Ashby de la Zouch--spying, war and death are everywhere

[Mark Kohut]

Michael Bailey wrote:
707 26 "Ashby de la Zouch" this is such a bizarre place
name that I thought it was made up for the Adrian Mole books,
but it's real.  I don't think there's great significance other than
it's a quiet town, and that Cyprian cuts a wide romantic swath,
but you never know with Pynchon."

Thanks, Michael:
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. It focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself to be an intellectual. The book is written in a diary style and set in 1981 and 1982. It chronicles the supposed intellectual awakening of Adrian Albert Mole, and his wonderings, worries and woes. In the background, it refers to some of the historic world events of the time.
Apart from the sometimes hilarious events described in the diary, a lot of the typical humour originates from the reader immediately seeing through particular observations, while the boy pertinently and naively misinterprets them (such as the adultery of his parents and the pregnancy of his mother.   -------------wikipedia, my emboldening.
 
A mole, of course, is also the name for adult spy hidden within government or another spy organization. 
 
Ashby means Ash Farm......
 
In Ashby de la Zouch:
Bath Street has a row of Classical-style houses dating from the time that the town was a spa. Dolly Shepherd, 1887-1983, the famous Victorian aviatrix, made her return to parachuting from balloons in a display at Ashby, after recovering from a potentially fatal accident.
 
Cf. the phrase, "the ballon is up"....meaning war is engaged......

Pynchon is Unbelieveable......


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