A myth now, what is that? 'A purely fictitious narrative embodying some popular idea concerning natural or historical phenomena,' my Shorter Oxford says, adding: 'Often used vaguely to include any narrative having fictitious elements.' That seems clear enough, and certainly covers an article recently read called 'The Myth of President Kennedy', which says that the assassinated idol of the Western world was little more, though certainly no less, than a rampant penis. The number and variety of his sexual activities (remarkable in view of his back troubles) left him open to blackmail by J. Edgar Hoover, he accepted a Pulitzer award for a book he didn't write, his clean-living do-gooding reputation was, according to the article, purely fictitious. Is that what Angus Calder means by 'the Myth of the Blitz'? It's hard to know, because this Myth is elusive enough to deserve the capital letter it receives throughout. Calder goes eleven exhausting rounds with it here, giving the Myth the old one-two several times without once flooring it, let alone achieving a k.o.

LRB 12 September 1991 | PDF Download