Set in the days of trilby hats and elm trees, Victor Canning’s Mr Finchley Discovers His England is a comic travelogue following the misadventures of balding administrator Edgar Finchley as he tramps across southwest England one summer.

It doesn’t start with hiking boots, however. Finchley’s plan is a seaside stop in Margate, but when he wakes to find himself in the back seat of a stolen Bentley roaring through country lanes with the police in pursuit, it’s not only his holiday which derails, but his entire philosophy.

Finchley meets a parade of characters who reshape the way he interacts with threats, the unexpected, and danger. He chauffeurs a femme-fatale, dines with gypsies, pumps petrol, assists smugglers, and brushes with the possibility of romance.

The narrative portrays an England underpinned by politeness, and a countryside splendid with elm, cedar, hazels, willow, and birdsong. The reader is invited to enjoy the English countryside as much as Finchley does.

The book’s introduction of successive characters becomes formulaic, but Canning’s brisk sentences give the tale alacrity and there’s much in his precise diction to amuse logophiles: pipe-dottle, tumbril, rean, charabanc, carillon, a briar brake…

I’d certainly travel with Edgar again, and lucky for me - there are two further books in this light-hearted series.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I had a Mr. Finchley reading fest and thoroughly enjoyed this light hearted story, a fuzzy warm book

What a delightful read of a man going on a vacation that turns into an adventure. Mr. Finchley has plans to have a quiet and relaxing vacation in Margate but events change his plans. This is not a book I would normally pick up and for that reason I would have missed out. Thank you Netgalley for this wonderful read. I will definitely recommend it to my friends.

Mr.Finchley is a delightful character this is a wonderful charming read.We get to accompany Mr.Finchley on his forced vacation as he bicycles around England he eats his sandwiches observes his country .I loved this book glad there are two more novels two more adventures with Mr.Finchley,

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

That was kind of fun. Middle aged Mr FINCHLEY takes his first vacation and ends up on a wild cross country adventure.

3☆

I enjoyed this “old-fashioned” book. I found Mr Finchley endearing and the story was very entertaining. A fun, quick read!

I enjoyed Mr Finchley Discovers His England. Originally published in 1934, it’s a celebration of an ideal of rural England and of a staid, dull Londoner who discovers the joys of adventure and the outdoors, and of his own resilience.

The story consists of a series of mildly improbable vignettes as Mr. Finchley, a single solicitors’ clerk, takes his first holiday in over 20 years. Events conspire to take Mr Finchley not to Margate as planned but on a curious adventure through the South West of England in which he meets gypsies, tramps and thieves (quite literally), eccentric aristocrats, smugglers and so on. He ends up in a life on the road, with loving descriptions of English countryside and features as well as some adventures in which he adopts all kinds of unfamiliar roles. There is almost a feel of Bilbo Baggins about Mr F as he is taken well out of what would now be called his comfort zone and discovers some of his own qualities. The sense of the book is probably summed up in the heading for Chapter IX: “How Mr Finchley is nearly throttled and finds happiness in a view.”

The prose is enjoyable and very readable and the whole book is a warm, escapist treat. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for an ARC of this re-published delight. It was first published in 1970 and has been a fun read ever since. I see that Mr. Finchley’s adventures (set in the 1930s?) have also delighted radio listeners in the past.

Highly recommended for those wishing a respite from the new millennium and the books it has spawned.

Wasn't sure what to expect, but when Mr. Finchley gets a 3 week vacation he is off on an adventure. Falling asleep in someone else's car, he wakes up to being in a race from the cops. Then begins a series of adventures, with his British approach of an upper lip to the circumstance of each one. Comical and fun to read, although after awhile it seemed to follow the same formula, and therefore became a bit too easy to skim. Other than that, an enjoyable breath of fresh air of writings from the 1930s. Highly recommend.

In Which Mr Finchley Starts His Holiday....
Book one in this trilogy from Victor Canning in which we discover the delightful, unassuming Mr Finchley. Gently humorous, beautifully written and packed with witticisms - this book is a joy. Written in the 1930's, the reader is presented with a slower and more delightful way of life - gentle and charming. When Mr Finchley is offered his first holiday, time off from his role as a Solicitors clerk, he embarkes upon a series of escapades - each more amusing than the last. A sheer delight to escape the realities of life as we know it and more so to escape into the delightful world of Mr Finchley. Highly recommended.

(Review to be published on Amazon)

Synopsis of this book from the publisher is as follows
'From his abduction in a Bentley by a cheerful crook, to his smuggling escapade off the south coast, the timid but plucky Mr Finchley is plunged into a series of the most astonishing and extraordinary adventures.His rural adventure takes him gradually westward through the English countryside and back, via a smuggling yacht, to London'.

Author Victor Canning died in 1980’s Some of his books are now being republished
Mr Finchley discovers his England is book 1 in a series written in the 1930’s. I think the writing was to a high standard and its great to see these books now available to a new audience.
The story is so lovely and reminds me of bygone nostalgic times of Enid Blyton and Billy Bunter. This is totally different from modern gripping thrillers with twisting plots and edge of the seat drama. To me this was such a joy and a release from everyday life with all that entails.
I loved my time with Mr Edgar Finchley who is a portly and middle aged bank clerk on holiday. He ends up mixing with thieves, smugglers, involved with Police across Southern England.
This was such a breath of fresh air. I loved it and would highly recommend.