Imperium of the soul: The political and aesthetic imagination of Edwardian imperialists

265 Pages·2017·11.314 MB·English

by  Norman Etherington

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General editor: Andrew S. Thompson
Founding editor: John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded
by Professor John M. MacKenzie more than thirty
years ago, emphasis was laid upon the conviction that
‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant
an effect on the dominant as on the subordinate
societies’. With well over a hundred titles now published,
this remains the prime concern of the series. Cross-
disciplinary work has indeed appeared covering the full
spectrum of cultural phenomena, as well as examining
aspects of gender and sex, frontiers and law, science and
the environment, language and literature, migration
and patriotic societies, and much else. Moreover, the
series has always wished to present comparative work
on European and American imperialism, and particularly
welcomes the submission of books in these areas. The
fascination with imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no
sign of abating, and this series will continue to lead the
way in encouraging the widest possible range of studies
in the field. ‘Studies in Imperialism’ is fully organic in its
development, always seeking to be at the cutting edge,
responding to the latest interests of scholars and the needs
of this ever- expanding area of scholarship.
Imperium of the soul
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SELECTED TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES
WRITING IMPERIAL HISTORIES
ed. Andrew S. Thompson
EMPIRE OF SCHOLARS
Tamson Pietsch
HISTORY, HERITAGE AND COLONIALISM
Kynan Gentry
COUNTRY HOUSES AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Stephanie Barczewski
THE RELIC STATE
Pamila Gupta
WE ARE NO LONGER IN FRANCE
Allison Drew
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
ed. Robert Burroughs and Richard Huzzey
HEROIC IMPERIALISTS IN AFRICA
Berny Sèbe
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Imperium of

the soul
THE POLITICAL AND AESTHETIC
IMAGINATION OF EDWARDIAN
IMPERIALISTS
Norman Etherington
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
iv
Copyright © Norman Etherington 2017
The right of Norman Etherington to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 1 5261 0605 6 hardback
First published 2017
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for any external or third-p arty internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by Out of House Publishing
Printed in Great Britain
by TJ International Ltd, Padstow
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CONTENTS

List of figures—vii
Preface and acknowledgements—xi
Introduction 1
1 Rider Haggard, imperialism and the layered personality 21
2 Love and loathing: Rudyard Kipling’s India 38
3 How Herbert Baker created an architecture of imperial power 68
4 Joseph Conrad: Kipling’s secret sharer 122
5 Elgar and the Gordon Symphony 163
6 John Buchan and the loathly opposite 197
7 Lawrence of Arabia: great white hope of the
Edwardian imperial romancers 217
Epilogue: the death- knell of the imperial romance
and imperial rule 237
Index—241
[[ vv ]]
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vii
FIGURES

1 Herbert Baker (Herbert Baker, ‘The Architectural Needs of South
Africa’, The State, 1909) 69
2 Mandela Rhodes Building, Cape Town (Robert Cutts / Flickr /
CC-B Y 2.0) 70
3 ‘Woolsack’, University of Cape Town (courtesy of the Herbert
Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 71
4 J. Rose Innes house, Cape Town (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 72
5 A Kindergarten group (Herbert Baker, Architecture and
Personalities, Country Life Ltd., 1944) 74
6 Baker’s chest (Herbert Baker, Architecture and Personalities,
Country Life Ltd., 1944) 75
7 Mowbray Villas for H. W. Struben (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 76
8 E. Hutchins house (courtesy of the Herbert Baker Collection,
University of Cape Town) 77
9 House at Wynberg (courtesy of the Herbert Baker Collection,
University of Cape Town) 78
10 Mutual Life Insurance Building (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 79
11 Rhodes Building: De Beers offices (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 80
12 Rhodes Building, vertical cross section (courtesy of the Herbert
Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 81
13 Rhodes Building atrium (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 82
14 Rhodes Building ground-fl oor plan (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 83
15 Inner sanctum of Abe Bailey house, Rust- en- Vrede (courtesy of
the Herbert Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 84
16 ‘The Stonehouse’, Parktown, Johannesburg 1902 (courtesy of the
Herbert Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 85
17 Plan of ‘The Stonehouse’ (courtesy of the Herbert Baker
Collection, University of Cape Town) 86
[ vii ]
viii
IMPERIUM OF THE SOUL
18 One of Baker’s designs for the Kimberley war memorial based
on Temple of Aruns (courtesy of the Herbert Baker Collection,
University of Cape Town) 88
19 Detail of final design for Kimberley Memorial with ‘Long Cecil’
separately mounted (courtesy of the Herbert Baker Collection,
University of Cape Town) 89
20 Selinus from the sea as imaginatively reconstructed (Herbert
Baker, ‘The architectural needs of South Africa’, The State, 1909) 91
21 Procession to the Acropolis as envisaged by Baker (Herbert Baker,
‘The architectural needs of South Africa’, The State, 1909) 92
22 Pergamon: reconstructed model (Wikimedia / public domain) 94
23 Conical tower at Great Zimbabwe (author’s photo) 96
24 Initial lion house plan for Groote Schuur (courtesy of the Herbert
Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 97
25 Ruins at Paestum, Temple of Poseidon, sketched by Baker,
in Doreen Greig, Herbert Baker in South Africa (Cape
Town: Purnell, 1970), p. 103 (Oliver Bonjoch / Wikimedia /
CC- BY- SA 3.0) 97
26 Egyptian lion and J. Swan’s version of it on the steps of Rhodes
Memorial (Herbert Baker, Architecture and Personalities,
Country Life Ltd., 1944) 99
27 Temple of Zeus at Pergamon (detail of reconstructed model)
(Wladyslaw Sojka and Luestling / Wikimedia / CC- BY- SA 3.0) 100
28 Rhodes Memorial with steep stairs as pictured by Baker (Herbert
Baker, Cecil Rhodes by His Architect, Oxford University Press, 1934) 100
29 Reconstructed Temple of Zeus, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
(Wikimedia / public domain) 101
30 One way up. Visitors struggle up the stairs of Rhodes Memorial
on opening day (courtesy of the Herbert Baker Collection,
University of Cape Town) 101
31 Praeneste drawing by Palladio, sixteenth century (Wikimedia /
public domain) 102
32 Agrigentum (Herbert Baker, ‘The architectural needs of South
Africa’, The State, 1909) 104
33 Sketch for the Union Buildings (J. M. Solomon, ‘The Union
Buildings and their architect’, The State, 1910) 105
34 Layout of main buildings, Union complex (J. M. Solomon, ‘The
Union Buildings and their architect’, The State, 1910) 106
35 Union Buildings site plan with gardens and elevation (courtesy of
the Herbert Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 107
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ix
FIGURES
36 The Roman way of seeing: Praeneste and Baker’s Union Buildings
(Palladio as cited in 31 above and J. M. Solomon, ‘The Union
Buildings and their architect’, The State, 1910) 108
37 Portico- loggia at the Union Buildings (courtesy of the Herbert
Baker Collection, University of Cape Town) 109
38 Sham temples for the Union Buildings (Herbert Baker,
Architecture and Personalities, Country Life Ltd., 1944) 110
39 ‘The Sentinel: A view over Pretoria from the terrace of the
Union Buildings’, c.1911 (courtesy of the Royal Institute of
British Architects) 111
40 Baker’s 1909 perspective of Union Buildings (courtesy of
the School of Architecture and Planning, University of the
Witwatersrand / Martienssen Library archive) 111
41 1916 drawings by W. H. Nicholls showing agreed approach to
Government House, New Delhi (reproduced from Robert Grant
Irving, Indian Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi
(London: Yale University Press, 1981)) 113
42 Lutyens’ viceregal palace, New Delhi, seen from afar (courtesy of
Sahil Ahuja: http:// pixels- memories.blogspot.co.uk) 114
43 Viceregal palace obscured on the approach between Baker’s
Secretariat Buildings (reproduced with permission from Robert
Grant Irving, Indian Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial
Delhi (London: Yale University Press, 1981)) 114
44 Viceregal palace fully revealed (courtesy of The Victorian
Web: www.victorianweb.org/ art/ architecture/ lutyens/ 10.html) 115
45 Baker’s Northern Secretariat with pool and gardens (Laurie Jones
aka ljonesimages / Wikimedia / CC- BY- SA 2.0) 116
46 Southern facade of North Secretariat Building as seen from
ground level on the approach to viceregal palace (© Can Stock
Photo Inc. / al_ la) 116
47 Rhodes House, Oxford (courtesy of Rhodes House) 118
48 South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, London (James F. /
Wikimedia Commons / CC- BY- SA 3.0) 118
49 Britain theme, Edward Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35, 1897– 98 177
50 Rome theme, Edward Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35, 1897– 98 177
51 Caractacus lament, Edward Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35, 1897– 98 177
52 Enter Roman barbarism, Edward Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35, 1897– 98 178
53 Accompaniment to Druid Maidens’ ‘Thread the measure’,
Edward Elgar, Caractacus, Op. 35, 1897– 98 179
54 Trio, Edward Elgar, Imperial March, Op. 32, 1897 179
[ ix ]