12. After World War II, James Buchan fell out of fashion because his books were incredibly antisemitic and racist (lots of stuff about how childlike Natives need strong British hand to rule). His recuperation came, strangely, from Gertrude Himmelfarb, doyen of neoconservatism
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13. In 1961, writing in Encounter (then covertly funded by the CIA & edited by her husband Irving Kristol) Himmelfarb wrote a long essay arguing for the value of Buchan's work & saying his novels about global Jewish conspiracies were not so bad (just "casual" antisemitism)pic.twitter.com/KL1x9dazYm
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14. Himmelfarb's essay (as Christopher Ricks noted long ago) only makes sense in light of Encounter's cold war mission. Encounter was trying to win over British literary & aristocratic culture to American empire. Hence Himmelfarb, a distinguished US historian, celebrating Buchan
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15. Himmelfarb's whole point is that Buchan's clubby antisemitism and belief in white racial superiority were in context of orderly traditional society so not like the bad antisemitism & racism of vulgarians like Hitler.pic.twitter.com/5gBEDx5X0c
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16. Himmelfarb's celebration of Buchan is symptomatic of how & why he remains a formative culture figure (despite rampant bigotry in his work): he's the great bard of Empire & its anxieties: celebrating the daring do of a ruling class beset by hidden enemies.
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17. Himmelfarb wasn't only right-wing on right to see Buchan as an essential bulwark of traditionalism. Recently an alt-right body building journal has started serializing The 39 Steps.pic.twitter.com/zDRLAQrvoQ
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18. The fingerprints of John Buchan are all over The King's Man: the aristocratic heroes, the empire under threat, the hidden conspiracy by those trying to wreck civilization as led by the British (led, significantly, by a vengeful Scot & then a Jew).
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19. There's one other aspect of Buchan: he turned to thrillers as a consolation for decline of empire both to scapegoat (the hidden conspiracies) but also as consolation (Britain might be outgunned by other great powers but could still produce top notch spies).
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20. The idea that spying would save Britain as a world power, that Britain could "punch above its weight" by spying, is the hidden consolation of the thriller. Buchan started it but it runs through Bond & even (in much more sophisticated & ironic form) Greene & le Carré
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21. So let's put this together: we have Matthew Vaughn (son of Man From UNCLE & aristo scoundrel) making film that is Buchan Redux: dashing aristos form private spy agency so UK can punch above weight & thwart Scottish/Jewish world conspiracy to destroy civilization/empire
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22. The Scottish theme, which I've touched on tangentially, is also important. In fiction, Buchan distinguished between good minorities (Scots like himself who served King, the odd good Jew or good native) from bad (anti-empire nationalists).
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23. In The King's Man the leader of the world conspiracy is first a Scottish nationalist & then an Austrian Jew: not an accident since both are types that are seen to threaten order of empire. But also echo of Buchan's divided self as good Scot (versus the bad ones)
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24. For much more along this line -- on the origins of English spy fiction & the way King's Man refurbishes aristocratic antisemitism -- I've done a podcast with
@bellye66 &@RobinGanev that lays it all out:https://jeetheer.substack.com/p/the-kings-man-and-antisemitism-in?r=bh54&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email …19 replies 23 retweets 228 likesShow this thread
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