Purgatory Revisted

Purgatory Revisited (c. 1948–1950) by Lord Holden – Skeffington & Son Ltd

ISBN: None
Condition: Fair
Published: Circa 1948–1950
Illustrated by: Philip Gough
Dust Jacket: Quite worn but mostly intact
Offered by: Crappy Old Books

There was a time when the afterlife was considered a solemn business, involving divine judgement, eternal consequences and the uncomfortable possibility that one’s earthly misdeeds might eventually require a rather detailed explanation.

Lord Holden, apparently finding conventional arrangements insufficiently entertaining, decided that Purgatory deserved another visit.

Welcome to Purgatory Revisited: A Victorian Parody, a wonderfully eccentric literary excursion into the hereafter, where the departed inhabitants of Victorian society discover that death does not necessarily guarantee freedom from social embarrassment, intellectual pretension or the attentions of an observant satirist.

Published by Skeffington & Son around 1948–1950, this curious little volume belongs to that delightful tradition of British humour in which the distinguished, the pompous and the self-important are politely escorted into situations calculated to undermine their dignity.

The premise provides a splendid opportunity to revisit the Victorian age, with its formidable personalities, elaborate conventions, moral certainties and extraordinary confidence that civilisation had reached something approaching perfection.

Naturally, subsequent history has been rather unkind to that particular assumption.

Lord Holden approaches his subject with a mischievous appreciation of Victorian manners and intellectual fashions, presenting an imaginary encounter with the past in which the great and supposedly good may discover that their reputations have not necessarily improved through departure from the mortal world.

There is something particularly appealing about a post-war author casting a satirical eye backwards towards the Victorians, whose solemn pronouncements on morality, empire and progress must have seemed increasingly peculiar after two world wars.

The book is also distinguished by its charming illustrations by Philip Gough, whose wonderfully theatrical artwork extends to the attractive pictorial dust jacket. With its classical columns, flowing crimson draperies and ethereal landscape, the cover promises an excursion into the supernatural conducted with considerably more artistic elegance than most journeys through the afterlife.

Condition: Fair. This is a genuinely vintage survivor, showing considerable evidence of age, handling and previous ownership. The original illustrated dust jacket is quite worn, with noticeable edge wear and deterioration, but remains mostly intact.

For a book approaching eighty years of age, the survival of its colourful original jacket is an appealing feature in itself. The original price of 12/6 provides an additional little reminder of Britain’s pre-decimal literary economy.

Naturally, there is no ISBN. In those distant days, books were identified without electronic catalogues, numerical identifiers or the assistance of algorithms.

Offered by Crappy Old Books, where battered literary survivors are appreciated, Victorian pomposity receives appropriate scrutiny, and admission to Purgatory is not included in the purchase price.

An entertaining curiosity for collectors of British humour, literary parody, illustrated vintage books and the peculiar cultural afterlife of the Victorians.

Proof that death may be inevitable, but escaping the attention of a determined British satirist is quite another matter.

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