unearths some literary gems.
From The Wrong Mr. Wright, by George H. Broadhurst:
Notes on the attachments:
1. I wrote this "spoiler" at the point where all I'd seen were the dramatis personae: "I'm guessing the detective will find the missing fin de siecle lodged in the crack between 1899 and 1900."
After which, I heard an imaginary Kenneth Williams voice in my head, touting a nonexistent "Carry On Belle Epoque" as "a comedy that'll knock you right on your fin-de-siecle." (Belle Epoque would be the name of a character, of course.)
Or, if you prefer, it could work in an imaginary Round the Horne prologue:
ANNOUNCER: Round the Horne presents..."La Belle Epoque."
WILLIAMS: Ooh, that'll knock you right on your fin-de-siecle.
2. At this point, I said to myself, "No, for goodness' sake, you wouldn't want to overdo it and turn Lord Brazenface into some kind of caricature."
3. I couldn't find any evidence that giving someone "the royal Ha! Ha!" had any general currency. (I don't think it's meant to allude to a "ha-ha" in the sense of a sunk fence, though that metaphor technically works.)
4. It's so embarrassing when you typset The Wrong Mr. Wright wrong! Right?
