BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

256
existing order by appealing to the new modern, mass audience.
The story A Little Primrose Knight was conceived for a primary
school audience.
The young hero featured in the novella is the son of
the Lord of the Manor, Lord Dashleigh.
The young boy is actively
involved in assisting his uncle, who is running as a Conservative
candidate in the 1885 General Election.
The gentleman has only
recently returned as a hero from the Sudan campaign.
During the
contest there is much threatening talk of "a cow and three acres" by a
neighboring Liberal landlord, only recently raised to the peerage. His
political
disposition and recently acquired title cast dispersions on
his character.
The plot stresses the highly competitive nature of the
election, the outcome of which ultimately hinges on a single vote. The
young Primrose Knight is able to persuade his father's eldest tenant,
"Old Gammon," to vote for the Tories.
His is the deciding ballot of
the election.
done his duty.
The man dies shortly afterward having, nevertheless,
The village is saved from the fate of "the subversive
Liberals."54
Another story, similarly titled, The Primrose Knight, was also
conceived for the young school child.55
it is a romantic tale of
Phoebe Bigg and her Primrose Knight.
Phoebe is cast in the character
54
By a Primrose Dame, A Little Primrose Knight (London: W.H.
Allen and Comp., 1890); B.L. 12807.p.28. Robb, The Primrose League
provides a synopsis of the story, pp. 172-73.
55 Miss Ethel Ross Baker, The Primrose Knight. The novella
was serialized by England, 5 June 1886, p. 13; 12 June 1886, p. 12; 19
June, p. 12; 26 June, p. 12; 10 July 1886, p. 12; 17 July 1886, p. 2;
24 July, p. 15; 31 July 1886, p. 2.