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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
One of the most enjoyable tales of false identity ever written. A young man returns from his long-ago "death" to resume his life with his aunt, cousin and twin... but is he really who he claims to be? The reader is in on the secret from the start; it's the unraveling of what really happened to Brat Farrar that makes this so engrossing. Tey weaves her magic spell and makes the central character so sympathetic, you can't help rooting for him, even as his own moral urges tease him to reveal his fraud. I read this one every ten years or so, just to enjoy it again as if fresh. A classic.
Perhaps Tey's best but a good story full of surprises. Who is the hero and who is the villein and who is the victim? Not always clear.
I’ve heard of this mystery for years but somehow never got around to reading it till now. It’s very entertaining, quite gripping. It’s set in a British country house, where an eldest son returns from the dead after eight years absence. The reader knows from the beginning that Brat Farrar is an impostor, that he’s just playing the part of Patrick Ashby. But there are other puzzles that need to be solved. Brat doesn’t really know who he is, having been deposited as a baby on the steps of an orphanage. All the characters are interesting, and it’s a suspenseful read.
Brat is coached to take the place of Patrick, a boy who disappeared 8 years ago, and is the Ashby heir. Brat is able to resist his coach's first offer, but then backslides when horses are mentioned. He feels guilty until the disappeared boy's twin tries to harm him. What happened to Patrick? Is Simon out to murder Brat?
Wasn't so sure when I first started this book but it is so well written you forget it was an early 50's author.
Worth the read.
Worth the read.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
It took a little while for me to get into this mystery, and reading chapter 3 I thought I had no idea what was going on, and had to turn to GoodReads to read the blurb.... then it all made sense. As the story unfolded, I got sucked in and really enjoyed this quintessential English mystery set in the late 1940s, so much so that I extended my walk this afternoon to keep listening to the book.
It took a little while for me to get into this mystery, and reading chapter 3 I thought I had no idea what was going on, and had to turn to GoodReads to read the blurb.... then it all made sense. As the story unfolded, I got sucked in and really enjoyed this quintessential English mystery set in the late 1940s, so much so that I extended my walk this afternoon to keep listening to the book.
After finishing, I want to begin again, and spend more time here. I love these characters, their relationships and their place.
What a model of noveling. With precise and intricate plotting, Tey tells a dark story so charming, its horrors are as bearable as if they were simply nostalgia for long-lost friends, while its injustices are put to rest beneath a mantle of hope and caring.
What a model of noveling. With precise and intricate plotting, Tey tells a dark story so charming, its horrors are as bearable as if they were simply nostalgia for long-lost friends, while its injustices are put to rest beneath a mantle of hope and caring.
It is not giving away anything to say that this book is about an imposter and whether he will be found out. What's unique about it is that by impersonating a man who died years ago, our titular hero is in a position to find out that he was killed, and who killed him. It's a unique position for an investigator to be in, and in that way, it's just as much of a tour de force as [b:The Daughter of Time|77661|The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant, #5)|Josephine Tey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394326949l/77661._SY75_.jpg|3222080], where Inspector Alan Grant is lying on his back in hospital for most of the book.
Our hero also finds out who he really is, and reveals who the members of the Ashby family really are, not least to themselves.
Yes, the book is historically implausible. Yes, it bears the stigmata of ethnic and class prejudice, although it wears them more lightly than books by [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg], [a:Dorothy Sayers|29894135|Dorothy Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or [a:Margery Allingham|30748|Margery Allingham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364808928p2/30748.jpg], Tey's contemporaries. What made me enjoy every word of it is that Tey writes so beautifully, builds the suspense so artfully, and treats both male and female characters as well-rounded people. I can see why this is a classic, and I think it's only the funny title that kept me from reading it much earlier in life.
Our hero also finds out who he really is, and reveals who the members of the Ashby family really are, not least to themselves.
Yes, the book is historically implausible. Yes, it bears the stigmata of ethnic and class prejudice, although it wears them more lightly than books by [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg], [a:Dorothy Sayers|29894135|Dorothy Sayers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or [a:Margery Allingham|30748|Margery Allingham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1364808928p2/30748.jpg], Tey's contemporaries. What made me enjoy every word of it is that Tey writes so beautifully, builds the suspense so artfully, and treats both male and female characters as well-rounded people. I can see why this is a classic, and I think it's only the funny title that kept me from reading it much earlier in life.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes