The Istoriaphile’s Corner

According the calendar, it’s Springtime at last, although my thermometer begs to differ.  Well, I don’t depend on the weather to foretell the seasons.  I have television for that, or at least I used to.  Once upon a time I reckoned summer by the return of Mad Men  and knew fall was coming when Sleepy Hollow reappeared.  I could count on spending the coldest weeks of winter with the Crawley family at Downton Abbey but they and Don Draper have shut up shop.  At least Grantchester returns with the Easter weekend.  Since this begins the second season, (and, as a rule, the books are better than adaptations) it’s seems only right to have a look at the source material. The Television Adaptation Grantchester is based on a series of mysteries by James Runcie, all of whom center around a delightfully unpredictable vicar of the 1950’s named Sidney Chambers.  On the one hand, Sidney is exactly what Central Casting taught Americans to expect of a British clergyman.  He’s kind, well-mannered, thoughtful (if a bit obtuse when it comes to attractive females) genuinely concerned about God and anxious to help his burdened parishioners with the difficulties in their lives.  On the other hand, he’s…