Life, 1921-05-26 · page 23 of 36
Life — May 26, 1921 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is satirical commentary on American literary exports and cultural competition with Britain. "Dopel Britely" appears to be a fictional character—likely a composite parody of American authors (particularly women writers) sent to lecture in England to recoup money from British literary figures like Hugh Walpole and G.K. Chesterton. The satire mocks several things: American authors' commercial success abroad; pretentious "bedroom farce" comedies; and the notion that American literature represents the "best" fiction. The humor centers on Dopel's arrest and mistreatment in England—kept in solitary confinement, forced to dine with elderly author Hall Caine—as comeuppance for American cultural ambitions. The cartoon illustrates the article's mockery of transatlantic literary rivalry. References from Shaw and Spanish author Vicente-Blasco Ibáñez add international dimension to the joke about America's cultural pretensions. *Life* magazine here satirizes both American boosterism and the stereotype of British dismissiveness toward American letters.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
May 26 Dopel Britely’s Career Cut Short Greatest Literary Adventure in All History Meets with Disaster LAS, alas! All apparently is over, Ata late hour last week, before going to press, and just as we were congratulating ourselves American literature would soon become known to the nd bring our authors regular in- rom other more or less barbarous we received the first word that itely had been arrested in Eng- xe height of her triumphal lecture that world, « comes countries, Dope! ! land at t tour. Dopel, as everybody knows from last week's Lire, had been sent as a visiting Amer’ celebrity to England to get tack the money Messrs. Walpole, Drink- water, St. John Ervine and Chesterton had taken away with them,— and as much eas possible. Her book, “ Between You and I,” repre- senting as it does the best American fiction, was sold by the thousands; her bedroom farce wa3 a great success; her lectures were doing a land-office business. We cannot now dwell on her sufferings, at among other things we may mention that she was kept in solitary confinement othing to read but Margot Asquith’s Diary, and was forced to take luncheon upon several occasions with Hall Caine. When interned by the author Dopel was getting away from the British au- ences about $800 a night. Even Drink- Walpole, St. John E Chesterton, in their palmiest nights over here did no better than this. ¢ also written a bedroom farce,” © us in a private note, “ which a tremendous run, Arnold Bennett has praised it highly, pointing out that it is a representative of the best Americ. culture.” Bernard Shaw has Dopel in the Times, which was of splendid assista Mr. Shaw said: “Tt hos remained for American audac- ily to put the last touch to a dying Democ- racy For many years the fantastic Yankees have catered to the economic degrad.sion of our literary proletariat. Now the cunning of these brutes has sud- denly broken out, and they are retaliating upon us in kind. Our humiliation could scarcely be more complete.” water, vine and also denounced She: THAT INSPIRATIONAL LECTURER SAID THAT ONE’S SUCCESS IN M EETING A COMING CRISIS DEPENDS UPON ONE'S ABILITY TO KEEP FROM DWELLING ON IT BEFOKEHANU ree 1 RELIEVE IT, NOT ONCE HAVE I PERMITTED MYSELF TO THINK ABOUT KISSING YOU TO-NIGHT, This was handsome of Bernard, and the nut sundaes are distinctly on us. Meanwhile Lirt’s epoch-making coup d'etat reverberated around the world. Vicente-Blasco Ibaitez has cabled us from Madrid: “ Heartiest congratulations on the turn- ing of the American literary worm. Tell Dopel to put in somewhere that although the British women have no sense of humor, they are beautiful to look at, and charm- ing in their hospitality. This will help the receipts tremendously.” In spite of the fact that Dopel’s career as our representative is now over, Lire feels a just pride in thus having intro- duced American literature to the British public. Colonel Harvey will, we are privately informed, soon have Dopel released and returned to us. She will spend the rest of her life here writing for the reviews Thus a great literary crisis has passed and an- other gigantic achievement placed to Lure’s credit. ad lecturing about her sufferings comicbooks.com