Francis Burnand (1836–1917)

The traditional English fox hunt is re-imagined in this comical poem from Sir Francis Burnand, who, as F.C. Burnand, is best remembered as a playwright and librettist. The poem, profusely illustrated by Harry B. Neilson, imagines the hunters as foxes, mounted on canine steeds, who pursue "the brush" (AKA broom) carried by the human Master Hodges across the countryside. Amusing accidents befall a number of the vulpine hunters, but the two leaders - the married Mr. Felix Fox and the pretty Miss Reynard - are in it until the end, successfully capturing the brush, and (it is hinted) sharing an extra-marital kiss...

Given some of the more suggestive asides, it's difficult to imagine that The Fox's Frolic; or, A Day With The Topsy Turvy Hunt was written for children. Its presentation here as an illustrated picture-book however, suggests that it was thought suitable enough, despite the sly adult references, for a juvenile audience. Whatever the case may be, the book, originally published in 1917, is an interesting little period piece. I don't think, despite the inversion of human and vulpine roles in the hunt, nor the use of canines as steeds rather than hunting dogs, that the poem can really be read as a critique of the hunt. Rather, I think it was simply intended as a humorous homage to this pursuit, one that subtly emphasizes the "sporting" nature of the fox. Consider such lines as "the Foxy Folk are a sporting race," and how it seeks to cast the vulpine specoes as an active, even willing participating in the hunt. This bolsters the idea of fox hunting as a pleasurable sporting contest, rather than a form of barbaric cruelty.

However one chooses to read Burnand's choice to make the foxes the hunters and a human (or the human's broom) they prey, there is no doubt that the narrative here is involving, and the artwork from Harry B. Neilson simply beautiful. I read an edition printed in London in 1917, and it is a thing of beauty! Each two-page spread features a full-page color plate on the right, and a page with a verse or two, embellished with smaller black & white illustrations, on the left. Whatever the philosophy behind it, however one chooses to read the poem itself, there is something amusing about a scene in which canine-mounted foxes come rushing across a field. As someone interested in the depiction of foxes in children's books, I found The Fox's Frolic fascinating, although I am not sure to whom I would recommend it. Perhaps to those seeking early twentieth-century depictions of the fox hunt, or perhaps to fans of comic poetry in general, and Burnand in particular?… (meer)