Conclusion

If the geography of adventure was ever a 'region of fun' in which readers enjoyed 'unbounded amusement', as Ballantyne (1858a: iii) hoped they would, it is now a problematic space, in which amusement is bounded and qualified. Adven­ ture has become tainted with violent and repressive histories of imperialism, patriarchy and racism, partly through the efforts of intellectuals such as Edward Said and Ronald Hyam, whose critical and revisionist histories of imperialism have reached relatively popular audiences. ¹⁷¹ Contemporary unease with adventure is illustrated in an episode of 'The Modern Parents', published in Vizmagazine in 1995. Like other features inViz, which is currently the favourite magazine among British boys aged between 11 and 14 (Tucker 1995), 'The Modern Parents' is a textually self-conscious comic strip, replete with references - mostly satirical - not only to other comics, but also to comments on those comics. 'The Modern Parents' adventure sketch, a satire on academic criticisms of adventure, begins with the parents reading (the imaginary) Professor Erica Sharp's condemnation ofBigglesas 'patriarchal, imperialistic, militaristic and racist propaganda of the worst kind'. In a dawn raid on the 'bedroom and meditation area' ofTarquin, their beleaguered offspring, the modern parents fill a recycling container with books, including such adventure stories as Biggles Flies East, Tarzan oftheApesandTintin in America (Plate 8.1). ¹⁷²