John Bull and His Island

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884. Hard Cover. Good/No Jacket. 0x0x0. Former library copy - usual marks. Spine toned, endpapers lightly soiled. 1884 Hard Cover. vii, 243 pp. Four pages of publisher ads follow text. Red cloth boards, marbled page ridges. "John Bull" is a fictional character meant to personify Great Britain, particularly England, created by Dr John Arbuthnot in 1712. He is usually depicted as a stout and jolly middle-aged man who is a matter-of-fact country dweller. The phenomenal success of this work encouraged the author to continue writing about cross-cultural manners and morals, niggling at the sensibilities of British, American and French middle classes. The work gives an overview of English customs and the peculiarities of "John Bull" from the French perspective of the author. It discusses diverse aspects of English society at the end of the 19th century including British colonial ambitions and the Anglo-Saxon concept of home. First published in France, it was an instant success and reprinted 57 times within two years. By late 1883, it was published in England and the United States with translations in 17 languages.