Mr Edgar Finchley, unmarried clerk, aged 45, is told to take a holiday for the first time in his life. He decides to go to the seaside. But Fate has other plans in store… extraordinary adventures.
His rural adventure takes him gradually westward through the English countryside and back, via a smuggling yacht, to London.
This gentle comedy trilogy was a runaway bestseller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today. It has been dramatized twice for BBC Radio, with the 1990 series regularly repeated.
What people are saying about the Mr Finchley series:
‘Wonderful character from a kinder slower England between the wars.’
‘An overlooked gem. An innocent picaresque novel set in an arcadian version of mid 20th century England. The literary equivalent of naive painting, it narrates the adventures of a respectable upper middle-aged man who takes retirement.’
‘An antidote to the rush of the early 21st century.’
‘A thoroughly enjoyable stroll through a vanished England with some lovable characters. Don’t expect modern, fashionable agonisings, here there is good, evil, and understanding. A lovely reminiscent wallow of a read.’
‘Gentle well told simple story, full of pleasant surprises, and a mild mannered believable hero. Loved it to bits.’
‘So gentle, it hurts.’
‘There is a freshness about the writing which is charming and that disarms criticism. Don’t expect any great profundities, a gripping plot or inter-character tensions – these books are of the world of Billy Bunter and William Brown – but do expect a very well-written and enjoyable romp through early twentieth-century England in the company of an engaging protagonist.’
‘A delightful story of a man who finds himself jolted out of his comfort zone and taken on a journey beyond his wildest imaginings.’
‘Another lovely book detailing the adventures of Mr Finchley in altogether far too short a series. Full of humour and a book I was sorry to finish as I wanted it to go on and on.’
‘Highly recommended for anyone seeking an entertaining amusing read.’
‘A delight to be transported to an England I never knew despite growing up in the 1950s and to experience the countryside through the sharp eyes of the author who obviously had a great love of all things rural.’
Editorial reviews:
‘Quite delightful, with an atmosphere of quiet contentment and humour that cannot fail to charm … The longer we travel with Mr Finchley, the better we come to love him. He makes us share his bread and cheese, and beer and pipe. His delight at the beauties of the countryside and his mild astonishment at the strange ways of men are infectious.’ Daily Telegraph
‘His gift of story-telling is obviously innate. Rarely does one come on so satisfying an amalgam of plot, characterisation and good writing.’ Punch
‘A paean to the beauties of the English countryside and the lovable oddities of the English character… [Mr Finchley] runs into one astonishing situation after another, sticking gamely to his resolve that he must take things as they come and accept them.’ New York Times
‘What counts for most in the story, as it did for Mr Finchley, is his mounting pleasure in vagabondage and the English scene.’ The Times
‘There is such a gentle humour in the book … Mr Finchley is the ideal Englishman.’ Daily Sketch
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This is another one of those delightful British series written between the 1930s and the 1950s and brought back by Farrago Books for our reading pleasure. When we meet Mr Finchley he is a dull, boring, unmarried clerk, 45 years old, and has never taken a holiday. His boss tells him to go and have some fun and forget about work for two or three weeks. Sounds odd to him, but he’s game and makes reservation at the seaside. That’s the plan, but so much for plans.
Each chapter is another adventure for Mr Finchley. In the beginning he agrees to watch a gentleman’s car for a moment and will then take his train to the seaside. Instead, he falls asleep in the back seat and is kidnapped when the car is stolen. Time and again he manages to extract himself from an unexpected and often unpleasant circumstance only to find himself throw right back into another unbelievable encounter. At first he is quite upset that he is missing out on his seaside vacation, but soon he discovers that the likes the outdoors and all the challenges he faces. It becomes a matter of personal pride for him to be able to “see it through” and “make the best of it.” Along the way he meets thieves, gypsies, a nobleman, a lunatic who just happens to look exactly like him, and smugglers. He is chased by people and animals and is caught in the heat and the cold and the rain.
The writing is superb and entertaining as only writing from this time period can be. Descriptions of the countryside, the animals, the people are rich, full and elegant. Each chapter is its own pleasing little story and the book presents a picture of an England that is either forgotten or was never known by those of us reading this today, customs and traditions and mores and language that are unfamiliar but comfortable all the same.
The longer we know Mr Finchley the more we like him. He isn’t really stuffy and rigid and prissy, but merely a man of his time and station who discovers many things about people and places – and himself – that he never knew. And is having a rollicking good time while on his journey of discoveries. Some of his escapades are a little frightening and some are laugh-out-loud funny; all are wonderful.
Thanks to Farrago Books for making Mr Finchley Discovers His England available again. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation. All opinions are my own.
The Holiday
Imagine Christopher Robin grown into a rather stodgy middle-aged man, absent Pooh, suddenly rediscovering the world through his childhood eyes. That world would have been England, between the wars, when it was not uncommon for someone to take a bicycle holiday and explore the countryside. Written with a gentle sense of humor, this tale presents a coming-of-age, but from an entirely different perspective. Venture forth with Mr Finchley as he discovers the delights of unplanned encounters and the beauties of his own country.
Edgar Finchley has spent his adult life in London toiling as a clerk for Mr. Bardwell, a solicitor who considered vacations unnecessary, but after Bardwell’s death, his replacement, Mr. Sprake, insists that Mr. Finchley take three weeks off — “Can’t expect my staff to do their jobs if they ain’t fit! Must have holidays, eh?”
So Mr. Finchley decides to holiday in Margate, but before he can catch his train, he’s kidnapped by a car thief, which begins his travels through his native land. He escapes from criminals, steals a car, dives into a roadside lake, fights off a raging gypsy, works as a petrol attendant for a day, spends the night in a homeless men’s lockup, and generally encounters adventures not on offer in Margate or London. As he rambles across the countryside, Mr. Finchley comes to view himself very differently— no longer just a mere solicitor’s clerk trapped in the dirty hustle and bustle of the capitol city, he’s now a man who “belong[s]in this land and … was glad of it.”
Victor Canning’s delightful novel, originally published in 1934, returns readers to an England long past, when a bachelor could take his adventures as they came. It’s a marvelous journey and one readers will embark upon many times.
Such fun! It’s the charming, very British misadventures of Mr. Finchley, a clerk employed in London, who has never taken a holiday. His well-planned trip quickly goes awry, and he spends his holiday time getting into humorous and unexpected adventures. What a charming character he is! This series was new to me, and I will definitely continue with it. Sometimes The World Is Too Much With Us, and I enjoy an old-fashioned, delightful story to get away from things. Thanks to NetGalley and Prelude Books/Farrago for the ARC. Time well spent.
What an utterly charming novel! It’s the story of a normal, everyday clerk who takes his first vacation in years and ends up on an adventure that takes him across the country and back again. Each escapade builds on the previous one and with each event, the reader just loves Mr. Finchley a little bit more. Originally written in the 1930s, the novels are now being re-released. I loved the re-introduction to a simpler time, where everything is straightforward and there are no hidden meanings. It was a breath of fresh air to go along on this ride with Mr. Finchley, and I look forward to the rest of his experiences. This review was written based on a digital pre-release from NetGalley.
An utterly delightful book! The adventures of a middle-aged, portly, fairly mundane clerk on his first holiday in years. No murder, no romance, no terrorist attacks. Just a very nice journey through pre-war England meeting some very interesting characters. A breath of fresh air!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and voluntarily chose to review it.