God Is an Englishman (The Swann Family Saga: Volume 1)

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Horne, Donald (5 May 2005). "Australian identity: Donald Horne". Late Night Live (Interview: audio). Interviewed by Phillip Adams. Australia: ABC Radio National. From master author R. F. Delderfield, the first in the beloved classic God Is an Englishman series. i feel like i uncovered a gem in this book--i get the sense it was the 1970s equivalent of the da vinci code (without all the quasi spiritual nonsense of course). though it got a bit tedious in parts, overall it was very engaging and fun to read.

They arrived at Adam's home and Henrietta was given into the care of his Aunt Charlotte. Adam spent time with his father. Sam had found out where Henrietta was and came to collect her. She refused to go. Adam took Sam aside and told him what he had seen in regard to the boy. Sam agreed to leave Henrietta with Adam and stated that he would disinherit her. Adam asked Henrietta to marry him. Henrietta agreed to the marriage and Adam told her what he had seen Sam do. Henrietta wasn't at all surprised that her father would do such a thing. This book is long, detailed and characterized by antiquated language and bygone references. It is also fascinating, engrossing and felt very authentic. I was glad I read it on my Kindle so that I could use the Oxford dictionary as I encountered unfamiliar words and usages. Maybe a British reader would have had fewer problems with these terms, unusual analogies and references? However, this challenge is one of the reasons I loved it! Theirs was the Kingdom is book II in what is commonly called the "God is an Englishmen" trilogy. Book I is the story of a guy who quits the army to seek his fortune and start a family at the dawn of the industrial revolution of Victorian England. Book II is the continuation of him and his large family, with each child now spawning a subthread.If you type into a search engine, “God is a . . .” near the top is “Englishman” (just after “astronaut”—go figure!). We quote this phrase all the time in England. It’s from a well-known book by R.F. Delderfield. Suffice it to say that my country’s relationship with God has a long and complicated history. Nowhere is this more evident than in the words of the hymn “Jerusalem.” Considered one of our most patriotic songs, the hymn also has the dubious honor of being the only one where every line can be answered in the negative:

The most notable of the events was when a mine collapsed, Swann's driver Bryan Lovell told the mine owner that a pump was in his yard that had been received three days early. He arranged for the pump to be used to save more than 50 lives of miners trapped in the cave. People didn't remember Lovell's name but they remembered that Swann had the pump because of their efficiency in having the pump three days ahead of schedule and allowing it to be used in saving so many lives.

He could not be sure whether his presence brought any real comfort but it must have eased Briarley's inner tensions to some extent for presently he said, 'I didn't see a great deal of him, sir. When I was a kid he was mostly in India or Ireland. He came here once, on leave. Last autumn, it was. We… we sat here for a bit, waiting for the school boneshaker to take him to the station.' Still entertaining - especially the tale of the escaped lion. Better than Annie Proulx! She'd have had the lion devouring dogs, cats, children ... Now don’t get me wrong, there are many things that I’m thankful to God for about living in England. Chief among them: Christians in our country have more or less enjoyed the freedom to proclaim the gospel. And no doubt, whatever country you’re reading this from, there are elements of your culture you can also thank God for. However, we should never confuse God’s kindness to our home nation with the idea that nationality is his primary interest. Despite initial conservative views, [2] he was unorthodox and independent-minded, without a consistent political allegiance. He was, however, known through much of his public career for his republicanism, a more independent national self-image, his advocacy for the importance of the arts, and a raising in standards of public debate. Giles, the family intellectual; and George, who succumbs to the charms of his German landlady but marries a pretty young Austrian who brings him an embryo motor car as her dowry.

Sam Rawlinson had grown into a position of wealth and owned of a mill. His wife had died giving birth to Henrietta and he valued her as a possession to be used to gain more wealth. Henrietta was 18 and refused to be forced into a marriage in exchange for land. The striking mill workers had caused a riot and set the mill on fire. Henrietta used the distraction as an opportunity to run away from home. A storm came up and her horse threw her and ran off. She found a hut outside of town and used it to get out of the rain.

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God Is an Englishman tells the story of Adam Swann and his rise to prominence in London in the 1860's. His story begins when he makes the decision to end his career as a soldier and begin his life as a businessman, at the age of thirty-one. His chosen field of commerce is transportation, where he decides to fill the gap that the great trains of that era cannot. At the same time that he is establishing his business, he meets Henrietta, and from their first meeting he is captivated by her. Although she is much younger than him, she is a strong-willed woman, and circumstances conspire to create a situation in which he marries her after only knowing her for a few months. Thus begins the story of not only their life together, but the story of the newly formed Swann-on-Wheels transportation company. R.F. Delderfield is brilliant at immersing his readers into different periods, in this instance Victorian England. What helps set great historical fiction apart from the average is the little details of everyday life and, probably the most important aspect, credible dialogue. Stella was married at the tail end of God is an Englishman to a neighbor, the son of a minor lord from a family interested in horse racing. Stella too is interested in horses. But having gotten married, she finds the family to be exceedingly strange and needs to be rescued from them after less than a year. You can see just how strange they are from the fact that she is able to get the marriage annulled. Afterward, it is up to her to find her real love. Adam Swann and the young wife he as good as abducted seem at first like cardboard characters, Adam only a symbol of honorable and aggressive business enterprise, Henrietta only a symbol of innocence, ignorance and frivolity. But Mr. Delderfield is too sure a professional novelist to leave them in such‐ rudimentary con dition. As his sprawling tale marches briskly ahead Adam and Henrietta change and grow, becoming different, wiser and better people than they were when first introduced. One may not believe every surprising episode in “God Is an Eng lishman,” but one learns to be lieve in Adam and Henrietta. They are not notably interest ing or likable people; but they are real, and Adam in par ticular seems just the sort of self‐confident, intelligent gam bler who, no doubt, created many of the business empires of the last century. He marries early on, and the story of his marriage is set alongside the story of his business. The marriage feels real with a full range of affection and distance, knowing and misunderstanding, trials, difficulties and surprises, and learning about the true nature of love. It manages to deal with these variations without growing cynical or using the struggles as an excuse to veer off into infidelity. Instead, they are opportunities for growth and increased understanding.

Filled with epic scenes and memorable characters God is an Englishman triumphs in its portrayal of human strength and weakness, and in its revelations of the power of love." Whilst not quite up to the standard of To Serve Them All My Days, this is still well worth reading if you enjoy chunky, good quality period fiction. Adam becomes a business-owner of a different sort, treating his employees and managers as full team members. His wife, Henrietta, grows and matures and eventually comes into her own to fulfill a critical role. Delderfield died at his home, then called Dove Cottage, in Sidmouth of lung cancer, and was survived by his widow, the former May Evans, whom he married in 1936. They had a son and a daughter. [5] A brother, Eric (1909–95) survived him and wrote several books on the history of England's West Country. [6] Early 20th century social history as a subject of his writing [ edit ]I was not sure what to expect of this book, but when I received it and saw how large it was, I was certainly surprised. I was further surprised by how engrossing a book it actually was. Giving a plot outline really doesn't convey how good of a book this is, but I'll go ahead and try anyway. Several of Delderfield's historical novels and series involve young men who return from war and take up careers in peacetime that allow the author to delve deeply into social history from the Edwardian era to the early 1960s.