The Economic Outlook of Israel under Zerubbabel by the Master of Lazarus

Thanks to the US Library of Congress via MyJewishLearning

Title: The Economic Outlook of Israel Under Zerubbabel

Author: The Master of Lazarus 

Publisher: Not known but possibly Oxbridge Press 

Source book: Miss Bunting by Angela Thirkell (Barsetshire #14)

Schoolmaster Robin Dale’s elderly father, Dr Dale, is the Rector of a small town called Hallbury. He much enjoys reviewing The Economic Outlook of Israel Under Zerubbabel in The Church Times. Dr Dale obviously has no time at all for the Master of Lazarus (a fictional Oxford college originally created by Anthony Trollope in Barchester Towers*), and has the pleasure of reviewing his little book with the contempt it deserves. We, unfortunately, know nothing of the Master of Lazarus, his relationship with the Rector of Hallbury, his scholarship (or otherwise) in the matter of Zerubbabel, or indeed his name, so are unable to comment.

However, Dr Dale has made it his life’s work to write a commentary on Haggai and his age (about 520 BCE), which was going to be considered for publication by the Oxbridge Press before WWII broke out, but was then shelved along with some other very scholarly works which were unlikely to sell, and he may be said to be a considerable expert on the era. But sadly his book is never published.

And in case you are interested in Haggai or Zerubbabel, here’s a Wikipedia page to tell you all. It’s actually quite interesting, unless your interests are limited to F1 racing or breeding Pomeranians. If you do look at that page, you may pause to wonder at the large numbers of people still called Joshua, and the vanishingly small numbers (if any) called Haggai or Zerubbabel. I wonder how a name gets singled out for favour.

Also mentioned in Miss Bunting is I Bare My Breasts the most recent book by Gudold Legpul the great mid-European writer. Her book courageously attacks the Fascist Government of our so-called Empire, and is reputed to have been smuggled at the great risk of patriots’ lives to England from Barcelona. But was in fact composed in the safety of her home in Willesden (North West London). I am not entirely sure what breasts have to do with fascist governments, but there we are.

And then Heather Adams, who is studying mathematics before going up to Cambridge, is reading Indefferential Relations, with a table of Kindred Affinities and graphs of Nepotic Constants. If you know anything about maths, you will have spotted immediately that this is definitely a fictional book. At least I hope so.

*Angela Thirkell uses many of Trollope’s place names and families in her Barsetshire books.

Thanks to UniversalImages/Getty via The Guardian