Jonah and Co.

Jonah and Co. is a 1922 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

Jonah and Co.
1943 printing
AuthorDornford Yates
SeriesBerry books
GenreShort stories
PublisherWard Lock & Co[1]
Publication date
1922[1]
Media typePrint
Pages320[1]
Preceded byBerry and Co. 
Followed byAdèle and Co. 

Plot

Berry, Daphne, Jonah, Jill, Boy and Adèle (with Nobby the Sealyham) travel by road through France to winter in Pau. While staying there they venture into northern Spain.

Boy and Adèle are newly married. Jill meets her future husband, Piers, Duke of Padua.

Background

This was a happy period in Mercer's life; he had acquired a villa in Pau in South-west France, and his characters followed him there. It became the Mercer family's permanent home in 1922 after the book was published.[2]

All of the stories in Jonah and Co. had originally appeared in The Windsor Magazine between October 1921 and September 1922,[2] although the original editions of the book (until c. 1925) included a Prologue and Epilogue that had not been included in the magazine.[3] These were subsequently reprinted in The Best of Berry (Dent's Classic Thrillers, 1989) as The Gypsy's Warning and The Fairy Child respectively.

Chapters
Chapter Book Title Windsor Title Date Volume Issue Pages Illustrator
Prologue
I How Berry stepped into the breach, and Jonah came first and was served The Rule Of The Road October 1921 LIV 322 449-460 Norah Schlegel
II How three wagers were made, and Adèle killed two birds with one stone A Run For Our Money November 1921 LIV 323 551-562 Norah Schlegel
III How a Golden Calf was set up, and Nobby showed himself a true prophet By Order Of The Trustees December 1921 LV 324 3-14 Norah Schlegel
IV How Berry made an engagement, Jill a picture, and Adèle a slip of some importance A Snare And A Delusion January 1922 LV 325 105-116 Norah Schlegel
V How love came to Jill, Herbert to the rescue, and a young man by his right Nobility And Gentry February 1922 LV 326 215-227 Norah Schlegel
VI How Berry ran contraband goods, and the Duke of Padua plighted Jill his troth Manners And Customs March 1922 LV 327 331-345 Norah Schlegel
VII How Daphne lost her bedfellow, and the line of least resistance proved irresistible A Royal Progress April 1922 LV 328 447-458 Norah Schlegel
VIII How Adèle bought a bottle of perfume which had no smell, and I cut Eulalie dead Red Violets May 1922 LV 329 561-572 Norah Schlegel
IX How Jonah took off his coat, and Berry flirted with Fortune for all he was worth Zero June 1922 LVI 330 3-15 Norah Schlegel
X How Berry sought comfort in van, and Nobby slept upon a Queen's bed No Thoroughfare July 1922 LVI 331 113-125 Norah Schlegel
XI How Berry put off his manhood, and Adèle showed a fair pair of heels A Tight Place August 1922 LVI 332 229-241 Norah Schlegel
XII How a telegram came for Jill, Piers demanded his sweetheart, and I drove after my wife Journeys End September 1922 LVI 333 345-357 Norah Schlegel
Epilogue

Illustrations

The illustrations from the Windsor stories by Norah Schlegel (1879-1963) were not included in the book version.

Critical reception

Jonah and Co. was as commercially successful as Berry and Co. had been.[4] In his 1982 biography of the author, AJ Smithers considered that Berry remains dauntlessly funny, and at the top of his form: "A merry journey over the long roads of France ... and all written with the freshness of one who was discovering these things for the first time."[2]

References
  1. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. Smithers 1982, p. 107.
  3. The Best of Berry (Dents Classic Thrillers 1989) introduction by Jack Adrian
  4. Smithers 1982, p. 110.

Bibliography
  • Smithers, AJ (1982). Dornford Yates. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-27547-2.
  • Usborne, Richard (1974). Clubland Heroes. London: Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 0-214-20012-4.
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