Me, Myself, and Sherriff By Connor Hansford
Picture by Bassano Ltd, 25 May 1938, taken from National Portrait Gallery
Connor Hansford examines the legacy of the Surrey rower-turned-writer best-remembered for ‘Journey’s End’
R. C. Sherriff was undoubtedly one of the most boring men who ever lived. He was also one of the most endearing. As the screenwriter of perennial Boxing Day classic, The Dam Busters, Sherriff achieved considerable literary acclaim in his own lifetime, however he has been largely forgotten since his death in 1975.
Born in Hampton Wick in 1896, Sherriff followed his father into the Sun Insurance Agency until war broke out in 1914 and the young Robert Cedric enlisted in the 9th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment.
After being severely injured during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, Sherriff set to work writing plays to raise money for Kingston Rowing Club. Rowing was always Sherriff’s first love, even turning down a lucrative offer to go to Hollywood to represent his alma mater in the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boatrace.
When pleurisy put paid to his rowing ambitions, Sherriff threw his all into his writing, eventually becoming the highest-paid scriptwriter in Hollywood for his loyal adaptations of such books as Goodbye, Mr. Chips and The Four Feathers.
Sherriff’s first major success came after his play ‘Journey’s End’ was picked up by jobbing actor-turned-producer, James Whale. Whale would later direct The Invisible Man, written by Sherriff and starring Claude Rains as H. G. Wells’ eponymous anti-hero.
Throughout all this, Sherriff somehow found time to write eight novels, three of which have recently been republished by Persephone Books. Persephone Books, named after the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, is a London-based bookseller and publisher founded by Nicola Beauman. Specializing in books by forgotten female authors, the decision to publish three books by the same male author is a curious one.
The first, The Hopkins Manuscript (Persephone Books, £15), tells the story of former schoolteacher Edgar Hopkins who is forced to adapt to a new world order after the Moon crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. This improbable set-up is more John Wyndham than R. C. Sherriff, yet he pulls it off well, marrying anxieties about the upcoming war in Europe (it was first published in 1939), with the Blitz spirit that characterizes most British science fiction of the period, including Wyndham’s most famous novel, The Day of the Triffids. The Hopkins Manuscript is nonetheless a departure from Sherriff’s usual innocuous fare, which stays with readers long after they have turned the final page.
The next Sherriff to be given the Persephone treatment is The Fortnight in September, number 67 in Persephone’s 137 book series. The Fortnight in September (Persephone Books, £15) focusses on Dulwich family the Stevens and their annual fortnight’s holiday to Bognor Regis. And that’s it. The Hopkins Manuscriptshows us how we can deal with the ongoing coronavirus, whereas The Fortnight in September evokes a gentler time before all that when our primary consideration was whether to invest in a premium beach hut or not. Bliss!
Greengates (Persephone Books, £15), Sherriff’s third novel and the last to be published by Persephone, follows Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin as they struggle to adapt to life after Mr. Baldwin’s retirement. Finally, the Baldwins decide to swap their tired London terrace for a new house in Metroland, where they discover a new lease of life and a love of all things chromium. Greengates proves it’s never too late to start again.
Sherriff’s optimistic worldview makes him the perfect tonic for these crazy times. The Fortnight in September in particular paints a vivid picture of a holiday by the sea, while Greengates shows us things will all work out in the end.
Sherriff died at home in Esher in 1975. He was 79.
Words by Connor Hansford
Edited by Klaudia Hanssen