Talk:When William Came

Novels Stub‑class Mid‑importance

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Anti-Semitism

I've removed the statement

"The novel contains a number of anti-Semitic references, with Jews disparaged as "cosmopolitan" and linked to the weakness of England in surrendering easily to the German invaders"

since, looking through the manuscript, I don't see much evidence of anti-Semitism (I may be missing it). There was no explicit reference to Jews as "cosmopolitan", and only a few mentions of Jews at all, primarily in this section (which, like the book, is in the public domain now):

"...And then there are the Jews.”

“There are many in the land, or at least in London,” said Yeovil.

“There are even more of them now than there used to be,” said Holham. “I am to a great extent a disliker of Jews myself, but I will be fair to them, and admit that those of them who were in any genuine sense British have remained British and have stuck by us loyally in our misfortune; all honour to them. But of the others, the men who by temperament and everything else were far more Teuton or Polish or Latin than they were British, it was not to be expected that they would be heartbroken because London had suddenly lost its place among the political capitals of the world, and became a cosmopolitan city. They had appreciated the free and easy liberty of the old days, under British rule, but there was a stiff insularity in the ruling race that they chafed against. Now, putting aside some petty Government restrictions that Teutonic bureaucracy has brought in, there is really, in their eyes, more licence and social adaptability in London than before. It has taken on some of the aspects of a No-Man’s-Land, and the Jew, if he likes, may almost consider himself as of the dominant race; at any rate he is ubiquitous. Pleasure, of the café and cabaret and boulevard kind, the sort of thing that gave Berlin the aspect of the gayest capital in Europe within the last decade, that is the insidious leaven that will help to denationalise London. Berlin will probably climb back to some of its old austerity and simplicity, a world-ruling city with a great sense of its position and its responsibilities, while London will become more and more the centre of what these people understand by life.”

While this may demonstrate some anti-Semitism on the part of the character speaking, it doesn't necessarily indicate that the novel, or the author, was anti-Semitic, which seems to be implied by the removed statement. 156.34.39.222 (talk) 00:57, 21 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Alternate History?

How can a novel about a future event be alternate history? Unless the book relies on past events having occurred differently (there is no mention of this in the article) the book is as much "alternate history" as any fictional account of future events that has been published in the past where the supposed date of the fictional event has passed in reality (e.g. Orwell's 1984 would be alternate history, which doesn't really make any sense at all). --62.143.101.71 (talk) 09:25, 17 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, and am removing the suggestion from the article. Robina Fox (talk) 11:03, 3 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]