W.W. Jacobs |
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| Psst!…
Have you heard the one about the scarecrow who was awarded
a Nobel Prize? He was outstanding in his field! Laughter
is universal but we all have a particular brand of humour
that we individually find irresistible. If an author can
use his own experiences and channel them into your humorous
vein then he is onto a winner.
One
such author was W (illiam) W (ymark) Jacobs.
He was
born in 1863. The son of a wharf manager, the family lived
on the wharf at Wapping in cramped and crowded conditions.
They were always hard up and the area was hardly desirable.
Holidays were taken in Sevenoaks and East Anglia and provided
the only relief to this rather depressing life. The early
days spent with the characters that inhabited these areas
provided him with a rich source of inspiration to fuel an
output of some 270 short stories and articles (many appearing
in 12 Books of short stories), 5 novels and a novella; nearly
all of which were hugely successful.
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| "
My biggest fault, said the night-watchman gloomily, has been
good-nature. I've spent the best part of my life trying to
do my fellow creeturs a good turn. And what do I get for it?
If all the people I've helped was to come 'ere now there wouldn't
be standing room for them on this wharf. 'Arf of them would
be pushed overboard-and a good place for 'em, too. " |
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Apart from the world renowned horror story "The
Monkeys Paw", WWJ is most famous for the creation
of a series of stories narrated by Bill, The Nightwatchman,
(about three sailors - Sam Small, Ginger Dick and Peter
Russet) and by an old man seated on a bench with an
ever empty glass outside the Cauliflower Public house,
about Bob Pretty and the inhabitants of Clay bury. |
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"
The old man took up his mug and shifted along the bench
until he was in the shade of the elms that stood before
the " Cauliflower." … " My hearing
ain't wot it used to be," he said tremulously.
"When you asked me to have a mug o' ale just now
I 'ardly heard you ; and if you was to ask me to 'ave
another I mighn't hear you at all."
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With
very little education (as far as is known for sure)
he joined the civil service in 1879 at 16, and in 1883
became a clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank where
he stayed until 1899. Totally bored with this work,
and always short of money, he started to write. The
stories sold well to the magazines, and in 1898 they
started to appear in The Strand Magazine, then the goal
of every aspiring author. He was made.
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"
The room was dark when 'e got there, and, arter standing
listening a moment to Ginger and Peter snoring, he
took off 'is coat and sat down on 'is bed to take
'is boots off. He only sat down for a flash, and then
he bent down and hit his 'ead an awful smack against
another 'ead wot 'ad just started up to see wot it
was sitting on its legs. "
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| He
left the POSB to write full time and a year later, at
36, he married an 18-year-old socialist/radical. It
would appear that this was not an easy relationship
and, although they had five children, they were never
able to come to terms with each other. They separated
but never divorced. |
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"
And no woman minds whether wot she ses is true or not
(he said, resuming his seat). Catch a man out in a lie
and he looks a bit ashamed of himself; catch a woman
out in a lie and she smacks your face for you. " |
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early stories do not feature the dock life, and they
did not until he had moved well away from there. "Distance
lent enchantment to a view that needed it". He
had made friends with an artist, Will Owen, with whom
he built a great rapport. They even holidayed together
and it is this special relationship that adds so much
to the stories. Owen illustrated most of his magazine
stories and a large number of the books. |
| "
As I was a-saying, kindness to animals is all very well,"
he said to the wayfarer who sat opposite him in the
shade of the " Cauliflower " elms ; "but
kindness to your feller-creeturs is more. The pint wot
you give me is gone, but I'm just as thankful to you
as if it wasn't." |
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Jacobs
died 1n 1943 at the age of 80, Owen surviving until 1957.
The
stories were immensely popular when first published, and
are still sought after today. The books themselves are handsome,
looking good on the shelves. And if you would like a good
laugh, try reading one; you may be very surprised. |
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