Lower than Vermin

Last updated

Lower than Vermin
Lower Than Vermin dustjacket.jpg
1950 dustjacket
Author Dornford Yates
GenreNovel
Publisher Ward Lock & Co [1]
Publication date
1950 [1]
Media typePrint
Pages324 [1]

Lower than Vermin is a 1950 novel by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer). It was not a commercial success, dealing as it did with a vanished pre-war world of upper class characters that held little attraction to readers of the 1950s.

Contents

The title comes from a 1948 speech by Labour minister Aneurin Bevan in which he described the Conservative Party as "lower than vermin". [2]

Plot

The book deals with the history of a noble family from about the time of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee until after the Second World War, much of it related by the governess, Miss Carson.

Background

Mercer was very much not in sympathy with the new post-war order, and having received many letters from readers asking him to write again of the "old days" he once again returned to his preferred period with this novel. [2] He wrote to a correspondent, "What we used to call the nobility and gentry of England have been so monstrously misaligned and misrepresented for so long that I felt it was only right that some author of standing should present a true picture of them and their habits and manners before it was too late." [3]

Critical reception

Mercer's autobiographer AJ Smithers acknowledged "Mercer's mild obsession with the kind of people whom he ranked only a little lower than the angels." [3] He noted that the author's ideas had been formed well before 1914 and they were never mitigated. By the time Mercer was thirty he "had seen a good cross-section of the gentry of England and ... he preserved it like a fly in amber." [4]

The book was not a great success, appearing to a new generation of post-war readers to be a caricature completely divorced from present reality. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornford Yates</span> English writer and novelist (1885–1960)

Cecil William Mercer, known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous, some thrillers, were best-sellers during the Interwar Period.

<i>The House That Berry Built</i> 1945 novel by Dornford Yates

The House That Berry Built is a 1945 humorous semi-autobiographical novel by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. It is a lightly fictionalised recounting of the construction of the author's house Cockade in the commune of Eaux-Bonnes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.

<i>Wife Apparent</i> 1956 novel by Dornford Yates

Wife Apparent is a 1956 book by the English author Dornford Yates, his last novel. The book was originally to be called Lady-in-Waiting, but this had to be changed at the last moment as another book with the same title was scheduled to appear at about the same time.

<i>The Courts of Idleness</i> 1920 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Courts of Idleness is a 1920 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, his second book. Half of the tales feature his 'Berry' characters.

<i>Adèle and Co.</i> 1931 novel by Dornford Yates

Adèle and Co. is a 1931 comic novel by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. This was Yates's first full-length Berry novel, following several earlier Berry short story collections. It was the first Berry book to be published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton, and not to be serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>The Berry Scene</i> 1947 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Berry Scene is a 1947 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>As Berry and I Were Saying</i> 1952 fictionalised memoirs of Dornford Yates

As Berry and I Were Saying is the first volume of fictionalised memoirs of the English author Dornford Yates, published in 1952 and featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters - Berry, Daphne, Boy and Jill. A second volume, B-Berry and I Look Back, was published in 1958.

<i>B-Berry and I Look Back</i> 1958 fictionalised memoirs of Dornford Yates

B-Berry and I Look Back is the second volume of fictionalised memoirs of the English author Dornford Yates, published in 1958 and featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters - Berry, Daphne, Boy, Jill and Jonah. The first volume, As Berry and I Were Saying, had been published in 1952. It was his last book.

<i>Blind Corner</i> (novel) 1927 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blind Corner is a 1927 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. The book was the first in his Chandos thriller series and is narrated in the first person by Richard Chandos. In addition to Chandos and his servant Bell, the novel features a cast of characters who recur in many of the later books: George Hanbury and Jonathan Mansel; their respective servants Rowley and Carson; and Tester the Sealyham terrier. Mansel's character also appears as Jonah Mansel in the author's 'Berry' series of comic books and short stories, though he is not written for comic effect in this nor the later 'Chandos' books.

<i>Perishable Goods</i> 1928 novel by Dornford Yates

Perishable Goods is a 1928 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the second in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blind Corner. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator), Jonathan Mansel and George Hanbury, with their respective servants Bell, Carson and Rowley.

<i>Blood Royal</i> 1929 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blood Royal is a 1929 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the third in his Chandos thriller series. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator) and George Hanbury, with their servants Bell and Rowley. Jonathan Mansel does not appear in this book.

<i>Fire Below</i> 1930 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Fire Below is a 1930 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the fourth in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blood Royal. The book was published in the US under the title By Royal Command.

<i>Red in the Morning</i> 1946 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Red in the Morning is a 1946 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the seventh in his 'Chandos' thriller series. The events of the story immediately follow those of his 1939 novel Gale Warning in which Richard Chandos and Jonathan Mansel appear as characters. The book was published in the US under the title Were Death Denied.

<i>Cost Price</i> 1949 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Cost Price is a 1949 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the eighth and last in his 'Chandos' thriller series. It serves as a sequel to his 1932 novel Safe Custody. The book was published in the US under the title The Laughing Bacchante.

<i>Anthony Lyveden</i> 1921 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Anthony Lyveden is a 1921 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was first published in monthly instalments in The Windsor Magazine. The book was Mercer's first attempt at a full-length novel, and was succeeded by Valerie French which continued the story of the main characters.

<i>And Five Were Foolish</i> 1924 short story collection by Dornford Yates

And Five Were Foolish is a 1924 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, first published in The Windsor Magazine. The title is a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

<i>The Stolen March</i> 1926 fantasy novel by Dornford Yates

The Stolen March is a 1926 fantasy novel by the English author Dornford Yates, first serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>Safe Custody</i> 1932 novel by Dornford Yates

Safe Custody is a 1932 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was serialised weekly in five parts in The Saturday Evening Post in October and November 1931 as "Your Castle of Hohenems", illustrated by F. R. Gruger.

<i>This Publican</i> 1938 novel by Dornford Yates

This Publican is a 1938 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was first serialised as She Knew Not Mercy in Woman's Journal for November 1937 to March 1938, with illustrations by Forster.

<i>Neer-Do-Well</i> 1954 detective novel by Dornford Yates

Ne'er-Do-Well is a 1954 detective novel by the English author Dornford Yates, his only work of the genre. Although Richard Chandos narrates, the book is not generally classified as a 'Chandos' title.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 Smithers 1982, p. 212.
  3. 1 2 3 Smithers 1982, p. 214.
  4. ↑ Smithers 1982, p. 215.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.