Savrola

Last updated

Savrola
SavrolaChiversedition.jpg
Chivers 1973 edition
Author Winston S. Churchill
CountryUK
GenreFiction
PublisherLongman, Green and Co.
Publication date
1900
Media typePrint
Pages345 (1st edition)
OCLC 4900630

Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania is the only major fictional work of Winston S. Churchill. The story describes events in the capital of Laurania, a fictional European state, as unrest against the dictatorial government of president Antonio Molara turns to violent revolution.

Contents

Churchill began writing the novel on his voyage from Britain to India to take part in the Malakand campaign in August 1897. Churchill was on leave from his posting with the army in India when he had news of fighting in Malakand, and immediately arranged to return. The book was started before, and completed after, writing The Story of the Malakand Field Force about his experiences there. He wrote to his brother in May 1898 that the book had been completed. The working title for the book was Affairs of State. It was initially published as a serialisation in Macmillan's Magazine between May and December 1898, and was then published as a book in February 1900. [1]

Background

Savrola is in many respects a conventional example of the "Ruritanian" genre, being published just four years after the classic The Prisoner of Zenda , by Anthony Hope. The politics and institutions of Laurania reflect the values of England as Churchill experienced them. A comparison has been drawn between Molara and Oliver Cromwell, against whom an ancestor of Churchill's, also named Winston Churchill, fought as a captain of horse, something which would have been familiar to Churchill as part of his family history. The capital and its institutions are a miniature of London, so the State ball follows the etiquette of the great society gatherings in London which Churchill would have attended. [2]

The heroine of the story, Lucile, is believed to have been modelled upon Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. Lucile is the wife of the out-of-touch ruler of Laurania, Molara. Lucile abandons Molara for the charms of Savrola, a character more like Churchill himself. One of the characters, Tiro, an officer in the republican guard, discusses his life in conversation with Savrola, mirroring the life of a subaltern officer in the Indian Army which Churchill had experienced. Savrola himself is described as "vehement, high and daring", and the sort of man who could "know rest only in action, contentment only in danger, and in confusion find their only peace... Ambition was the motive force, and he was powerless to resist it". The story contains a nurse, who again has been compared to Churchill's own nurse, Mrs Everest. The book is dedicated to the officers of the 4th Hussars, Churchill's regiment. [1]

Critical reception

Churchill first sought the opinion of friends and relations about the book. He asked his grandmother, Frances, Duchess of Marlborough, to comment, with particular reference to the character of Lucile. She responded that she felt the book was worthy of publication, particularly since it already had the prospect of a reasonable financial return, but felt the plot might be improved. She was impressed by the descriptions of fighting, but agreed with Churchill's concerns about Lucile, suggesting that the character betrayed his lack of experience of women. However, an offer of £100 from the Morning Post for the right to serialise the book left Churchill no time for amendments, and it was published as it stood. [3]

The book was reviewed by the newspaper The Star , which was modestly impressed. The reviewer considered that it was clearly inferior to The River War , which Churchill had already published, although this book was written earlier, but would otherwise have been a promising start. It was compared to the works of Benjamin Disraeli, a politician who also wrote novels containing significant amounts of social comment. The reviewer observed that in both cases the books served to maintain public interest in their authors. The characters were described as "stock puppets of brisk romance", but the fighting scenes were impressive and full of suspense.

The Echo was less impressed. While acknowledging that the book showed promise and was interesting, it was critical of the lack of detail in the plot and in love scenes. Unlike some other reviews, which had been entertained by the philosophy and political comment, this considered the "desperate efforts after intellectuality" as simply dull. It felt the book was overly dependent on fighting and bloodshed to carry it along. [4]

The book was not an enormous success, but has persisted. In 1965 a review by Bryan Magee for Encounter observed that the book had hung on in libraries as an adventure tale for children, but regretted that it was neglected by adults. The review recognised that perhaps its greatest interest was now the insight it gave as to Churchill's beliefs as a young man. The character of Savrola identified precisely with Churchill himself, with what he wished to be and what he later became. [5]

Churchill's own verdict on his early foray into fiction was given in his 1930 autobiography My Early Life : "I have consistently urged my friends to abstain from reading it." [6]

Plot

Events take place in a fictional country called Laurania, located somewhere on the Mediterranean sea, which is similar to Italy or Spain, but with an overlay of Victorian England. Laurania has an African colony which can be reached via the Suez Canal. It has been a republic for many years, and has a well established constitution. Five years previously (stated to be in 1883) the country was split by a civil war, as a result of which General Antonio Molara became president and Dictator. Unrest has arisen because of Molara's refusal to restore parliamentary rule, and the final events of his dictatorship are described in the book.

The story opens with a description of the capital and fast-moving political events there. Molara has bowed to popular pressure for elections, but intends to do so on the basis of a grossly amended electoral register. Savrola is seen as the leader of the revolutionaries, deciding what they are to do, and presiding over conflicting factions with differing aims. Despite the unrest, society still proceeds on the surface in a genteel course, with state balls and society events. Molara decides to ask his young and beautiful wife, Lucile, to attempt to seduce Savrola and discover anything she can about his plans. Unfortunately for him, Lucile finds herself attracted to Savrola and her loyalties become confused.

Events move from political manoeuvring to street fighting when a rebel army invades Laurania. While Savrola knows about the army and intended invasion, he has poor control over it, so the invasion has started without his knowledge or proper preparations. Both sides scramble for a fight, as Molara finds the country's regular troops refuse to obey his orders. He is obliged to despatch most of the loyal Republican Guard from the capital to oppose the invaders, leaving him with a much reduced force to hold the capital. Fierce street fighting takes place in the capital between the revolutionaries of the Popular Party and the Republican Guard. The revolution culminates in the storming of the Presidential Palace and General Molara's death on the steps of his palace. The revolutionary allies start to break apart in the face of a threat by the Lauranian navy (which remains loyal to the president), to bombard the city unless Savrola is handed over to them. The council of public safety decides the most expedient position would be to agree to this, but Savrola escapes attempts to arrest him and flees with Lucile. The city is subsequently bombarded when Savrola is not produced, and the last scene is of Savrola watching the destruction from outside the city.

Editions

Savrola was initially published as a book of 345 pages and 70,000 words by Longman Green and Co. The serial rights were sold to Macmillan's Magazine for £100. Overall, by serialisation and publication in the Longman editions in different countries it earned approximately £700 for Churchill. It was serialised again in the Sunday Dispatch in 1954 on the occasion of Churchill's 80th birthday. [7] A dramatisation of the story was broadcast in 1964 as part of Saturday Night Theatre by BBC Radio, [8] while it was televised in the States in 1956 in a brief version which Churchill himself criticised as lacking the original's status as “a thorough-going rip-roaring melodrama”. [9]

The first edition was published in the US by Longmans in November 1899, with a print run of 4,000 copies and a price of $1.25. This was shortly followed in January 1900 by the UK edition of 1,500 copies priced 6 shillings. 4,500 copies were issued of a colonial edition distributed throughout the empire, although a separate edition was issued in Canada by Copp Clark using the same Longman's imprint.

In 1908 a paperback illustrated edition of 128 pages was published in the UK by George Newnes for 6d. In 1915 a new hardback edition of 25,000 copies and 260 pages was issued by Hodder and Stoughton for 7d. In 1956 a second American edition of 241 pages was published by Random house, now risen to $3.50. In 1957 a paperback edition of 222 pages was issued in the UK by Beacon books for 2s 6d. In 1973 a hardback edition of 260 pages was published by Cedric Chivers Ltd. on behalf of the library association for £2.20. Another USA edition was produced in 1976 by Amereon House. In 1990 Leo Cooper published a further UK edition, and others have been produced. There have been a number of editions translated into foreign languages. For the French de luxe edition, see French Wikipedia (in French) and the 2019 Hillsdale College article (in English) by Antoine Capet, "Savrola : Churchill's Novel, and Its Most Beautiful Appearance". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Churchill</span> British statesman and writer (1874–1965)

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Sir Edward Howard Marsh was a British polymath, translator, arts patron and civil servant. He was the sponsor of the Georgian school of poets and a friend to many poets, including Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon. In his career as a civil servant he worked as private secretary to a succession of the United Kingdom's most powerful ministers, particularly Winston Churchill. He was a discreet but influential figure within Britain's homosexual community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Gilbert</span> British historian (1936–2015)

Sir Martin John Gilbert was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of 88 books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history including the Holocaust. He was a member of the Chilcot Inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Moorehead</span> Australian journalist and war correspondent

Alan McCrae Moorehead, was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, The White Nile (1960) and The Blue Nile (1962). Australian-born, he lived in England, and Italy, from 1937.

<i>The River War</i> 1899 book by Winston Churchill

The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan (1899), by Winston Churchill, is a history of the conquest of the Sudan between 1896 and 1899 by Anglo-Egyptian forces led by Lord Kitchener. He defeated the Sudanese Dervish forces, led by Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, heir to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, who had vowed to conquer Egypt and drive out the Ottomans. The first, two-volume, edition includes accounts of Churchill's own experiences as a British Army officer during the war, and his views on its conduct.

Richard M. Langworth CBE is an author based in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, United States, and Eleuthera, Bahamas, who specialises in automotive history and Winston Churchill. He was editor of The Packard Cormorant from 1975 to 2001 and is a Trustee of the Packard Motorcar Foundation in Detroit, Michigan. His works have won awards from the Antique Automobile Club of America, Society of Automotive Historians, Old Cars Weekly, Packard Club and Graphic Arts Association of New Hampshire.

<i>The Story of the Malakand Field Force</i> 1898 book by Winston Churchill

The Story of the Malakand Field Force: An Episode of Frontier War was an 1898 book written by Winston Churchill; it was his first published work of non-fiction.

<i>My Early Life</i>

My Early Life, also known in the US as A Roving Commission: My Early Life, is a 1930 book by Winston Churchill. It is an autobiography from his birth in 1874 to around 1902. The book closes with mention of his marriage in 1908, stating that he lived happily ever after.

<i>Sunday Dispatch</i>

The Sunday Dispatch was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the Sunday Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Malakand</span> 1897 siege of a British garrison in India

The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province. The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands had been bisected by the Durand Line, the 1,519 mile (2,445 km) border between Afghanistan and British India drawn up at the end of the Anglo-Afghan wars to help hold back what the British feared to be the Russian Empire's spread of influence towards the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bindon Blood</span> British Army General

General Sir Bindon Blood, was a British Army commander who served in Egypt, Afghanistan, India, and South Africa.

<i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i> 1842 poetry collection by Thomas Macaulay

Lays of Ancient Rome is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. Macaulay also included two poems inspired by recent history: Ivry (1824) and The Armada (1832).

The First Mohmand campaign was a British military campaign against the Mohmands from 1897 to 1898.

<i>The Second World War</i> (book series) History of World War II written by Winston Churchill

The Second World War is a history of the period from the end of the First World War to July 1945, written by Winston Churchill. Churchill labelled the "moral of the work" as follows: "In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: Magnanimity, In Peace: Goodwill".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Churchill as writer</span> Writing career of the British politician

Winston Churchill, in addition to his careers of soldier and politician, was a prolific writer under the variant of his full name 'Winston S. Churchill'. After being commissioned into the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in 1895, Churchill gained permission to observe the Cuban War of Independence, and sent war reports to The Daily Graphic. He continued his war journalism in British India, at the Siege of Malakand, then in the Sudan during the Mahdist War and in southern Africa during the Second Boer War.

Ian Hamilton's March is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a description of his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War, continuing after the events described in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand Agency</span> Administrative division of British India and later Pakistan

The Malakand Agency was one of the agencies in the North West Frontier Province of British India and later of Pakistan until 2010. It included the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat, and an area around the Malakand Pass known as the Malakand Protected Area. The largest city in the area was Mingora, while the three state capitals were Chitral, Dir, and Saidu Sharif. In 1970, following the abolition of the princely states, the agency became the Malakand Division, which was divided into districts, one of which was the Malakand Protected Area, known as Malakand District. In 2000 the Malakand Division was abolished. Despite the constitutional changes since 1970, the expression Malakand Agency is still used, sometimes of the entire area of the former Agency, but more often of Malakand District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batkhela</span> City in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Batkhela is a city, tehsil and the district headquarter of the Malakand District within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the population of Batkhela was recorded at 68,200. Batkhela is considered as one of the most popular business cities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A water canal that pours into a small dam in the Jabban area near Batkhela is the main source of electricity production here.

<i>The World Crisis</i>

The World Crisis is Winston Churchill's account of the First World War, published in six volumes. Published between 1923 and 1931: in many respects it prefigures his better-known multivolume The Second World War. The World Crisis is analytical and, in some parts, a justification by Churchill of his role in the war. Churchill denied it was a "history," describing the work in Vol. 2 as "a contribution to history of which note should be taken together with other accounts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early life of Winston Churchill</span> Life of Winston Churchill, 1874–1904

The early life of Winston Churchill covers the period from his birth on 30 November 1874 to 31 May 1904 when he formally crossed the floor of the House of Commons, defecting from the Conservative Party to sit as a member of the Liberal Party.

References

  1. 1 2 Jenkins, Roy (2001). Churchill. Macmillan. pp. 32–34. ISBN   0-333-78290-9.
  2. Mendelssohn p. 109-110
  3. Churchill/Gilbert Vol.I p. 437-438
  4. Churchill/Gilbert Vol. I, p.516
  5. Churchill/Gilbert Vol. I, p.517-518
  6. Churchill, Winston (1930). A Roving Commission - My Early Life. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 154.
  7. Mendelssohn p.106
  8. "Savrola". radiolistings. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  9. J. Rose, The Literary Churchill (Yale 2015) p. 435
  10. "Savrola, Churchill's Novel: the Magnificent Monaco Edition". The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2020.