Not All That Again
Jonathan Conlin reads 1066 And All That, a book that served as a point of departure to so many people, seventy-five years after its first publication.
Histories have previously been written with the object of exalting their authors. The object of this History is to console the reader. No other history does this.’
When it came to launching their ‘memorable history of England’ in 1930, Walter Sellar and Robert Yeatman were anything but tentative. Their ‘Compulsory Preface’ began with the above words, and ended with the equally dramatic claim that ‘History is now at an end... this History is therefore final.’ The runaway success of 1066 and All That made the book a classic. The book’s malapropisms, surreal essay questions and garblings of famous lines themselves became quotable. ‘Flora Macnightshade’ and the injunction to ‘Contract, Expand and Explode’ ‘the Charters and Garters of the Realm’ doubtless resonate with many readers of this magazine.
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