The lady vanishes

 

    Two years ago I went into raptures over D.J. Taylor's novel Ask Alice (that post is here) and I said then I'd be reading more of his work. It has taken me a long time to get back to him but at last I've done so with the very involving and enjoyable Kept: A Victorian Mystery. Before I go on I must say that I'm surprised by the divergence of opinion on both these books as shown in Amazon's customer reviews; of course there will always be those who love a book and others who find it's not for them, but to say, for example, that Kept is "badly written", as one person does, is to invite doubt as to whether they'd been reading something else entirely. To my mind it's superbly written, clever, convincing, most thoroughly researched, and more!

    This Victorian mystery, as the subtitle has it, begins with reports of the deaths by misadventure of two men in East Anglia, three years apart. It turns out that the men are connected, the widow of the younger one being the ward of the elder, the celebrated naturalist Mr. Dixey. Mrs. Ireland's dependent state is down to mental instability following the death of her child, but quite why she is 'detained' at her guardian's gloomy and neglected country house, and why those inquiring about her are denied knowledge of her precise whereabouts and welfare, is a puzzle.

    "Gloriously detailed and richly imagined" is how I described Ask Alice, and the same is true of this book, with a similar mixture of real people and events acting as background to the intricate fretwork overlay of the fictitious ones. The plot takes us from the Highlands of Scotland to the flat land of Norfolk, from the wilderness of Canada to the over-populated streets of London, all these locations linked somehow by associates of the reclusive and impecunious Mr. Dixey (keeper of a tame mouse and a chained wolf), or those concerned in his ward's curious disappearance and in an audacious robbery.

    I should think D.J. Taylor had enormous fun in writing this book. He acknowledges the influence of the likes of Dickens, George Eliot, Trollope, and so on, and that is easily discernible. He plays with his material - employing different styles, introducing characters major and minor - as he toys with the reader, here laying a trail, there taking us to a dead end. Whether you call it a pastiche, an episodic narrative which apes its many progenitors, a grand old yarn in the best Victorian manner - no matter, it's a great read.

Comments

[Harriet]

I had a go at this and just didn't take to it at all. I don't think I got very far with it -- it just didn't grab me. Glad you liked it, though!

[adele geras]

I have Ask Alice downstairs. Got it for my birthday last week. Looks brilliant.

[sakura]

I've had this on my wishlist for years but have never gotten around to reading it. I currently have At The Chime of a City Clock from the library which I got after enjoying his social history Bright Young People which was lots of fun to read.

[Cornflower]

I have Bright Young People on my wishlist (and I'm really enjoying At the Chime of a City Clock!).

[LizF]

Just found Ask Alice at the library and I think that I have Bright YOung Things and Kept on my shelves somewhere! Wish I could manage to read books as fast as I manage to acquire them!

[Mystica]

A new author for me and I am definitely going along with your recommendation. Thank you for this review.

[Cornflower]

You're welcome, Mystica - I enjoy DJ Taylor's books very much indeed, and I hope you will, too.