The Courts of Idleness

The Courts of Idleness

Company type	Book
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1920
Founder	Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer)
Products	Humorous short story anthology

The Courts of Idleness is a 1920 anthology of humorous short stories authored by English writer Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), marking his second published work. Approximately half of the narratives include his recurring 'Berry' characters.

Plot

This volume is divided into two principal story sections: “Book I: How Some Passed Out of The Courts for Ever,” which centers on pre-war escapades, and “Book II: How Others Left the Courts Only to Return,” containing post-war narratives. These are separated by a standalone “Interlude.”

The first section opens in London with the characters before shifting to the island of Rih (a thinly veiled representation of Madeira). It ends with the male protagonists, now engaged in the Great War, being instantly killed by a shell blast.

The Interlude presents new figures who begin in Scotland at the war’s onset and later appear on the Western Front.

Book II revisits the 'Berry' group introduced in The Brother of Daphne, adding Adèle Feste, an American character. The initial two stories continue directly from the earlier collection, followed by three set at the conclusion of the war where Berry and his companions reunite in Egypt and journey home through Rome. The book concludes with "Nemesis," featuring Berry and Boy back in London.

Background

The tales in Book I were originally serialized monthly in The Windsor Magazine during 1914-1915, with the final story—set on the Macedonian front, where Mercer served—published in June 1919.

Book II’s first two stories appeared in 1914; the last four, partly situated in Egypt (another location where Mercer served), were published in 1919. "Nemesis" was initially crafted for Punch, shorter than typical Windsor submissions; its main character was renamed from Jeremy to Berry for inclusion in this volume.

Following World War I, Mercer decided to abandon his legal profession at the bar to dedicate himself fully to writing.

Chapters

Book I - How Some Passed Out Of The Courts For Ever

Chapter	Title	Windsor Date	Volume	Issue	Pages	Illustrator
I	What's In A Name ?	December 1914	XLI	240	149-158	G C Wilmshurst
II	A Sister Ship	January 1915	XLI	241	250-258	G C Wilmshurst
III	To Seat Four	February 1915	XLI	242	389-398	G C Wilmshurst
IV	Love Thirty	March 1915	XLI	243	510-518	G C Wilmshurst
V	For Better Or For Worse	June 1919	L	294	17-26	Norah Schlegel

Interlude

Chapter	Title	Windsor Date	Volume	Issue	Pages	Illustrator
	And The Other Left	November 1914	XL	239	661-671	Charles J Crombie

Book II - How Others Left The Courts Only To Return

Chapter	Title	Windsor Date	Volume	Issue	Pages	Illustrator
I	A Bébé In Arms	August 1914	XL	236	321-327	G C Wilmshurst
II	Contempt Of Court	September 1914	XL	237	429-436	G C Wilmshurst
III	Beauty Repeats Itself	July 1919	L	295	97-107	Norah Schlegel
IV	The Desert Air	August 1919	L	296	181-192	Norah Schlegel		V	"As Rome Does"	"September 1919"	"L"	"297"	"275-284"	"Norah Schlegel"		VI	"Nemesis"	"November 1919"	"L"	"299"	"483-486"	"Howard K Elcock"

Illustrations

The book edition omitted most illustrations originally featured in the The Windsor stories, with the sole exception of a piece by Norah Schlegel (1879–1963) from "For Better Or For Worse," which adorned the dust jacket of the initial publication.

Dedications

• 1921 – "To Her. Whose voice is melody, Whose grace is perfection, Whose understanding is infinite. My Lady Paramount"
• 1929 – "To My Lady Paramount"
• 1942 – "To the countryside of England, the hanging forests of Austria, and the tilted, flower-starred meadows of the Pyrenees."

Critical reception

A review published in Punch in September 1920 expressed a more reserved response compared to that for the author’s earlier work, The Brother of Daphne. It observed that although the characters in The Courts of Idleness engaged in lively and witty exchanges for their own amusement, extending such light-hearted dialogue over three hundred pages risked becoming somewhat excessive. Nonetheless, the critique ended on a positive note, endorsing Mr Yates for readers who appreciate a challenge to British self-seriousness—a phrase later adopted by Ward Lock for promoting many of the author’s later books.