Pinfold

'Pinfold' is strictly an enclosure in which stray cattle are _pounded_ or shut up: etymologically, the word = _pind-fold_, a corruption of _pound-fold_.

Milton's Comus John Milton 1641

Pinfold becomes convinced that the Caliban is going to be boarded and detained by a Spanish vessel as part of an international crisis between Spain and Britain over possession of Gibraltar.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

He not only suffered a spectacular bout of what he called madness but also wrote an extraordinarily vivid account of it in his short novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, which he freely admitted was a thinly disguised account of what had happened to him on a 1954 voyage to Ceylon to restore his health.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

Pinfold becomes convinced that the Caliban is going to be boarded and detained by a Spanish vessel as part of an international crisis between Spain and Britain over possession of Gibraltar.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

In the midst of this, Pinfold suspects he is going insane, and when he discovers he is being hoaxed by enemies among the passengers, he is relieved: “He might be unpopular; he might be ridiculous; but he was not mad.”

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

He not only suffered a spectacular bout of what he called madness but also wrote an extraordinarily vivid account of it in his short novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, which he freely admitted was a thinly disguised account of what had happened to him on a 1954 voyage to Ceylon to restore his health.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

“But it was exciting,” says Pinfold to his wife as they drive home.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

Pinfold, a middle-aged writer living in the country, goes abroad because he is already in poor health, but from the moment he enters his cabin on a ship called the Caliban, bound for Ceylon, he hears voices denigrating him.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

In the midst of this, Pinfold suspects he is going insane, and when he discovers he is being hoaxed by enemies among the passengers, he is relieved: “He might be unpopular; he might be ridiculous; but he was not mad.”

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

“But it was exciting,” says Pinfold to his wife as they drive home.

Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011