Famous Last Words: Fact Or Fiction?

Sir Harry Oakes

"Hugh Selwyn Mauberly"
by Ezra Pound

A Spitfire warplane

Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley features a World War II scheme designed to secure world domination. Findley writes very realistically, referencing real people and events. But how much is fact, and how much is fiction?

Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, the protagonist, is fictitious. However, Findley based him off Ezra Pound's poem of the same name. Hugh Selwyn Mauberley was Pound's brainchild, and in Findley's world, Mauberley's genius is a product of Pound's teaching.

In reality, Sir Harry Oakes was murdered at the same time and place as specified in Famous Last Words. In the book and real life, Oakes's killer was never caught.

The "Spitfire Bazaar", hosted by the Duchess of Windsor to purchase a Spitfire warplane, is an imagined event. However, the Spitfire was a real WWII-era plane.

Findley has cleverly blended fiction with history. That I needed to research these things is a testament to Findley's genius.

References:
Shields, E.F. "The Perfect Voice: Mauberley as Narrator in Timothy Findley's 'Famous Last Words'". Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review 119 (1988): 84-98. Print.

"Niagara Falls - Sir Harry Oakes: a History." Niagara Falls Thunder Alley. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Price, Alfred. "Battle of Britain: August 18, 1940 - a Day That Saw Some of the Heaviest Fighting - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. The Telegraph, 28 July 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Image sources:
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound. Digital image. ManyBooks.net - Ad-free EBooks for Your IPad, Kindle, or EBook Reader. ManyBooks.net, 19 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Sir Harry Oakes. Digital image. Niagara Parks Canada: Niagara Falls Tourism and Vacation Packages. Niagara Parks Canada. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Spitfire fighter planes played a decisive role in the Battle of Britain. Digital image. BBC - Homepage. BBC, 28 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.