The Life of George Borrow, 1803-1881

"It has been said that idleness is the parent of mischief, which is very true; but mischief itself is merely an attempt to escape from the dreary vacuum of idleness." George Borrow First, the subtitle of this completely revised and newly augmented study of George Borrow, "Misfit" implies not subscribing or submitting to normal, mainstream middle-class values and habits. Borrow preferred the company of gypsies, vagabonds, foreigners, horse-dealers and outsiders to the conformist, respectable English person, whom he thought was sometimes incapable of understanding the realities of the human condition, or simply preferred to evade them. In 1984, this was the intended meaning of the word "eccentric"; someone with valid, personal priorities, not in the main stream, away from the centre, free to be critical of aspects of English life he regarded as false or shallow or unworthy. Borrow did not subscribe to other people's view of how life should be conducted; his publications are the expression of this freedom. George Borrow Eccentric (1984) was guarded in its treatment of biographical questions. Collie discusses some key unresolved issues in Borrows life: the question of paternity (did he and his brother have the same father?); the condition for which mercury treatment was prescribed (if not syphilis, then what?); the person behind the name "Isobel Berners" (can she be securely identified?); his Bible Society accounts (where was he during the periods unaccounted for?); his sexuality (why did he marry Mrs Clarke?); his religious convictions (do his writings express faith or cynicism on this score?); and his loneliness (the loneliness of a sharp, perceptive intellect without intended companionship?). Collie's study calmly, carefully and thoroughly discusses the new research tools and information that bring us even closer to the man, the works and the issues confronted by anyone who writes his literary biography.