Dick Whittington - What Really Happened (Sitwell, 1945)

 Osbert Sitwell. The True Story of Dick Whittington (1946) My great-aunt Dolly gave me this book in 1949. I wonder whether she read it first. The rhyme of Dick Whittington and his cat was one of our favourites, and she no doubt thought that this version would suit us. Sitwell has used the story to satirise the rise of the money economy and the worship of money. It’s not a children’s book, although an alert middle schooler would understand it well enough, and perhaps shape his economic and political attitudes accordingly.

Sitwell tells how Whittington advances in his career, selling arms to foreign nations so that they can liberate each other. The cat figures prominently in his first successes. He marries well, but his social-climbing wife finds the cat an inconvenient appendage to the household, especially after Dick is appointed Lord Mayor of London. She (sweetly) encourages Whittington to send the cat to a series of old cat homes, at ever greater distances from London. The cat finds its way back to its beloved master every time.

The story does not end happily. I can’t recall reading it in1949, but if I did, it must have had its intended effect, since I too deplore the monetising of every aspect of our economy. 

Recommended, if you can find a copy. Mine is missing the dust jacket shown in the illustration. Online offers range from at round $15 to well over $100. The few blurbs refer to the “charming” folktale, not Sitwell’s version. It seems few booksellers actually read what they sell. ****