Paul Johnson
What War?
The war between Britain and the United States, from 1812 to 1814, is one of the half-forgotten events of history. It arouses little interest even in America, and none among the British, most of whom have never heard of it. This was true even at the time, when the British were obsessed with defeating Napoleon. When President James Madison asked Francis Jeffrey, the visiting Editor of the Edinburgh Review, ‘what the people of England thought of the war with America’, he declined answering until pressed. He then said: ‘Half the people of England do not know that there is war with America, and those who did have forgotten it.’
It is not surprising, then, that the history of the war has been written mainly by Americans. Jon Latimer has now provided a full account, mainly from the British standpoint and often using British sources hitherto disregarded by American historians. It is a very creditable effort and a substantial volume:
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'She lived in a damp basement with her mother and sister, smoking roll-ups and talking to her parrot.'
Joanna Kavenna traces the life of the 'almost-forgotten poet' Charlotte Mew.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/she-hated-poetry-readings
'If, as James Wolcott once claimed, Roth was a miracle of modern medicine, he was also one of therapy’s notable failures.'
@leorobsonwriter on Philip Roth, that 'walking, wanking paradox'.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-great-american-novelist
Here's my unpaywalled @Lit_Review piece on the American novelist Philip Roth (1933-2018) and his biographers Blake Bailey and Ira Nadel, with cameos from others, touching on his odd career, his poor health, his ineffective therapy, and his reputation:
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-great-american-novelist