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2 Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
RS Surtees is the master of foxhunting fiction
RS Surtees is the indispensable source or foxhunting fans, and of all Surtees books Mr Sponges Sporting Tour is an excellent primer for all the others. It is sport-based, with excellent characterizations of the life and people in that time. The author follows the habits of the times in attaching names to people that are meant to describe their character,...
Published 16 months ago by Douglas A. Grindle
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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Sponge in 100 Words
A picaresque, following 'Soapey' Sponge - a sportsman but not quite a gentleman - as he foxhunts and fortune-hunts his way around England. He exploits (as Surtees satirises) the failings of those he encounters - Waffles (spendthrift), Jawleyford (humbug), Puffington (parvenu), Jogglebury (foolish), Scattercash (debauched)... Only coarse Lord Scamperdale consistently...
Published on August 31, 2000 by Ian Harris
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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Sponge in 100 Words,
By Ian Harris (Hampton Hill) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)
A picaresque, following 'Soapey' Sponge - a sportsman but not quite a gentleman - as he foxhunts and fortune-hunts his way around England. He exploits (as Surtees satirises) the failings of those he encounters - Waffles (spendthrift), Jawleyford (humbug), Puffington (parvenu), Jogglebury (foolish), Scattercash (debauched)... Only coarse Lord Scamperdale consistently detests him. People invite him to stay but struggle to evict him. His selfishness diminishes only on meeting & falling for lovely Lucy Glitters while hunting . Lacks sympathetic characters, silly names and voices abound and overlong given its lightness and looseness. Terrific foxhunting detail & a delightlful, surprising ending. Rating : 54.6% Moments of Beauty (5) Characterisation (6) Sincerity (6) Humour (6) Adhesiveness (5) Profundity - Social (6) Profundity - Maetaphysical (2) Sense of Place (8) Significance (5) Structure & Plotting (6) Style - Readability (7) Style - Virtuosity & Uniqueness (5) Theme - Strength & Unity (4)
5.0 out of 5 stars
RS Surtees is the master of foxhunting fiction,
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This review is from: Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour (Nonsuch Classics) (Paperback)
RS Surtees is the indispensable source or foxhunting fans, and of all Surtees books Mr Sponges Sporting Tour is an excellent primer for all the others. It is sport-based, with excellent characterizations of the life and people in that time. The author follows the habits of the times in attaching names to people that are meant to describe their character, which can be a little wearing to the modern reader. But in terms of the modern reader understanding the appeal of foxhunting and the methods (and madness) of the original era, this book can't be beat. As to the book itself, Nonsuch has produced a beautiful little volume with the heft to make one feel he is reading something worthwhile. |
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Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour by Robert Smith Surtees (Hardcover - November 4, 2008)
$47.45
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