Who’s Who: F.C.F. Childermass

Marcus Childermass, a professor of literature, named his four sons for characters in the novels of Tobias Smollett [The Chessmen of Doom; 6].

Call Again, He Is Made Of Stone

A contributor to our forum named Dan wrote to us last year to say he was making his way through The Chessmen of Doom for the first time in over a decade. In the early chapters of the novel something “tugged at [his] memory” when he read the description of Peregrine “Perry” Childermass’ tomb:

The massive bronze doors of the tomb were flanked by two Grecian columns, and the Childermass name was chiseled on the cornice. A few feet from the entrance stood a white marble statue of a bearded man in old-fashioned formal dress. He held a top hat and gloves in one hand, and with his other hand he pointed at the tomb [The Chessmen of Doom; 16].