A review by davidwright
The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston

4.0

This recently reprinted title from 1899 made me feel like such a blissfully irresponsible reader, which was just the thing right now. The story concerns one Francis Beveridge, who may or may not be insane, but is definitely loony. Bundled off into an asylum in the countryside by his supposed caretakers, he cunningly engineers and escape with the unwitting assistance of a bewildered love interest, and proceeds on a madcap jaunt around London under the name of Bunker, leading in tow his good natured foil the Baron Rudolph von Blitzenberg, whom Bunker (or as the Baron calls him, “Bonker,” – the source of the term “bonkers”) has taken under his wing. Beveridge is clearly a Marxist, though I’m hard put to say whether he favors Harpo or Groucho. On the one hand, there is plenty of physical comedy, and it is not hard to envision what a terrific vehicle for slapstick the long-lost silent film must have been for its star, Leon Errol. There are carriage chases, tomfoolery on skates, bizarre ballroom antics, a funny anarchist bit at a train station, and lots of daft flourishes as Beveridge smashes top hats, steals food, and generally runs rampant. But he’s also very quick with droll, verbal nonsense, running rings around his interlocutors and talking his way into and out of anything, and a hellcat with the ladies. The whole thing is light as a feather with the flimsiest of farcical plots, but infused with a brazing anarchic zaniness that cocks a snook at all pretense and seriousness. My laughter was gentle, but I never stopped smiling. (There’s an odd bit in Jonathan Ames’ rambling introduction to the new edition in which he talks about an encounter with a lunatic in the very library where I work, which was an added treat for me, anyway.) I’ll end with this charming summation from the book’s 1899 review in Bookseller and Stationer: “…inasmuch as it is now generally recognized that the main value of novels is to give mental relaxation and divert thought from the exhausting work and perplexing problems of life then The Lunatic at Large may claim a special adaptation to this useful purpose. … People who do not want any amusement or who think it a sin to laugh had better avoid reading this book.” P.G. Wodehouse fans, take note.