Sure, the Spanish Civil War took 3 words to cover and the organised left in Britain didn't get much attention, but he was very good on the British flirtation with uniformed groups and their swift failure - his thesis that Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts didn't get far because most Brits found them laughable was interesting. I'm not too convinced - there wasn't much to laugh about at that point - but it was intriguing and is supported by P. G. Wodehouse (who was very rightwing to the point of broadcasting for the Nazis during the war) depicting Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists as a violent dimwit toff (very accurately) and Fuhrer of the Black Shorts (all the other distinctive clothing had been bagged by other groups) in The Code of the Woosters and other books:
The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?"Watch Spode address the cadre (embedding annoyingly disabled).
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I saw it. I like the series - last week he illustrated the 1920s artistic bohemia, class antagonism and the post WW1 existrential void through Lawrence's Women in Love. Priceless.
I can't watch it because he insists on doing very silly impressions of everyone. Shame really, because it looked quite good.
Nice over-simplification of the Wodehouse in Germany episode by the way.
Yeah! The impressions are a bit cringy, but what gets me is the fact that he always looks flayed. I think his jaw is made of sticks and elastic bands.
I thought so Ben. That's why I included a link to the full story.
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