remove it.”

            There was a brief silence, no one wanted to say any more for that moment, they were just glad they were alive after that ordeal.

            Just then a plume of smoke from a chimney outside found its way into the room via an open window. From the smoke appeared Bug-a-Boo, looking glad to see everyone and carrying a large silk bag. “Good day,” Bug-a-Boo cried, with a fluent bow. “I’m happy to see you all well.”

            Zach sent a glare.

            “I apologize for disappearing right after arriving in Bathill, but I had to make a visit to some interested parties about this matter,” the wizard explained.

            “Kina knows we’re here,” Alice protested, dryly.

            “Not Kina. A certain man with a jolly demeanour who has been assisting me with a request I made shortly after you three were brought here.”

            Zach rolled his eyes. “You expect me to buy that Santa Claus has some interest in all this.”

            “I expect you to buy anything,” Bug-a-Boo fired back at Zach. “You’ve been though probably the most cliché of hero’s journey’s and have seen magic performed before your eyes. Goodness knows how many miracles Jesus did before the Israelites and look at how many still didn’t believe him. Whether to believe or not is none of my concern. You are a grown man who is perfectly capable of coming to his own conclusions.”

            Ed laughed, but stopped when he felt the side of his face flare up in pain.

            “Ah! Ed, my boy!” the wizard announced. “I come with a gift from the Master Smith of the North. When he heard about your eye he made you this.”

            Bug-a-Boo produced from the bag a black box and lifted the lid to reveal an ivory eyeball with a sapphire iris and an ebony pupil.

            “Now,” Bug-a-Boo went on, “I’ve placed a charm on it so you’ll be able to use it like a normal eye. We tried to find a stone that would match your eye colour, but sapphire was the closest. It shouldn’t be too noticeable once it’s inserted.”

            “Thank you,” Ed replied.

            “Now, as for you three,” Bug-a-Boo continued, “I don’t normally do this, but once Ed wanted you all to visit I set to work fashioning these for you.”

            The old wizard handed Zach, Travis and Alice each a black box. Inside each of them was a small press bell, just like the one Ed used the first night he appeared.

            “These bells,” Bug-a-Boo explained, “will allow you to travel between worlds, or call on me when needed.”

            “I thought giving a person the power to cross worlds was a dangerous thing,” Travis pointed out.

            “I felt it was a worthy duty for Ed to provide his closest friends the right,” The old wizard explained. “Plus, you all proved yourselves very worth of the right.”

            “You’re a regular Deus ex Machina, Bugs,” Zach put in.

            “I wouldn’t use that,” Bug-a-Boo replied, trying not to blush. “Now, whenever you to are ready to go, all you need to do is press the button on the bells and you will be bought back home. I recommend waiting a few minutes after you leave your world for this one, that way no one will be the wiser to the matter.”

            “And what about my nicks and scrapes?” Zach queried. “People are going to wonder about stuff like that.”

            “Ah! My little Zacchaeus, if you are as smart as Ed claims you should be able to come up with something. I don’t expect any of you keep secrets, though I do hope you will take a moment of sober thought before doing so.”

            With those last words, Bug-a-Boo gave a curt bow, walked to the window, and jumped into the smoke still billowing from the neighbouring building.

            “I guess this is goodbye,” Ed said at last, with a forlorn look.

            “Not really,” Travis said, assuring him. “We will always come back.”

            “It’s fine,” Ed went on. “I’ve been hung up on leaving you guys, but now I can see that you three are always going to be there at the end of line when needed.”

            It was a very teary goodbye. Ed hugged every single person despite the pain he was in, and thanked Zach, Alice and Travis for coming with him into the Fairy Lands. Once everyone had said their goodbyes, the trio pressed their bells and disappeared from the hospital room, leaving Ed alone. Ed wasn’t sad though. Far from it.

Little England 2: The Tudor-ing – A review of Peter Ackroyd’s The Tudors

Portrait of the Tudor Family
(L to R: Mary I, Edward VII, Henry VIII, Jane Symore
(Henry's third and most favourite of the six wives), Elizabeth I

           The Tudors… nothing to lose your head about, though you might find yourself burning with questions.  It was a time when England witnessed dramatic changes with the advent of the Reformation, the fall of Spain as a world power, the colonisation of the new world, and innovations like the flushing toilet (though that didn’t catch on) and the wrist watch.  The sixteenth century is affectionately referred to as the Tudor Period after that dynamic dynasty that arose from the victory of Henry Tudor (Henry VII) at the end of the War of the Roses (check out Foundation by Peter Ackroyd for more on that).  It was a time where we meet Henry VIII, father of the Church of England and his six wives (God bless his lovely fat face); the sickly Edward VI, whose reforms to religion by his Protestant advisers made the Anglican Church the institution we know today; Mary I, remembered as “Bloody Mary” the execution of many Protestant Christians in her campaign to restore Catholicism to England (man, no wonder hubby ran out on her); and of course the virgin Queen Elizabeth I, famous for being the time of Shakespeare and whose reign is considered the golden age of England (just don’t mention Mary Stuart, Liz tends to get a bit touchy about that).  In his second volume on the history of England, entitled The Tudors, Peter Ackroyd provides a detailed and encompassing narrative of this period.  Much like his first volume Foundation, Ackroyd continues his witty and informative writing style to make The Tudors a great follow up.

Peter Ackroyd glares from
from his comfy chair...

            Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I by Peter Ackroyd tells (Surprise) the history of the Tudor dynasty from the accession of Henry VIII as the king of England to the death of Elizabeth I, ushering the arrival of the Stuart line with James I (James VI of Scotland).  The major theme (something I will be discussing more about after this section) that Ackroyd touches upon is religion and how it acted as “a political and dynastic matter, it had no roots or principles of humanist reform.”[1] It was a change for want of power and influence rather than religious change like in continental Europe.

Thomas Cromwell
(That name... sounds familiar)

Thomas Cramner
Father of Modern Anglicanism

            One of the best points in Tudors is Ackroyd’s ability to connect everything to his central theme of religion as a political tool.  From the moment Henry VIII wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, we see the development of the Anglican Church as a as the new order for Christianity in England.  Well, a reformed catholic church.  Under Henry VIII’s English church, signs of popery were removed, monasteries and abbeys were removed, Thomas Cranmer penned reforms while debating the true approach to the Eucharist (did the wine and bread really turn into the blood and body of Christ or was it all symbolism), and people like Thomas Cromwell (remember that name!) lined his pockets with the confiscated items from decommissioned churches and friaries (though in Cromwell’s case he ended up accused of participating in popery).  This plays into Ackroyd’s theme in how the pope’s refusal to agree to this request creates a rift between the secular and spiritual powers.  A king has power by God’s grace and therefore has the right rule as they see fit, the pope’s refusal to agree to this request for a divorce throws the king’s prerogative  into question.  If God is refusing to grant the king’s wish, what does this mean for the legitimacy of the Tudors?  Was Henry VII’s victory in the War of the Roses the Devil’s trickery?  Did this mean Henry VIII was merely Satan’s puppet? or worse, the Antichrist?  We could run the gambit with these questions but the ultimate answer it Henry expected the pope to take his side after the king fiercely defended the Roman Catholic faith against reformers like Martin Luther (especially Martin Luther).

Engraving of Mary Queen of Scot's execution

            Another thing that works in Tudor’s favour is Ackroyd’s ability as a writer.  The best example of this can be found in the chapter “The Dead Cannot Bite”, there Ackroyd describes the final moments of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland and bitter rival of Elizabeth I.  Here, Ackroyd paints a detailed picture of Mary as the regal martyr she wanted to be.

At eight o’clock, on the morning of 8 February, the provost marshal of Fortheringhay Castle knocked of the door of [Mary’s] apartments; there was no response at first, prompting fears that the queen of Scots had taken her own life.  Suicide was a mortal sin, however, and Mary did not wish to stain her personal glory. …She stood on the threshold, wearing a robe and jacket of black satin trimmed with velvet.  Her hair was arranged in a coif; over her head, and falling over back was a white silk veil.  A crucifix of gold hung from her neck.  In her hand she held another crucifix of ivory of ivory.  […] Quite calm and giving no sign of fear, she sat down in the chair made ready for her in front of the block, and listened to the reading of the warrant against her.  [The executioners] began to arrange her dress for the final scene… Her silk veil was then removed, together with the black rode and black jacket.  Beneath them she was wearing crimson velvet and crimson satin.  She was now blood red, the colour of the martyr.[2]

In this excerpt, Ackroyd shows how Mary Stuart made herself to appear like a martyr, from the colour choice of her clothes to the crucifixes she carried.  It is clear Mary wanted to maintain her image as the pious queen of Scotland, loyal to the Pope and the cause of returning England to the Roman Catholic fold.  It can be seen that Mary was only trying to preserve what dignity she had left (as little as there was considering Mary threatened to behead her son for accepting the throne of Scotland) while also acting as a symbol for the Roman Catholics of England.  This understanding is made clear to the reader thanks to the writing ability of Ackroyd.

            In closing, Peter Ackroyd once again presents another successful read.  Much like Foundation, the book Tudors show cases the Ackroyd’s work as a writer and historian with his elegant prose and ability of using the over arching theme of religion.  Tudors is a great read for anyone who is looking to continue where Foundation left off or wanting to learn more about the Tudor dynasty.

Bibliography

Ackroyd, Peter. Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. 2012.

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[1] Peter Ackroyd, Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2012), 467.

[2] Ibid., 424-425.

Into the Fairylands: Chapter 12

Into the Fairylands

By J. R. Bennett
<Chapter XI~*~Chapter XIII>

Chapter XII

Making things Undone

~*~

            It took a few minutes for everyone to climb up but once they were up, Ed, Zach, Travis, Alice, Bug-a-boo, Little Dill, and Jolly Roger could easily see what was before them.  The new area looked vast with rows of torches burning for miles illuminating a white marble floor.  In the middle was a massive stone block serving as an alter with runes inscribed all over it and dried blood on the top while a foul smell of incense hung in the air.

            Everyone approached the stone; it smelt of decay and seemed to be the only smell that could overpower the incense.  Bug-a-boo surveyed the runes on the alter.

            “What does it say?” Travis asked Travis.

            “‘Here are the damned.’” read Bug-a-boo.  “‘Given up in the name of Father Horcus for the forgiveness of the Lone Titan.’”

            “Must be where Manoo’s minions take their victims,” commented Ed.  “The whole place reeks of death.”

            “There’sssss more life than death here little man,” hissed a voice from the black shadows.

            “Whose there!” cried Alice.

            “I am everywhere and nowhere.” the voice taunted.  “I am duel.  I am multiple.  I am one.  Sssssome call me the Lone Titan, others the Basssstard of Horcussss.”

            Everything seemed to happen at once.  Out of the shadows came a snake like creature, head of a snake, torso of a man, and the lower half the body of a snake.  The torso was dressed in ancient armour and was wielding a large battle-axe in both its hands.  The creature charged at Ed, axe poised ready to strike. Ed tried to jump to the right to avoid the attack but was stuck by the edge of axe and collided into Zach, hitting the hard marble floor and crashing into one of the torches.

            The creature recoiled ready for another strike.  Zach, still in pain from the collision, hurled a hunk of burning wood at the monster.  With luck, the burning wood hit the creature but it was still attracted by the others.  It was about to pounce again when a large hand from the dark appeared and grabbed the creature.

            “That isss enough.” the same voice hissed and the hand gripped the creature.

            “Who is this!?” called Bug-a-boo.

            Alice and Travis ran over to Ed and Zach.  Both were badly hurt from the attack.  Zach’s shoulder was scratched and bruised and gashed across the back of his head.  Ed’s face was badly cut, his left eye not even being spared from the assault.  Alice and Travis wasted no time bandaging Ed and Zach.

            Out of a heavily shadowed end of the room appeared a big head with handsome face and a nattered mess of long black hair.

            “It issss I, Manoo.” the face hissed. “Damned to live my daysss on thisss rock they call Sssspyrussss.”

            Bug-a-boo produced from his coat a sapphire orb and proceeded to shake it.  The orb began to glow and, as Bug-a-boo let go of it, floated up high above everyone.  The orb let out such a radiant glow that it illuminated the entire room more than the torches.  It was then that everyone could behold Manoo, the titanic child of Horcus and the titan Ironbone.

            Manoo was a massive titan, over one hundred feet in height while dressed in rages with chains and fetters latched around his arms, legs, and neck.  His body was riddled with patches of snake scales while the right side of his torso was fused to the wall.

            “Who daresss disssssturb me in my sssslumber?” the titan boomed.

            Bug-a-boo gave a curt bow and introduced himself and the others.  The titan hurled the snake creature across the room and leaned as best he could to take a closer look at the others.  In the meantime, Ed and Zach were able to gather enough strength to stand.

            “I apologissse for the reaction of Temor.”  Manoo hissed.  “He issss my guard and ssssent to prevent anyone from breaking my soul.”

            Manoo pointed to the rune and blood covered alter.

            “So that is how Horcus has kept you trapped.” Ed commented.

            “The story of my sssssealing has been wrapped in a lie of rebellion on myssself and my worssssshipersssss.”  Manoo explained and told his long tale, seeming not to hiss as he spoke this time.

            “Long ago, before time eternal, the first gods Void and Naught fashioned the universe by taming dragons and locking them in spheres.  Unsure of what to do with these creations the two fought and Void slayed Naught.  Horrified by his sin, Void went into a long sleep that will only end when time is over.  He will destroy all creation to revive Naught.

            “From Naught’s blood came the oceans; his flesh became sand and soil, Naught’s hair became all flora; his teeth the twenty-four gods of the Zeltic lore; and his bones all the creatures of creation.  Among the bones came the first masters of the world, the titans.  The titans believed the world was their birthright and enslaved all creation for their bidding.  For 40,000 years, titans ruled like gods and worshiped the twenty-four gods as thanks for this right, holding Horcus as the highest of them all.

            “Eventually humanity and the Fae became tired of their gigantic overlords and rebelled.  Among this rebellious group was a cult who sacrificed all that were slayed as tribute so that they may defeat the titans.  Horcus became enraged and wanted to destroy this cult, he intended to wake Void and bring about the destruction of the universe so that he would win, even if it meant becoming a tooth.  I objected and helped the cult, now called Manookoo, and attacked Horcus.

            “In the long fight, Horcus cursed me and my followers to this rock.  Now I must spend my days feeding on the flesh of innocent who are made to appear as sinners of unknown crimes.  What I would give for this fate to be over!  Alas, I am forced to stay and rot in this tomb.”

            “There may be away.” Bug-a-boo replied and explained about the sealing of Manoo’s soul to the rock.

            “The only thing I know that has the seal of my father would be on the alter,” said the titan and proceeded to reach with a mighty fist to destroy it.  As the fist became close, a flash of white light and the fist flew back.

            “Of course.” Ed mumbled weakly.  “The seal can’t be broken that easily.  Horcus probably knew that would happen eventually.”

            Everyone examined the alter.  In raised letters and covered in blood on top of the alter was a large rune in the middle of an icositetragon made up of a series of intricate runes.

            “‘Only my breath can break this curse.’” Ed read from the runes.

            “I doubt Horcus would want us to shout ‘be gone’ or something like that.” Zach added.

            Little Dill jumped on top of the alter and began to blow on it, taking deep heaving breaths and blowing as hard as he could.

            “It’s no use.” Bug-a-boo said as he picked up the small toy and placed him on the floor.  “This is far more complicated.”

            Little Dill was having none of it. He jumped up and down trying to get everyone’s attention for another idea but was ordered by Bug-a-boo to stand a side and wait.  Annoyed, Little Dill ran up to Jolly Roger and began to whisper something into the seagull’s ear.  Roger nodded, Little Dill jumped on Roger’s back, and the two flew off to where some of the broken torches were burning.  The seagull gripped the piece of wood that was burning on one end and carried it the best he could to the alter.

            “Tries this!” Little Dill cried.

            “It’s worth a try.” Jolly Roger argued.  “At worse nothing happens.”

            Bug-a-boo let out a hard sigh and reluctantly agreed.

            Jolly Roger dropped the burning wood on the alter.  The flame burned for a short while until the flames died out and wood became only red embers and black ash.  In seconds the blood converted surface began to burn; smouldering at first and soon yellow and blue flames began to lick the air and spread across the alter until the flames burst into a mighty combustion that put out the rest of the torches.

            When the smoke and drama had died, the only light that was in the space was the glowing orb.  The orb slowly floated down to Bug-a-boo.  The alter was only rubble and the torches now just poles of wood with chard tips.  Manoo crawled forward, everyone could see that his skin was free of scales and the walls of the rock.

            “Thank you.”  the titan said.  “It has been a long time since I could breathe air freely and feel the sun upon me.  I shall not take this gift you have given me for granted.”

            “You’ll have a very different world to see once you leave here,” called Bug-a-boo from below.

            “That is something I look forward to.” Manoo replied.

            Suddenly, from the far end of the cavern there came a sudden gust of fresh air and light from outside as two large stones slid away.  Beyond everyone could see blue sky and ocean with not a speck of purple fog to be seen across the horizon.

            “It’s beautiful.” Manoo muttered as a tear rolled from his great eyes.

            Everyone agreed.

            Manoo crawled toward the opening.  He didn't flinch away from the light; the great titan only closed his eyes and let the warm sunlight wax across his pale skin and the cool sea air blow through this mane of hair.

            There came a rumbling; the ceiling began to quake and slide down.  Manoo quickly braced himself against the ceiling and pushed against it with all his might.

            “I should have expected my father wouldn’t want me to leave here.” Manoo commented.

            Everyone looked up at the titan.

            “Go!” Manoo ordered.  “My time was over eons ago!”

            Ed, Zach, Travis, Alice, Bug-a-boo, Little Dill, and Jolly Roger ran for the opening.  Pulling up to the opening was the eagles and the boat-sled – now more boat than sled!  Everyone ran, water from the opening slowly flooding the room and reaching their knees as they reached the boat.

            There came a cry of pain from inside Spyrus, followed by a force of air escaping from the opening.  The eagles tried to move fast but the ropes snapped, sending the boat one-way and the eagles another. 

            Everyone was able to steady the boat.  The boat drifted for a fair distance before seeming to stop.  The party watched as the great rock Spyrus sank into the ocean, leaving white capped waves in its wake.

            “So falls a once great mighty god.” Ed said in awe.

            “There are no gods, Ed.” Bug-a-boo added.  “Just powerful beings who buy into their powers.  Horcus thought he was able to keep humanity under the thumb of the titans and in the end, he and his kind are now but myths of the past while Manoo remains trapped in Spyrus.”

            “No.” Zach said calmly. “I think he’s finally free.”

            No more was said as just then there came the sound of a faint whistle.  Everyone looked back to see the Pedigree charging along the sapphire waters with black smoke billowing from her funnels and white foam slashing away from the bow.

Into the Fairylands: Chapter 11

Into the Fairylands

By J. R. Bennett
<Chapter X~*~Chapter XII>

Chapter XI

The Trial of Horcus

~*~

            Jolly Roger flew up to the eagles that were pulling the sled and informed them of what was to be done next.  The eagles then began to adjust their course as so they could transfer onto the rock.

            Getting on to the monolith wasn’t hard.  It was moving slowly enough that the eagles could pull the sled up to the side and everyone get off quickly.  Despite Spyrus’ moment, walking was quite easy.

            “Right,” whispered Bug-a-boo.  “Now that we’re here, we need to be on our guard while we find the seal.”

            “Do we even know what it looks like?” Zach put in.  “I feel like this was never really specified.”

            “Zach’s go a point.” Ed said.

            “That’s because we don’t know what it looks like.” Bug-a-boo replied.  “It was hard enough finding it out, much less what it looks like.”

            “Maybe we should split up,” suggested Travis.  “It’s too big for us to all go it together and it won’t make a difference if we don’t know what it looks like.”

            “Even Travis has one.” Ed commented. “Normally he gets one of those a week.”

            Travis gave Ed a look.

            “I don’t want to risk it.” Bug-a-boo went on, pausing for a second.  “No.  It isn’t right.  There’s a good chance we’ll find the seal with Manoo.”

            With the old wizard getting the final word on the matter, everyone began the trek along Spyrus.  The eagles stayed behind to keep watch and provide an easy escape when the time came.

            The surface of Spyrus was quite smooth and the steeper areas were noticeably harder to climb.  The fog didn’t make it any easier with some craters being hidden by random, thick gobs.  At one point, Travis nearly fell into one of those craters.

            “Careful!” Zach cried as he caught Travis.  “Last thing we need is a casualty.”

            Not long after that, everyone decided to set up camp for the night.

            “There’s not much of a point going any further.” Ed argued.  “It’s hard enough to walk in this fog without someone breaking their neck; the dark’ll just make it worse.”

            They were too exposed on the surface for a proper fire and had to rely on a small mound of coals for warmth.  For extra protection, everyone took turns keeping watch through the night.  It wasn’t worst thing as they had Little Dill to keep them company since the small toy didn’t need to sleep.

            In the morning, they started out again.  This time Jolly Roger flew a bit ahead to see if there was anything important.  Every once in a while the seagull would return to warn them of some craters and then fly back.  The day ended with another fireless campout with no results.

            The morning began with more hiking before stopping for a brief luncheon.  Bug-a-boo kept lamenting about the situation as he fingered through a small book of notes.

            “Wha’s up, Ed?” Zach inquired, noticing a queer facial expression on his friends face.

            “Do you hear something?” Ed asked.  “Like heavy breathing.”

            “I don’t hear anything,” said Travis.

            “I’m hearin’ something.”  Ed insisted.

            In one of the craters, that was a few miles away, fire shot out into the air.

            “I think we found our titan.” Ed mused and jumped to his feet.

            Jolly Roger flew ahead to scout for any danger and was quick to return with an “all clear” answer.

            When everyone arrived at the cave, they were met with the smell of decay and burning.  Alice poked her head over the opening when she heard the sound of something big and hot coming up the cavern.

            “Swo---osh!” went a geyser of flames into the air.  It lasted for a few minutes and then dissipated.

            “Something’s down there, that’s for sure.” agreed Bug-a-boo.

            “Could it lead to Manoo?” asked Alice.

            “Possibly.” Ed answered.  “The only problem is that fire.”

            Zach looked at his watch, his lips moving like he was counting. “Fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven…” he counted. “Two minutes. One, two, three…”

            Finally, another flaming geyser shot up.

            “Ten minutes!” Zach announced.

            “What about ten minutes?” asked Ed.

            “That’s how much time we’ve got before the next flame shoots up.”

            “You don’t honestly think there’s a way down there?” doubted Bug-a-boo.

            “Have you any other ideas?” Zach shot.

            “Yes.  We keep going.  There’s no guarantee that this cavern goes anywhere.”

            “Well, the longer we wonder, the more likely it is that this rock has made land fall.”

            The tense silence that followed was soon broken by another blast of fire.

            “There goes another ten minutes.” Travis muttered to Ed and Alice.

            Jolly Roger and Little Dill were losing patience.  As soon as the fire stopped, the bird and toy set out down the cavern.  They made it back just before the flames shot up.

            “There’s a cave down there.” Jolly Roger explained.  “Could easily get to it if we’re fast enough.”

            “So, there’s a cave.” Ed pondered.  “Could lead to Manoo, could not.”

            “I’m starting to wonder if the fire is even real.” Alice put in.

            “What do you mean?”

            “Haven’t you noticed that there hasn’t been any heat from the fire when it shoots out?”

            “Now that you mention it,” added Bug-a-boo, “it’s not hot at all.”

            “So, it has to be an illusion,” concluded Travis.

            “Bingo.” said Ed.  “We just need to make sure that it’s true and not a real trap.”

            “I’ll doos it!” piped Little Dill and started puttering to the edge of the crater.  “If you guys are goings to arg’oo ‘bouts it, I mights as wells.”

            Before anyone could do anything, a rush of flame erupted into the air.  Everyone watched in horror as Little Dill leaned over the edge and the flames rushed past him.

            Nothing happened.

            “Obviously a trick.” observed Zach.

            “Could have been Horus’ way of keeping intruders out.” Ed added.  “I remember George telling me once that Horcus was always a paranoid god.  There’s a good chance that this won’t be the last trick.”

            “Great,” fumed Zach, “a god with a paranoia complex.  What next? One with a Napoleon complex or Freudian issues?”

            “Now is not the time for quips.” Bug-a-boo interrupted.  Now that we know that it is safe to go in, we’d may as well prepare ourselves for what’s to come.”

            When the flames died down, Ed and Travis peered down into the pit.  It seemed to go downward and then curve into a horizontal position.  There was no sign of any flame to light the way below, further confirming that the flaming geyser was just an illusion.

            Using some pegs and rope, everyone made their way down to the bottom of the cavern, still feeling uneasy whenever the flames would shoot up.  Little Dill however rode on Jolly Roger and met everyone at the bottom quite quickly.

            “Tooks yous long enough!” the little doll mocked as everyone finally reached the bottom.

            They left the rope behind as the group began to make their way through the tunnel with lamps.  The long cavern curved in every direction, making it hard to determine whether they were going the right way at times.  It was eerily quiet; the only sound heard was their feet, tapping along the solid stone.

            “We should be getting close.” said Bug-a-boo, trying not to be too loud.

            “What makes you so sure?” Zach quizzed.

            “A tunnel can’t go on for ever young man.  Eventually, we should find the end.”

            “Oi!” Ed called.  “I think there’s an opening ahead.”

            “How can you tell?” asked Travis.  “It’s so dark here; I can barely my hand in front of my face, even if there are lamps.”

            “I can hear the wind.” Ed replied. “I know it sounds weird but if you listen closely, you can hear the wind whizzing across the opening.”

            Alice approached the opening cautiously.  She could hear a slight sound of the wind – Ed was quite right about that – but it was hard to tell what was above due to it being so dark.

            Jolly Roger fluttered up to the opening with a lamp clutched to his talons.  The little light seemed to float for a few seconds as the gull went up and then disappeared.

            Everyone waited in anticipation.  In the few moments they waited, time stretched into what felt like an eternity. 

            At last, Jolly Roger returned.

            “There’s something up there alright.”  He replied.  “No sure what… There was a queer sound.”

            “What sort of sound?” Ed asked.

            “Like something large was breathing.”