The Amateur Gentleman
Encyclopedia
The Amateur Gentleman is an early novel
by the popular author of Regency period swashbucklers, Jeffrey Farnol, published in 1913. The novel was made into a silent film in 1920
and film in 1936
with Douglas Fairbanks Junior starring as the protagonist, Barnabas Barty.
. It tells the story of the Barnabas Barty, the son of John Barty, the former champion boxer
of England and landlord of a pub
in Kent
. At the start of the tale Barnabas comes fortuitously into the possession of a vast fortune - £700,000, an astronomical amount by Regency standards - and determines to use this fortune to become a gentleman. His father objects to this plan and they quarrel, and settle their differences in a round of fisticuffs, which Barnabas wins, beating his father fair and square. Barnabas sets off for London
in the furtherance of his ambitions and on the way there contrives to make a number of influential friends and enemies.
Farnol ploughs an uncomfortably dualistic furrow vis-á-vis his protagonist. He ruthlessly exploits the naïvety of the youth to comic effect, for instance the youth is gulled by the chapman
who sells him a book on etiquette
at an outrageous mark-up, and Farnol makes much play of this. At the other end of the spectrum, Farnol is equally disdainful of Barnabas' sophisticated concealment of his identity.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the popular author of Regency period swashbucklers, Jeffrey Farnol, published in 1913. The novel was made into a silent film in 1920
The Amateur Gentleman (1920 film)
The Amateur Gentleman is a 1920 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Langhorn Burton, Madge Stuart and Cecil Humphreys. The film is adapted from the 1913 novel The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffrey Farnol...
and film in 1936
The Amateur Gentleman (1936 film)
The Amateur Gentleman is a 1936 British drama film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Elissa Landi, Gordon Harker and Margaret Lockwood, with music by Richard Addinsell. It is based on the 1913 novel The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffrey Farnol...
with Douglas Fairbanks Junior starring as the protagonist, Barnabas Barty.
Plot summary
The format of the novel is essentially that of a bildungsromanBildungsroman
In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...
. It tells the story of the Barnabas Barty, the son of John Barty, the former champion boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
of England and landlord of a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. At the start of the tale Barnabas comes fortuitously into the possession of a vast fortune - £700,000, an astronomical amount by Regency standards - and determines to use this fortune to become a gentleman. His father objects to this plan and they quarrel, and settle their differences in a round of fisticuffs, which Barnabas wins, beating his father fair and square. Barnabas sets off for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the furtherance of his ambitions and on the way there contrives to make a number of influential friends and enemies.
Farnol ploughs an uncomfortably dualistic furrow vis-á-vis his protagonist. He ruthlessly exploits the naïvety of the youth to comic effect, for instance the youth is gulled by the chapman
Chapmen
A chapman was an itinerant dealer or hawker in early modern Britain.-Etymology:Old English céapmann was the regular term for "dealer, seller", cognate to the synonymous Dutch koopman....
who sells him a book on etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
at an outrageous mark-up, and Farnol makes much play of this. At the other end of the spectrum, Farnol is equally disdainful of Barnabas' sophisticated concealment of his identity.