I have two queries relating to Kipling and shell-shock in his stories. Any
information would be gratefully received.
1. In the First World War the Oxford don H.F.B. Brett-Smith was employed by
military hospitals to advise on reading matter for the war wounded.
Apparently, his job was to grade novels and poetry according to the Fever-
Chart and that for the severely shell-shocked he selected the novels of Jane
Austen.
The immediate source for this information is a letter from Father Martin Jarrett-
Kerr printed in The Times Literary Supplement (3 February 1984, p.111).
Unfortunately, Fr Jarrett-Kerr did not give any more details than this and is no
longer alive to be asked.
Was RK aware of this Jane Austen treatment ? If so, it could explain the
importance of JA in 'The Janeites'.
2. The setting for several of RK's post-war stories is a masonic lodge to which
come veterans suffering from shell-shock. Is this account of lodges as being
welcome places of refuge and restorative purely fictional, thought up by RK or
did this actually occur? I put this question to the United Grand Lodge, the
masonic hq in London, but they were unable to provide an answer.
Brian Southam [log in to unmask]
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