Charles Geake / Francis Carruthers Gould
John Bull is the personification of Great Britain (or at least of England). He was first created in 1712 by John Arbuthnot, and eventually became a common sight in British editorial cartoons of the 19th and early 20th centuries. John is a sort of British Everyman, endowed with common sense and good intentions, who likes a pint of beer. In his trip to the Fiscal Wonderland, John’s frustrations with the bewildering nonsensicality of economic politics are made apparent by the author and illustrator. You don’t need to be an expert in early twentieth-century British politics to enjoy John’s adventures, though. The story’s parody of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland books is still relevant and entertaining even a century later. Today’s bankers and politicians seem not to have learned much from history. Regrettable as that is, at least Charles Geake and Francis Carruthers Gould can still make us laugh about it! 3
