"Mr. American's" Place in History: 1 Quiz

Answer: Louis Bleriot

Bleriot flew the Channel on July 25 1909 in a Bleriot XI (the feat was recreated on the same date in 2009, using a replica). This issued in a wave of enthusiasm for all things aeronautical and at the beginning of the book a constable was waxing lyrical about the first aeronautical meeting on British soil between Samuel Cody and Farman (which of the three Farman brothers is not specified) at Doncaster. Samuel Cody, an American who became a naturalised British citizen, was an early aviation pioneer, who had crossed the channel in 1903 in a boat drawn by 'lifter' kites.

Although he was no relation, Samuel Cody grew a beard and long hair and dressed in a stetson and 'Wild West' clothing, in an apparent attempt to confuse himself with 'Buffalo Bill' Cody.

The police inspector who met the Mauretania was not so sure about aviation. The thought that a man could fly in a few minutes across England's last line of defence - and from France of all places - made him uneasy.'

Answer: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Having written a biography of his friend, Franklin Pierce, Hawthorne was rewarded when Pierce became President, with a four-year posting to the most lucrative foreign service post available at the time, US Consul in Liverpool. Mr. American, dishing out 'dolls-eye' threepenny bits as tips, was regarded by the Liverpudlians as 'a damned queer Yank; most of them scattered their money like water.'

Answer: Butch Cassidy

It was evidently an Anglicised edition, as the original speech from 'Henry V' is in dialect Scots. Butch Cassidy was leader of the notorious 'Wild Bunch', also known as the 'Hole-in-the-Wall Gang' and has, of course, been immortalised in the George Roy Hill film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

Although popularly thought to have died in a shoot out in Bolivia in 1908, there is anecdotal evidence that Butch Cassidy survived in the US until 1937.

Answer: Suffragettes

From these details (and more historical information earlier), we can narrow the time down to October 1909, as Mrs. Pankhurst, the leader of the Suffragette movement campaigning for votes for women, arrived in New York on the Oceanic on 20th October 1909.

The newspaper the lady was selling was actually called in full 'The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions', and it was one of the first feminist journals.

Answer: Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill, having crossed the floor of the House of Commons, returned to the Conservative party and became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1925. Following deflation and other monetary problems, Britain came off the gold standard forever in 1931. Nowadays, although the price of sovereigns fluctuates with the price of gold, a single gold sovereign costs £185 (over $300). Mr. American took his gold away in four heavy leather bags, throwing the bank officials into complete panic.

Then, as now, banks did not like you doing what you want with your own money.

Answer: The English Civil War

The fictitious Matthew Franklin and his wife Jezebel fled during the first Civil War, when Charles I and his supporters fought the supporters of the Long Parliament. Matthew's uncle Johannes' tombstone was found in the Castle Lancing graveyard. Mr American, who had a peripatetic childhood, felt he had come home at last.

The Civil War (1642-1651) led to the execution of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector.

Answer: King Edward VII

Alice Keppel was the most famous and influential of Edward VII's many mistresses (rumoured to include Lillie Langtry, Winston Chuchill's mother - Lady Randolph Churchill, and Sarah Bernhardt). The liaison is said to have been accepted by her husband and tolerated by Queen Alexandra, Edward's wife. Although the affair ended with the death of Edward VII, Mrs Keppel's great-granddaughter, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, became the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales.

Answer: Fisher

In 1909 Jackie Fisher was First Sea Lord and making himself very unpopular (wth Churchill among others) by ruthlessly pruning the navy of useless ships in order to prepare to fight Germany. As early as 1906, Fisher had predicted war with Germany in 1914. Like Nelson, 1st Baron Fisher suffered from seasickness all his life.

Answer: Kid Curry

Born Harvey Alexander Logan, Kid Curry, unlike his portrayal in the series 'Alias Smith and Jones', was a ruthless killer, responsible for at least eleven murders. Although Curry was supposedly killed in a shootout near Parachute, Colorado, in 1904, two other outlaws escaped.

The character in Mr American explained that 'Posse got after us, I lit out for Wyoming - next thing I knew, the Pinkertons are claiming they got Kid Curry....Who's going to contradict 'em? Not Harvey Logan.'

Answer: The US Marines landed in Cuba

The US Marines did not land on Cuba until 1912 as part of the Cuban pacification campaign. The Liberal party began to lose out with the rise of the Labour Party, which went from two seats in 1900 to forty in 1910. Mr American's father-in-law was not pleased with the opening of Labour Exchanges as he thought they would '...be sure to be clearing houses for agitators and Bolsheviks...' On 6 May 1910, following several bouts of bronchitis and heart attacks, Edward VII was told by his son that his horse, 'Witch of the Air', had won that afternoon at Kempton Park.

His last words were "I am very glad" and he died that night. So ended the Edwardian era, and this is the end of Part One of the book, and the first part of this quiz.