1 00:00:01,340 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,460 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 2: I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,420 --> 00:00:18,970 Speaker 1: Wilson. And I'm Holly Frey. The name Montague Summers has 5 00:00:19,050 --> 00:00:23,390 Speaker 1: come up in several of our October episodes. Most recently, 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: his work on werewolves was a big part of last 7 00:00:27,220 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: October's episode on Peter Stump, the werewolf of Bedburg. That 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,660 Speaker 1: same werewolf work also went into our 2015 episode on 9 00:00:36,740 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: Gilles Garnier, the werewolf of Dole. Summers' work was cited 10 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,100 Speaker 1: by other people in the research on Matthew Hopkins, who 11 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:49,140 Speaker 1: called himself the Witchfinder General, who we covered in 2019, 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,380 Speaker 1: and then there are probably others. Because Montague Summers wrote 13 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:56,870 Speaker 1: numerous books on witches and werewolves and vampires and black 14 00:00:56,910 --> 00:00:59,690 Speaker 1: magic and ghosts, all things that we've talked about on 15 00:00:59,710 --> 00:01:03,310 Speaker 1: the show. And he edited and published works like Malleus 16 00:01:03,410 --> 00:01:07,809 Speaker 1: Maleficarum or The Hammer of Witches, and Matthew Hopkins' The 17 00:01:07,850 --> 00:01:11,530 Speaker 1: Discovery of Witches, and Horace Walpole's gothic novel The Castle 18 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: of Otranto. These are all also things that we have 19 00:01:14,180 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: talked about on the show before. And he wrote books 20 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,620 Speaker 1: on past podcast subjects Anne Radcliffe and Jane Austen. He 21 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,330 Speaker 1: edited and published The Collected Works of Aphra Behn, yet 22 00:01:26,450 --> 00:01:30,770 Speaker 1: another past podcast on the show. And he also edited 23 00:01:30,830 --> 00:01:35,179 Speaker 1: whole collections of other Restoration-era writers like William Congrave and 24 00:01:35,340 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: John Dryden, who we have not done episodes on. He 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,780 Speaker 1: was just prolific, writing at least 16 full-length books and 26 00:01:42,860 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: translating and editing many, many, many others. To add to 27 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,310 Speaker 1: all that, he was a clergyman, or at least he 28 00:01:49,370 --> 00:01:53,770 Speaker 1: styled himself that way, and the most widely circulated photos 29 00:01:53,890 --> 00:01:58,050 Speaker 1: of him I would describe as very distinctive. After seeing 30 00:01:58,090 --> 00:02:02,220 Speaker 1: his name, Again and again, seemingly every year, in October especially, 31 00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:06,250 Speaker 1: I finally said, what was this guy's deal? Not actually 32 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,890 Speaker 1: sure I know. Well, we're going to do our best 33 00:02:08,930 --> 00:02:12,710 Speaker 1: to figure it out. So Augustus Montague Summers was born 34 00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:16,310 Speaker 1: at Pembroke Lodge, Clifton, which is an area of Bristol, England, 35 00:02:16,710 --> 00:02:20,740 Speaker 1: on April 10th, 1880. He grew up in Telsford House 36 00:02:20,850 --> 00:02:24,430 Speaker 1: in Clifton Down, which is also in Bristol. Tulsford House 37 00:02:24,590 --> 00:02:28,350 Speaker 1: is a 12-bedroom home made of sandstone and limestone in 38 00:02:28,389 --> 00:02:33,310 Speaker 1: a Jacobean revival style. It has gables and parapets and cornices, 39 00:02:33,470 --> 00:02:37,620 Speaker 1: and it's a grade two listed building today. His father, 40 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:41,739 Speaker 1: Augustus William Summers, was a wealthy banker, and his mother's 41 00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:45,660 Speaker 1: name was Ellen Bush. Montague was the youngest of their 42 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,210 Speaker 1: seven children. The Summers home had an extensive library, which 43 00:02:50,290 --> 00:02:53,929 Speaker 1: played a part in Montague's early education. He also went 44 00:02:53,950 --> 00:02:56,850 Speaker 1: to a local academy before becoming a day student at 45 00:02:56,910 --> 00:03:01,490 Speaker 1: Clifton College at the age of 14. He loved literary 46 00:03:01,550 --> 00:03:03,990 Speaker 1: drama from a very early age, and one of the 47 00:03:04,030 --> 00:03:07,070 Speaker 1: ways that he and his siblings liked to amuse themselves 48 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,100 Speaker 1: was playing with a toy theater. In 1899, at the 49 00:03:11,139 --> 00:03:15,380 Speaker 1: age of 19, Montague Summers started at Trinity College, Oxford. 50 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: Beginning in the 1830s, Oxford had been home to a 51 00:03:19,260 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: movement to revive the Catholic roots of the Church of England. 52 00:03:23,410 --> 00:03:27,270 Speaker 1: Some of the Oxford movement's leaders and participants ultimately converted 53 00:03:27,330 --> 00:03:31,389 Speaker 1: to Roman Catholicism, while others were more focused on restoring 54 00:03:31,490 --> 00:03:36,450 Speaker 1: Catholic elements of worship and theology to Anglicanism. In the 55 00:03:36,490 --> 00:03:39,690 Speaker 1: wake of this movement, the term Anglo-Catholic started to be 56 00:03:39,810 --> 00:03:43,940 Speaker 1: used to describe this increased focus on Catholic doctrine and 57 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,660 Speaker 1: observance within the Church of England. Anglo-Catholics in England are 58 00:03:48,780 --> 00:03:52,620 Speaker 1: still Anglican, and Anglo-Catholic churches are still part of the 59 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,830 Speaker 1: Anglican Communion, but there is a bigger incorporation of elements 60 00:03:56,910 --> 00:04:01,050 Speaker 1: that are more commonly associated with the Catholic Church. Summers 61 00:04:01,070 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: had been raised in a devout evangelical Anglican household, and 62 00:04:04,900 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: he felt an affinity with the Oxford Movement and with Anglo-Catholicism. 63 00:04:09,740 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: Apart from any religious and spiritual elements that might have 64 00:04:13,540 --> 00:04:16,660 Speaker 1: been involved with this, based on the way people described 65 00:04:16,779 --> 00:04:21,160 Speaker 1: his personality, which could be dramatic and dandy-ish, some of 66 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: this affinity might have been connected to all the ritual 67 00:04:23,940 --> 00:04:28,630 Speaker 1: and pageantry and the aesthetics of the so-called high church. No. 68 00:04:29,390 --> 00:04:33,670 Speaker 1: Another possible element is something that we can't conclusively substantiate, 69 00:04:33,770 --> 00:04:38,219 Speaker 1: which is that Anglo-Catholicism had connections to the subculture of 70 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:40,700 Speaker 1: gay men in England in the late 19th and early 71 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: 20th centuries. This might seem surprising given that homosexuality was 72 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:49,780 Speaker 1: illegal in the UK at this point and that overwhelmingly 73 00:04:49,900 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: Christian denominations considered it to be sinful and immoral. That 74 00:04:54,620 --> 00:04:58,670 Speaker 1: was true within the Church of England and Anglo-Catholicism as well, 75 00:04:58,870 --> 00:05:04,370 Speaker 1: although over these decades, Anglo-Catholic clergy started to differentiate between 76 00:05:05,010 --> 00:05:08,110 Speaker 1: feelings which were not in and of themselves considered sinful 77 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:10,130 Speaker 1: and homosexual actions. 78 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:10,810 Speaker 2: Which were. 79 00:05:10,830 --> 00:05:13,980 Speaker 1: In the Anglo-Catholic point of view, there was a growing 80 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: sense that if someone channeled their attraction to people of 81 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: the same sex into religious devotion or acts of service, 82 00:05:22,310 --> 00:05:24,710 Speaker 1: they could still be part of the religious community and 83 00:05:24,790 --> 00:05:28,550 Speaker 1: not condemned for it. Beyond that, a number of men 84 00:05:28,589 --> 00:05:31,420 Speaker 1: who were connected to the Oxford movement were kind of 85 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,600 Speaker 1: ambiguous in their sexuality or they were described as effeminate. 86 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,460 Speaker 1: The broader Anglican response to this movement also incorporated the 87 00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:46,750 Speaker 1: idea that Anglo-Catholicism was unmanly and un-English. This was, of course, 88 00:05:46,850 --> 00:05:49,370 Speaker 1: meant to be a criticism, but it sort of folded 89 00:05:49,470 --> 00:05:52,789 Speaker 1: back on itself as gay men embraced that idea and 90 00:05:52,850 --> 00:05:57,919 Speaker 1: also found some commonality between Anglo-Catholicism and homosexuality, with the 91 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,620 Speaker 1: idea that Anglo-Catholics and gay people were both persecuted minorities 92 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:07,339 Speaker 1: within the Church of England and in the greater British culture. Additionally, 93 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,170 Speaker 1: Anglican clergy were not required to be celibate, but some 94 00:06:11,310 --> 00:06:15,930 Speaker 1: Anglo-Catholics chose to practice celibacy. For some gay men, a 95 00:06:15,990 --> 00:06:19,420 Speaker 1: religious vow of celibacy could be an alternative to sex 96 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,660 Speaker 1: with other men, which was, again, outlawed and seen as immoral. 97 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: Religious celibacy could also offer a different path for men 98 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: who were uncomfortable with or upset by their feelings of 99 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:35,260 Speaker 1: attraction to other men. Again, we don't know whether any 100 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: of this applied to Montague Summers, but based on other 101 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: parts of his life that we'll be talking about, it 102 00:06:41,380 --> 00:06:45,020 Speaker 1: sure would make sense. Summers earned a degree in theology 103 00:06:45,420 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: in 1903 and went on to Litchfield Theological College to 104 00:06:49,580 --> 00:06:53,620 Speaker 1: study to join the Anglican clergy. This college was described 105 00:06:53,660 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: as having high church tendencies. The Reverend Arthur Valentin, who 106 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,170 Speaker 1: was one of Summers' contemporaries at Litchfield, described him as 107 00:07:02,330 --> 00:07:06,730 Speaker 1: charming and witty and fastidiously dressed and as wearing purple 108 00:07:06,790 --> 00:07:11,050 Speaker 1: socks at Lent and burning incense in his room. Valentin 109 00:07:11,070 --> 00:07:13,230 Speaker 1: went on to say, quote, he was in part an 110 00:07:13,350 --> 00:07:17,790 Speaker 1: Oscar Wilde, but far more religious. Summers was awarded a 111 00:07:17,830 --> 00:07:22,770 Speaker 1: master's degree from Litchfield on June 2nd, 1906. Summers published 112 00:07:22,810 --> 00:07:25,740 Speaker 1: his first book of poems the following year. That was 113 00:07:25,780 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: a self-published collection titled Antinous and Other Poems. Antinous was 114 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,060 Speaker 1: one of the lovers of Roman Emperor Hadrian, and the 115 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:37,980 Speaker 1: book was dedicated to French novelist and poet Baron Jacques 116 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: d'Alsphard Fertzen. 117 00:07:39,670 --> 00:07:40,510 Speaker 2: Who had been found. 118 00:07:40,350 --> 00:07:44,830 Speaker 1: Guilty of indecency with minors in 1903 and had long-term 119 00:07:44,850 --> 00:07:50,300 Speaker 1: relationships with other men, including art model Nino Cesarini. This 120 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:55,340 Speaker 1: collection is described as controversial, decadent, and homoerotic, with one 121 00:07:55,380 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: of its poems, To a Dead Acolyte, sometimes interpreted as 122 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: referring to a satanic Black mass, although that interpretation has 123 00:08:04,020 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: been debated. This collection is often categorized as a work 124 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:12,500 Speaker 1: of Uranian verse. The Uranians were a loosely connected group 125 00:08:12,540 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: of gay poets, primarily in the UK, but also in 126 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 127 00:08:19,260 --> 00:08:24,710 Speaker 1: The Uranians' work incorporated homoerotic themes, including with younger men 128 00:08:24,750 --> 00:08:29,490 Speaker 1: and adolescents, often filtered through kind of an idealized representation 129 00:08:29,530 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: of same-sex relationships between men in ancient Greece. In 1908, 130 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: when he was 28, Summers was ordained by the Bishop 131 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: of Bath and Wells and became a deacon in the 132 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,100 Speaker 1: Anglican Church. He was appointed to a curacy in Bath 133 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,620 Speaker 1: and then to one in nearby Bitton. But then he 134 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: and another clergyman were accused of pederasty. Summers was either 135 00:08:52,580 --> 00:08:56,740 Speaker 1: acquitted or was never prosecuted. And unfortunately, we really don't 136 00:08:56,780 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 1: have any other detail about this. Any official records of 137 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:04,059 Speaker 1: it were reportedly destroyed during the Blitz in World War II. 138 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: It is absolutely possible that this was a genuine allegation. 139 00:09:09,500 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: And while we don't want to minimize that possibility, it 140 00:09:12,660 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: could also have been more connected to the pervasive, damaging, 141 00:09:16,540 --> 00:09:21,030 Speaker 1: and false stereotype of gay men as sexual predators. To 142 00:09:21,090 --> 00:09:24,290 Speaker 1: my knowledge, this was the only accusation like this that 143 00:09:24,309 --> 00:09:28,100 Speaker 1: he ever faced during his lifetime. Summers had also become 144 00:09:28,179 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: interested in the occult. He had been described as developing 145 00:09:32,260 --> 00:09:35,699 Speaker 1: a morbid fascination with evil while he was still a student, 146 00:09:36,059 --> 00:09:40,100 Speaker 1: and there were rumors that he was studying Satanism. That 147 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: was something that the church thought he had no reasonable 148 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,500 Speaker 1: reason to be doing. It seems that this, combined with 149 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: the accusation of pederasty, put an end to his time 150 00:09:49,610 --> 00:09:50,730 Speaker 1: in the Anglican clergy. 151 00:09:51,450 --> 00:09:52,210 Speaker 2: We'll talk about what. 152 00:09:52,150 --> 00:09:59,940 Speaker 1: Happened after Summers lost his position after a sponsor break. Go. 153 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: Montague Summers converted to Catholicism in 1909, and that's something 154 00:10:09,660 --> 00:10:13,790 Speaker 1: he probably had multiple reasons for doing. As we already discussed, 155 00:10:13,870 --> 00:10:16,470 Speaker 1: he had lost his position in the Church of England, 156 00:10:16,870 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: and he'd found an affinity for Anglo-Catholicism during his time 157 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 1: at Oxford. In addition to that, he's described as interested 158 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,550 Speaker 1: in Catholicism because he thought the Catholic Church had a 159 00:10:28,630 --> 00:10:33,730 Speaker 1: stronger focus on Satan as an actual, real entity, rather 160 00:10:33,770 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: than as a metaphor for He spent some time at St. 161 00:10:37,300 --> 00:10:40,990 Speaker 1: John's Seminary in Warnersh, which is southwest of London, to 162 00:10:41,010 --> 00:10:45,430 Speaker 1: study to join the Catholic priesthood. According to Summers' entry 163 00:10:45,490 --> 00:10:48,610 Speaker 1: in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he was, quote, 164 00:10:49,070 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: granted the clerical tonsure on December 28, 1910. So this 165 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:57,420 Speaker 1: is a ceremonial cutting or shearing of the hair that's 166 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:00,680 Speaker 1: typically done when someone is accepted into a clerical order. 167 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: It is not the same as being ordained, and whether 168 00:11:03,940 --> 00:11:08,559 Speaker 1: Summers was ordained as a Catholic priest is unclear. There 169 00:11:08,700 --> 00:11:13,270 Speaker 1: are multiple, completely contradictory accounts of his ordination happening in 170 00:11:13,350 --> 00:11:17,250 Speaker 1: various places in the UK and continental Europe, but none 171 00:11:17,290 --> 00:11:22,130 Speaker 1: of them are concretely documented. He was definitely never appointed 172 00:11:22,190 --> 00:11:24,719 Speaker 1: to a Catholic parish in England and never seemed to 173 00:11:24,740 --> 00:11:27,939 Speaker 1: be part of the formal hierarchy of the Catholic Church 174 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,410 Speaker 1: in England. But he took new names, becoming Alphonsus Joseph 175 00:11:32,450 --> 00:11:37,050 Speaker 1: Mary Augustus Montague Summers. He referred to himself as a reverend, 176 00:11:37,170 --> 00:11:41,410 Speaker 1: and he started wearing clerical vestments, including a Carmelite scapular. 177 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,439 Speaker 1: Without a formal position in the Catholic Church, Summers became 178 00:11:45,580 --> 00:11:50,740 Speaker 1: a teacher and schoolmaster, starting at Hertford Grammar School in 1911. 179 00:11:50,740 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: He worked in schools until 1926, and he was described 180 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:59,250 Speaker 1: as a good teacher, if an eccentric one. At some point, 181 00:11:59,490 --> 00:12:02,980 Speaker 1: Summers became involved in the Order of Carinia, which had 182 00:12:03,020 --> 00:12:06,660 Speaker 1: been founded in the 1890s by George Cecil Ives. 183 00:12:07,570 --> 00:12:08,150 Speaker 2: This was a. 184 00:12:08,150 --> 00:12:12,310 Speaker 1: Secret society for gay men, named after the Battle of Chaeronea, 185 00:12:12,750 --> 00:12:15,689 Speaker 1: which was fought between Philip II of Macedonia and a 186 00:12:15,750 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: coalition of Greek city-states in the year 338 BCE. The 187 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,180 Speaker 1: coalition's forces included the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite 188 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: corps of 300 fighters, described as 150 pairs of male lovers. 189 00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 2: They were wiped out in the battle. 190 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: The Order of Carinia had the same sort of focus 191 00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:41,020 Speaker 1: on secrecy and ritual as Masonic orders do. Otherwise, there's 192 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,839 Speaker 1: not a ton of documentation about it. It was a 193 00:12:43,900 --> 00:12:48,420 Speaker 1: secret society, after all. But Ives had a lifelong devotion 194 00:12:48,500 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: to liberation for gay people, and the society seems to 195 00:12:52,179 --> 00:12:55,220 Speaker 1: have been both a support group and an organization for 196 00:12:55,420 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: advocating for reforms to the laws and the social taboos 197 00:12:58,830 --> 00:13:04,100 Speaker 1: around homosexuality. Members would sometimes add the year 338 to 198 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,390 Speaker 1: dates in their correspondence. Summers also became a member of 199 00:13:08,429 --> 00:13:12,130 Speaker 1: the Society for the Study of Sex Psychology, whose founders 200 00:13:12,190 --> 00:13:16,650 Speaker 1: included George Cecil Ives, as well as Edward Carpenter, Magnus Hirschfeld, 201 00:13:16,750 --> 00:13:21,170 Speaker 1: and Lawrence Hausman. Lawrence was the brother of A.E. Hausman, 202 00:13:21,250 --> 00:13:25,090 Speaker 1: who may have also been a member. The Society's purpose 203 00:13:25,170 --> 00:13:29,010 Speaker 1: was to advocate for reform of the laws around sexuality 204 00:13:29,030 --> 00:13:33,550 Speaker 1: and including homosexuality, as well as research into sexuality and 205 00:13:33,790 --> 00:13:38,510 Speaker 1: information and support for its members. While the Society's original 206 00:13:38,550 --> 00:13:41,740 Speaker 1: founders were men, there were also women involved in this group, 207 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:43,960 Speaker 1: and the group tried to give the same weight to 208 00:13:44,030 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: issues that were affecting women. I'm also sure that there 209 00:13:47,500 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: were people who were involved in the group that, like, 210 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,939 Speaker 1: today would fall into the category of trans and non-binary people, 211 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: but that is just not how those ideas were being 212 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: discussed at the beginning. of the 20th century. Yeah, that 213 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,090 Speaker 1: language did not exist yet. No, and there was sort 214 00:14:03,110 --> 00:14:05,290 Speaker 1: of a conflation in a lot of the ways that 215 00:14:05,309 --> 00:14:09,309 Speaker 1: people talked about it, sort of meshing same-sex relationships with 216 00:14:09,990 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: differing gender conformity. Summers served as secretary for the society's 217 00:14:15,420 --> 00:14:19,540 Speaker 1: subcommittee on homosexuality, which had some overlap with the Order 218 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: of Quirinia. He held this position until 1921, and he 219 00:14:24,100 --> 00:14:26,470 Speaker 1: hosted the subcommittee's final meeting of. 220 00:14:26,450 --> 00:14:27,810 Speaker 2: His tenure at his home. 221 00:14:29,060 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: In 1920, the Society also published an essay that he 222 00:14:32,580 --> 00:14:36,060 Speaker 1: wrote on the Marquis de Sade called The Marquis de Sade, 223 00:14:36,220 --> 00:14:40,850 Speaker 1: A Study in Algalagnia. Algalagnia is a term for sexual 224 00:14:40,910 --> 00:14:44,730 Speaker 1: pleasure that comes from physical pain. In addition to his 225 00:14:44,790 --> 00:14:48,010 Speaker 1: work as a teacher and his involvement in these organizations, 226 00:14:48,490 --> 00:14:52,170 Speaker 1: Summers was also writing and editing the work of other writers. 227 00:14:52,930 --> 00:14:56,090 Speaker 1: he became connected to Arthur Henry Bullen, who had established 228 00:14:56,150 --> 00:15:01,510 Speaker 1: Shakespeare Head Press in Stratford-upon-Avon. Bullen was focused on publishing 229 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,380 Speaker 1: Shakespeare's works, and he encouraged Summers to edit and publish 230 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: the work of other English playwrights from the past. Summers 231 00:15:09,660 --> 00:15:14,570 Speaker 1: focused on restoration-era works. That's literature that followed the restoration 232 00:15:14,590 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: of King Charles II to the throne in 1660. Restoration-era 233 00:15:19,900 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: literature really was not being taken seriously or studied in 234 00:15:24,300 --> 00:15:26,830 Speaker 1: the early 20th century, and most of it had not 235 00:15:27,050 --> 00:15:32,710 Speaker 1: been actively in print in decades or even centuries. Summers 236 00:15:32,830 --> 00:15:36,710 Speaker 1: started in 1914 with a satirical play called The Rehearsal. 237 00:15:37,430 --> 00:15:40,369 Speaker 1: That was a piece that was published anonymously in 1672. 238 00:15:40,350 --> 00:15:42,830 Speaker 1: In 1915, he published a six-volume Works of Aphra Behn. 239 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,630 Speaker 1: More collections followed, including a four-volume The Complete Works of 240 00:15:51,670 --> 00:15:56,490 Speaker 1: William Congreve in 1923, the four-volume Complete Works of William 241 00:15:56,550 --> 00:16:01,700 Speaker 1: Wickerley in 1924, the three-volume Complete Works of Thomas Otway, 242 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: and the three-volume Complete Works of Thomas Shadwell, both of 243 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,020 Speaker 1: which were published in 1927, and six volumes of Dramatic 244 00:16:09,060 --> 00:16:13,150 Speaker 1: Works by John Dryden, which was published in 1932. I 245 00:16:13,180 --> 00:16:17,970 Speaker 1: cannot imagine how much work that all was. Summers also 246 00:16:18,070 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: founded the Phoenix Society, which was dedicated to staging old plays, 247 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,700 Speaker 1: including some of these Restoration-era works. The Society staged 18 248 00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: plays between 1919 and 1925. It was followed by the 249 00:16:33,190 --> 00:16:39,170 Speaker 1: Renaissance Theater, which sporadically staged plays until 1928. Summers' work 250 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: with Restoration writers was kind of a mixed bag. He 251 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: absolutely made these works more accessible to scholars and to 252 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,780 Speaker 1: interested laypeople. He was the first person to seriously study 253 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: and annotate a lot of these works. He did a 254 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,750 Speaker 1: lot of research into how these plays had been staged, 255 00:16:56,890 --> 00:16:59,550 Speaker 1: and the introductions that he wrote were generally seen as 256 00:16:59,650 --> 00:17:02,990 Speaker 1: informative and interesting, and they could almost stand as books 257 00:17:03,150 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 1: on their own. His work with this literature was noteworthy 258 00:17:07,740 --> 00:17:10,179 Speaker 1: and respectable enough that he was made a Fellow of 259 00:17:10,220 --> 00:17:14,310 Speaker 1: the Royal Society of Literature in 1916. Yeah, that was 260 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,030 Speaker 1: really early in his work, so I think he had 261 00:17:17,130 --> 00:17:20,510 Speaker 1: already impressed people with what he was doing. But he 262 00:17:20,570 --> 00:17:24,270 Speaker 1: was not an academic, and his work drew so much 263 00:17:24,390 --> 00:17:28,260 Speaker 1: criticism from academics and scholars of literature and historical theater. 264 00:17:29,250 --> 00:17:34,680 Speaker 1: For example, in 1933, Robert Whitbet Babcock published his criticisms 265 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: of Summers' edition of The Orphan or the Unhappy Marriage 266 00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:41,810 Speaker 1: by Thomas Otway. He published that in PMLA, the Journal 267 00:17:41,869 --> 00:17:46,409 Speaker 1: of the Modern Language Association of America. Babcock had bought 268 00:17:46,550 --> 00:17:50,530 Speaker 1: an original 1680 printing of this play, and he compared 269 00:17:50,630 --> 00:17:54,990 Speaker 1: that to Summers' edition. He said that Summers had acknowledged 270 00:17:55,070 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: making 11 corrections to the text while Babcock counted 419 271 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:05,340 Speaker 1: of them. And Babcock didn't really think that these were 272 00:18:05,380 --> 00:18:10,310 Speaker 1: all corrections. He found them to be contradictory and often unnecessary. Like, 273 00:18:10,869 --> 00:18:16,690 Speaker 1: Summers inconsistently used two Vs rather than the letter W. Like, 274 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:20,129 Speaker 1: it would have been two Vs in that original 1680 text, 275 00:18:20,210 --> 00:18:23,710 Speaker 1: and he updated it to W, sometimes not, and sometimes did. 276 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:28,790 Speaker 1: He changed ye ought to you ought in some places 277 00:18:29,350 --> 00:18:30,109 Speaker 1: and not others. 278 00:18:30,210 --> 00:18:30,790 Speaker 2: This paper. 279 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:36,500 Speaker 1: Reed's incredibly nitpicky, but the point he was making is, like, 280 00:18:36,540 --> 00:18:40,100 Speaker 1: this man put out this thing that he said was, like, 281 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,139 Speaker 1: the new edition of this work that was faithful to 282 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: the original, but. 283 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,129 Speaker 2: Look at this mess. It was sort of the vibe 284 00:18:47,150 --> 00:18:52,990 Speaker 2: of it. We love a little petty scholarship. 285 00:18:53,150 --> 00:18:57,310 Speaker 1: New Zealand scholar Esmond Samuel DeBeer gave a scathing review 286 00:18:57,330 --> 00:19:00,930 Speaker 1: of of Summers' edition of Dryden's Essay of Dramatic Poesy, 287 00:19:01,510 --> 00:19:04,270 Speaker 1: saying there was nothing original in it and that he had, quote, 288 00:19:04,350 --> 00:19:07,929 Speaker 1: Summers also faced other allegations of plagiarism in his Dryden work, 289 00:19:07,950 --> 00:19:10,730 Speaker 1: which led to a huge letter war in the pages 290 00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:23,270 Speaker 1: of the Times Literary Supplement and other publications. Some of 291 00:19:23,330 --> 00:19:27,209 Speaker 1: these reviews were really vicious, but Summers could also be 292 00:19:27,270 --> 00:19:31,050 Speaker 1: vicious in his own reviews of other people's work. Yeah, 293 00:19:31,090 --> 00:19:34,820 Speaker 1: today I would say these editions of his are viewed 294 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,460 Speaker 1: as imperfect at best. And in a lot of cases nowadays, 295 00:19:39,500 --> 00:19:47,090 Speaker 1: there are newer, less sometimes shoddy editions of the same books. 296 00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:51,850 Speaker 1: As we said earlier, Summers worked as a teacher until 1926. 297 00:19:51,850 --> 00:19:54,390 Speaker 1: After that, he left teaching to focus just on his 298 00:19:54,470 --> 00:19:57,830 Speaker 1: writing and literary career. His father had died in 1925, 299 00:19:57,810 --> 00:20:02,230 Speaker 1: and he inherited some money from While he did still 300 00:20:02,290 --> 00:20:05,770 Speaker 1: continue to edit and publish the work of Restoration Era 301 00:20:05,810 --> 00:20:09,869 Speaker 1: writers after this, he also started publishing more work on 302 00:20:09,930 --> 00:20:14,830 Speaker 1: the occult. And a lot of those works, unsurprisingly, were 303 00:20:14,869 --> 00:20:19,889 Speaker 1: making him more money than editions of centuries-old literature. And 304 00:20:19,910 --> 00:20:21,929 Speaker 1: we're going to get into all of that after we 305 00:20:21,950 --> 00:20:34,369 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. By the time Montague Summers 306 00:20:34,410 --> 00:20:37,290 Speaker 1: started publishing books on the occult, he was known as 307 00:20:37,350 --> 00:20:41,590 Speaker 1: a pious and faithful clergyman. But he had also cultivated 308 00:20:41,830 --> 00:20:46,220 Speaker 1: a public persona that was distinct and recognizable. Here is 309 00:20:46,260 --> 00:20:50,179 Speaker 1: how Carmelite friar Brokert Sewell described him in a foreword 310 00:20:50,300 --> 00:20:53,379 Speaker 1: that he wrote to Summers' book, The Vampire in Europe, 311 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,150 Speaker 1: True Tales of the Undead. Quote, During the year 1927, 312 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:03,110 Speaker 1: the striking and somber figure of the Reverend Montague Summers 313 00:21:03,350 --> 00:21:07,570 Speaker 1: in black soutan and cloak with buckled shoes a la 314 00:21:07,630 --> 00:21:11,389 Speaker 1: Louis Quatorze and shovel hat could often have been seen 315 00:21:11,590 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: entering or leaving the reading room of the British Museum. 316 00:21:15,380 --> 00:21:19,210 Speaker 1: carrying a large black portfolio bearing on its side a 317 00:21:19,330 --> 00:21:25,210 Speaker 1: white label showing in blood-red capitals the legend, Vampires. This 318 00:21:25,260 --> 00:21:29,380 Speaker 1: was just part of Summer's habitual panache and sense of fun, 319 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:34,430 Speaker 1: those qualities which made him such an admirable entertainer and raconteur. 320 00:21:35,369 --> 00:21:39,830 Speaker 1: Gerald O'Sullivan, who also wrote forwards to some of Summers' 321 00:21:39,890 --> 00:21:42,590 Speaker 1: books when they were published later, as well as wrote 322 00:21:42,690 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: other essays about him, described him as stage-managing this public persona, quote, 323 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,710 Speaker 1: with great skill and evidently no little glee. Summers' books 324 00:21:54,890 --> 00:21:58,030 Speaker 1: on the occult started with The History of Witchcraft and 325 00:21:58,070 --> 00:22:02,909 Speaker 1: Demonology in 1926. That was followed by The Geography of 326 00:22:02,970 --> 00:22:08,360 Speaker 1: Witchcraft in 1927, Vampire, Kith and Kin in 1928, and 327 00:22:08,380 --> 00:22:13,060 Speaker 1: The Vampire in Europe in 1929. That year, he moved 328 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: to Oxford so he could use the Bodleian Library for research. 329 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 1: The Werewolf came out in 1933, and then A Popular 330 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,750 Speaker 1: History of Witchcraft in 1937. Later works on the occult 331 00:22:25,850 --> 00:22:31,550 Speaker 1: included Witchcraft and Black Magic in 1946. These books had 332 00:22:31,590 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 1: an impact on how things like witches and vampires were 333 00:22:34,780 --> 00:22:38,540 Speaker 1: perceived in England, and by extension, elsewhere in Europe and 334 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:39,180 Speaker 1: the U.S. 335 00:22:39,340 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 2: In the 20th century. 336 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:46,300 Speaker 1: He also continued editing and publishing historical works, now largely 337 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:52,030 Speaker 1: focusing on historical works on the occult. As examples, in 1928, 338 00:22:52,030 --> 00:22:57,010 Speaker 1: he published the first ever English-language edition of Malleus Maleficarum, 339 00:22:57,090 --> 00:23:00,570 Speaker 1: or Hammer of Witches, which was originally published in Latin 340 00:23:00,770 --> 00:23:05,899 Speaker 1: in 1486 and fed into the early modern era's anti-witchcraft craze. 341 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: Also in 1928, he published an edition of Matthew Hopkins' 342 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,840 Speaker 1: 1647 The Discovery of Witches. In 1929, he translated and 343 00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:21,550 Speaker 1: published the 1608 Witch-Hunting Manual Compendium Maleficarum. As had been 344 00:23:21,570 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: the case with his restoration dramas, there were critics of Summers' 345 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:30,419 Speaker 1: work on the occult. Like, a 1929 review of The Vampire, 346 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:33,060 Speaker 1: His Kith and Kin in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds 347 00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:43,940 Speaker 1: Intelligencer described it as showing, quote, Burned. One of his 348 00:23:44,100 --> 00:23:47,659 Speaker 1: ongoing critics was Father Herbert Thurston, a Jesuit priest who 349 00:23:47,820 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: also wrote on the paranormal and was a member of 350 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:55,379 Speaker 1: the Society for Psychical Research. Summers seemed to sincerely believe 351 00:23:55,420 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: that witchcraft was real and that the Catholic Church's historical 352 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,740 Speaker 1: practice of condemning witches to death had been correct and 353 00:24:02,790 --> 00:24:06,850 Speaker 1: should be revived, although it is possible that this professed 354 00:24:06,910 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: belief was part of his self-promotion. Thurston was more of 355 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,370 Speaker 1: a skeptic, which Summers interpreted as being much too cautious 356 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,869 Speaker 1: on the subjects he was writing about. Thurston was also 357 00:24:17,930 --> 00:24:20,710 Speaker 1: one of the people who raised questions about whether Summers 358 00:24:20,770 --> 00:24:24,790 Speaker 1: had ever actually been ordained in the Catholic Church. This 359 00:24:25,750 --> 00:24:29,510 Speaker 1: whole bit of conflict blossomed into a literary feud between 360 00:24:29,530 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: the two men that went on until Thurston's death in 1939. Summers' 361 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: 1933 translation of Confessions of Madeleine Bovin, which was an 362 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,939 Speaker 1: account of a mass demonic possession at a convent in 363 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 1: France in 1647 led to charges of obscenity. In case 364 00:24:48,380 --> 00:24:50,820 Speaker 1: folks are curious, that is not the case of mass 365 00:24:50,859 --> 00:24:53,580 Speaker 1: demonic possession at a convent in France that we have 366 00:24:53,619 --> 00:24:54,740 Speaker 1: covered on the show before. 367 00:24:54,820 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 2: It was a different one. 368 00:24:57,020 --> 00:25:00,400 Speaker 1: All of the copies of this book were seized, along 369 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: with all of the copies of his 1934 translation of Demoniality, 370 00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:09,770 Speaker 1: or Incubi and Succubi, which was originally written in Latin 371 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:15,810 Speaker 1: by Ludovico Maria Sinistrari in the 17th century. Summers' publisher 372 00:25:15,869 --> 00:25:20,210 Speaker 1: was charged with obscenity. One of the more modern criticisms 373 00:25:20,270 --> 00:25:22,409 Speaker 1: of Summers' work on the occult is that parts of 374 00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:26,949 Speaker 1: it are rooted in anti-Semitic tropes. There is overlap between 375 00:25:27,060 --> 00:25:30,940 Speaker 1: accusations of witchcraft in early modern Europe and false claims 376 00:25:31,380 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: that Jewish people were using the blood of Christians in 377 00:25:34,340 --> 00:25:39,869 Speaker 1: demonic rituals. Summers claimed to have found evidence of Jewish 378 00:25:39,950 --> 00:25:44,430 Speaker 1: ritual murders, and some of his descriptions of witches incorporated 379 00:25:44,550 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: anti-Semitic stereotypes in a way that persists until today. In 380 00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: the 1930s, Summers' focus started to shift again, although into 381 00:25:53,900 --> 00:25:56,620 Speaker 1: an area that still had some overlap with his work 382 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 1: on the supernatural, and that was that he started writing 383 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:03,859 Speaker 1: about the Gothic novel. His books The Gothic Quest and 384 00:26:03,980 --> 00:26:08,379 Speaker 1: A Gothic Bibliography came out in 1938 and 1940, and 385 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:12,290 Speaker 1: they traced the history of Gothic novels. He also wrote 386 00:26:12,350 --> 00:26:16,730 Speaker 1: about writers of Gothic novels, including Anne Radcliffe and Mary Shelley. 387 00:26:17,510 --> 00:26:23,260 Speaker 1: He edited anthologies of supernatural fiction, including The Supernatural Omnibus 388 00:26:23,380 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: in 1931 and Victorian Ghost Stories in 1933. In 1943, 389 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:33,580 Speaker 1: Summers also started publishing articles and stories in a tabloid 390 00:26:34,020 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: called Everybody's Weekly. I don't remember which person in the 391 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:42,050 Speaker 1: research it was, but they just straightforwardly said these were 392 00:26:42,150 --> 00:26:47,670 Speaker 1: hack articles and were not good or serious. Summers spent 393 00:26:47,710 --> 00:26:50,460 Speaker 1: the last eight years of his life living in Richmond, 394 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: which is a borough of London. Sometime during these years, 395 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: he became acquainted with Alistair Crowley, who we have covered 396 00:26:57,780 --> 00:27:00,340 Speaker 1: on the show before and who was also living in Richmond. 397 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,120 Speaker 1: It seems likely that this was not a very symmetrical relationship. 398 00:27:05,780 --> 00:27:09,130 Speaker 1: There were rumors that Summers had participated in in some 399 00:27:09,210 --> 00:27:11,939 Speaker 1: kind of black magic early in his life, and that 400 00:27:11,980 --> 00:27:15,340 Speaker 1: a terrifying experience during one of these rituals led to 401 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,879 Speaker 1: his fixation on the occult and his professed belief that 402 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:23,120 Speaker 1: witchcraft was real and should be punishable by death. By 403 00:27:23,180 --> 00:27:25,639 Speaker 1: the time he would have met with Crowley, he maintained 404 00:27:25,820 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: an intense hatred of occult practitioners. Summers described Crowley as, quote, 405 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:38,340 Speaker 1: one-quarter conjurer and three-quarters charlatan and whole common publicist. but 406 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,220 Speaker 1: also as one of the few original and really interesting 407 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,899 Speaker 1: men of the age. For his part, Crowley described a 408 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: dinner that they had together as, quote, the most fun 409 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,710 Speaker 1: I have had in years. Montague Summers died at home 410 00:27:52,090 --> 00:27:56,350 Speaker 1: on August 10th, 1948, at the age of 68. His 411 00:27:56,470 --> 00:28:00,250 Speaker 1: death is described as sudden, but none of the sources 412 00:28:00,350 --> 00:28:03,820 Speaker 1: I used in this episode gave a specific cause. He 413 00:28:03,859 --> 00:28:08,220 Speaker 1: was buried in Richmond's cemetery, wearing his priest's vestments, but 414 00:28:08,380 --> 00:28:11,899 Speaker 1: there was no Requiem Mass for him, apparently because the 415 00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:16,899 Speaker 1: Catholic rector would not allow it. This was presumably because 416 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,399 Speaker 1: of Summers' reputation with the occult. A grave marker placed 417 00:28:21,540 --> 00:28:27,550 Speaker 1: in 1988 includes the inscription, Tell Me Strange Things. Summers 418 00:28:27,650 --> 00:28:31,230 Speaker 1: left most of his property to Hector Stewart Forbes, who 419 00:28:31,450 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: all of the sources that were used for this episode 420 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:38,180 Speaker 1: describe in terms like companion and personal secretary. He had 421 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: been living with him in Richmond. That included about 10,000 pounds, 422 00:28:42,700 --> 00:28:46,500 Speaker 1: a collection of antiquities, and a library full of rare books, 423 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: along with all of Summers' writing and personal papers. Stuart 424 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: Forbes continued to live in the house that they had shared, 425 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,870 Speaker 1: but he was unwell, and the money that he inherited 426 00:28:57,070 --> 00:29:00,090 Speaker 1: from Summers ran out before he died in 1950, at 427 00:29:00,610 --> 00:29:04,030 Speaker 1: which point he was buried with Summers. By that point, 428 00:29:04,310 --> 00:29:08,540 Speaker 1: tea chests full of Summers' papers had apparently been seized 429 00:29:08,660 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: by their landlady for nonpayment of rent and then sold immediately. 430 00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:16,940 Speaker 1: Stuart Forbes' executor was his brother, who took possession of 431 00:29:16,980 --> 00:29:20,130 Speaker 1: what was left of Summers' papers, but then he also 432 00:29:20,210 --> 00:29:24,570 Speaker 1: died in 1954, and the remaining papers went to his widow. 433 00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:28,150 Speaker 1: During the settling of all these people's estates, the papers 434 00:29:28,190 --> 00:29:30,910 Speaker 1: that the landlady had seized were recovered and returned to 435 00:29:30,950 --> 00:29:35,270 Speaker 1: the collection. And then, eventually, after being described as lost 436 00:29:35,310 --> 00:29:38,250 Speaker 1: for decades, they were rediscovered in 2003 at the home 437 00:29:38,310 --> 00:29:43,060 Speaker 1: of a former relative in Canada. They are now in 438 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,380 Speaker 1: the collection of Georgetown University, along with the papers of 439 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: Stuart Marsh Ellis, whose papers had gone to Summers after 440 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:54,420 Speaker 1: he died in 1933. Along the way of all of 441 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,530 Speaker 1: these things changing hands, someone allegedly found a document in 442 00:29:58,550 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: the papers that that proved Summers' Catholic ordination was genuine, 443 00:30:03,420 --> 00:30:08,610 Speaker 1: but that alleged paper has not resurfaced. Summers' autobiography, The 444 00:30:08,670 --> 00:30:13,410 Speaker 1: Gallanty Show, was published posthumously. I was not able to 445 00:30:13,450 --> 00:30:15,910 Speaker 1: get a copy of it in time for this episode. 446 00:30:16,610 --> 00:30:21,450 Speaker 1: It is a book that does exist mostly in university libraries, 447 00:30:21,690 --> 00:30:26,980 Speaker 1: sometimes in off-site storage. But this book is described as 448 00:30:27,070 --> 00:30:31,070 Speaker 1: focusing mostly on his work in theater and his career 449 00:30:31,210 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: as a man of letters, not really a more personal 450 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 1: reflection that could shed light on some of the questions 451 00:30:37,780 --> 00:30:42,690 Speaker 1: that we've had. Brokert Sewell also published a short biography 452 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:48,140 Speaker 1: of him titled Montague Summers, A Memoir in 1965, which 453 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,420 Speaker 1: I was also not able to get in time for recording. 454 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: That was my own fault for just assuming that it 455 00:30:56,100 --> 00:30:59,930 Speaker 1: probably did not exist in libraries in the United States. 456 00:31:00,430 --> 00:31:02,570 Speaker 1: There is actually one that I could have, it just 457 00:31:02,590 --> 00:31:05,370 Speaker 1: didn't work out time-wise once I realized it too late 458 00:31:05,410 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: in the game, but it's only 100 pages long. And 459 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,380 Speaker 1: I similarly don't think it would have cleared up any 460 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: of the questions that we have had over the course 461 00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:16,540 Speaker 1: of the episode. 462 00:31:17,380 --> 00:31:19,660 Speaker 2: Do you have a listener mail that's 100 pages long? 463 00:31:20,140 --> 00:31:24,430 Speaker 1: It's not 100 pages long, but it is a few paragraphs. 464 00:31:24,810 --> 00:31:28,710 Speaker 1: And it is from Gary. And Gary wrote, Hi, Holly 465 00:31:28,750 --> 00:31:31,770 Speaker 1: and Tracy. I was just listening to your behind the 466 00:31:31,830 --> 00:31:35,540 Speaker 1: scenes on the school court cases as I do Sunday chores, 467 00:31:35,860 --> 00:31:39,200 Speaker 1: specifically the part about the Pledge of Allegiance. In the 60s, 468 00:31:39,230 --> 00:31:42,330 Speaker 1: we started every day with the flag salute through grade school, 469 00:31:42,470 --> 00:31:44,830 Speaker 1: which at the time was sixth grade in rural Oregon 470 00:31:44,870 --> 00:31:46,650 Speaker 1: where I grew up. I don't recall if we did 471 00:31:46,690 --> 00:31:49,990 Speaker 1: it in first period in junior high, maybe. But I 472 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: was surprised when I was on my first job as 473 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,600 Speaker 1: a reporter and found that most or all of the 474 00:31:55,740 --> 00:32:00,100 Speaker 1: government bodies that I covered, school boards, city council, county commissioners, 475 00:32:00,140 --> 00:32:04,220 Speaker 1: et cetera, started their meetings with the pledge. Weird for 476 00:32:04,290 --> 00:32:07,900 Speaker 1: adults to be doing this and off-putting. I don't recall 477 00:32:08,060 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 1: what I did if I just stayed seated or stood 478 00:32:10,340 --> 00:32:12,220 Speaker 1: or didn't recite it. It's been more than 30 years 479 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:13,980 Speaker 1: since I was a reporter, but I still find it 480 00:32:14,020 --> 00:32:16,820 Speaker 1: weird that every sporting event starts with a star-spangled banner. 481 00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: I stand to take off my hat, but I definitely 482 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: don't put my hand on my heart or sing along 483 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: and don't get me started on God Bless America. Fortunately, 484 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,220 Speaker 1: only the Yankees still do that as far as I know. 485 00:32:28,110 --> 00:32:30,810 Speaker 1: When I was in junior high, many of my classes, 486 00:32:30,950 --> 00:32:33,410 Speaker 1: usually those taught by the guys who were PE teachers 487 00:32:33,490 --> 00:32:36,930 Speaker 1: or sports coaches, had wooden paddles hanging on the wall. 488 00:32:37,390 --> 00:32:39,390 Speaker 1: They were typically made by the woodshop class and had 489 00:32:39,430 --> 00:32:41,780 Speaker 1: several holes in them and a short length of leather 490 00:32:41,860 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 1: boot lace to hang them up with. The holes reduced 491 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 1: air resistance that allowed them to be swung harder. They 492 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: typically were used as hall passes by those teachers who 493 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 1: had them. 494 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:50,700 Speaker 2: In their rooms. 495 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,620 Speaker 1: The only time I ever heard of them being used 496 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,260 Speaker 1: for discipline was in shop class, which I never took. 497 00:32:57,210 --> 00:32:59,950 Speaker 1: In 1970 to 71, when I started high school, so-called 498 00:33:00,090 --> 00:33:03,430 Speaker 1: underground newspapers were all the rage nationally. I mean, kids 499 00:33:03,470 --> 00:33:05,970 Speaker 1: only a couple years older than us were being tear-gassed 500 00:33:06,010 --> 00:33:08,730 Speaker 1: and clubbed and even shot on college campuses, so some 501 00:33:08,770 --> 00:33:12,470 Speaker 1: of their militancy was bound to trickle down. One time 502 00:33:12,530 --> 00:33:15,570 Speaker 1: as a sophomore, I put together a draft pledge of 503 00:33:15,650 --> 00:33:19,820 Speaker 1: my attempt at an underground rag. protesting some school policy 504 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 1: that I knew very little about, and passed out a 505 00:33:21,740 --> 00:33:24,320 Speaker 1: few copies to my friends. One made its way to 506 00:33:24,340 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: the principal, who called me in to talk about it. 507 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,950 Speaker 1: I was told that only authorized publications could be distributed 508 00:33:31,010 --> 00:33:34,510 Speaker 1: on campus, and I should consider joining the official newspaper class. 509 00:33:35,030 --> 00:33:38,550 Speaker 1: That ended my underground journalism career, but it was briefly thrilling. 510 00:33:39,050 --> 00:33:41,710 Speaker 1: Thanks again for all you do. I especially enjoyed the 511 00:33:41,770 --> 00:33:45,410 Speaker 1: Ashurbanipal episode. In college, I volunteered on a dig at 512 00:33:45,450 --> 00:33:49,790 Speaker 1: Tel Lachish, which was sacked by his grandfather, Sennacherib. And 513 00:33:49,810 --> 00:33:52,209 Speaker 1: I always love learning about that era. For my pet tags, 514 00:33:52,230 --> 00:33:56,370 Speaker 1: here's our Juno, right, with her BFF, Abby, left, and Emma, Gary. 515 00:33:56,430 --> 00:34:01,450 Speaker 1: And then we have three adorable, kind of curly-furred dogs. 516 00:34:02,290 --> 00:34:04,470 Speaker 1: I don't know anything about dog breeds. I could not 517 00:34:04,530 --> 00:34:06,350 Speaker 1: tell you what kind they are, but they're all sitting. 518 00:34:06,390 --> 00:34:08,950 Speaker 1: They're doing very good sits, all three of these dogs. 519 00:34:09,690 --> 00:34:11,930 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Gary, for this. I kind of 520 00:34:11,950 --> 00:34:14,070 Speaker 1: want to read every email that we get that talks 521 00:34:14,150 --> 00:34:19,090 Speaker 1: about paddles and the ways they were displayed in the classroom, 522 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: even though, as I have said more than once, I 523 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: find that incredibly messed up. I also had teachers who 524 00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 1: used the paddle as a hall pass. So if you 525 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,390 Speaker 1: needed the bathroom during the class time, you had to 526 00:34:32,450 --> 00:34:35,730 Speaker 1: carry a paddle with you to get there and back. 527 00:34:37,030 --> 00:34:39,530 Speaker 2: Those look like standard poodles to me. Okay. 528 00:34:40,070 --> 00:34:41,950 Speaker 1: Or maybe a doodle, but they look pretty much like 529 00:34:41,989 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: standard poodles that are just in a puppy clip. Yeah. 530 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:46,950 Speaker 2: They're very pretty. They're gorgeous. 531 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,100 Speaker 1: They're doing good sits. If you would like to send 532 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:54,060 Speaker 1: us a note, we're at historypodcasts at iheartradio.com. If you 533 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,520 Speaker 1: would like to read the show notes for this episode 534 00:34:56,540 --> 00:34:59,300 Speaker 1: or any of our recent episodes, that's at our website, 535 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:03,339 Speaker 1: which is at missedinhistory.com. You can also subscribe to the 536 00:35:03,380 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: show on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you'd like 537 00:35:06,180 --> 00:35:13,750 Speaker 1: to get your podcasts. Stuff You Missed in History Class 538 00:35:13,770 --> 00:35:17,930 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. 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