“If you thought about the unthinkable long enough it became quite reasonable.” (Josephine Tey, Brat Farrar)

/ madamebibilophile

This is my second post for the 1949 Club hosted by Simon and Kaggsy and I’m continuing with a theme of sinister men…

Not so long ago I read Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey and now I’m returning to her once again for Brat Farrar. I’m beginning to realise that Tey doesn’t seem to do traditional golden age mysteries! In Brat Farrar we know that the titular character is pretending to be the heir to a family fortune. So the mystery isn’t whether he is Patrick Ashby, missing since age 13 after the death of his parents, but rather, will he get away with it? And as readers, do we want him to?

Aunt Bee raised Patrick’s twin Simon, their sisters Eleanor and twins Ruth and Jane, after their parents died in a plane crash. At the start of the book she is reflecting on Simon about to come of age and inherit:

“But always there had been an Ashby at Latchetts; and they had done well by the land. Here and there came a ne’er-do-well—like her cousin Walter—but Providence had seen to it that the worthless quality had been confined to younger sons, who could practise their waywardness on subjects remote from Latchetts.

No queens had come to Latchetts to dine; no cavaliers to hide. For three hundred years it had stood in its meadows very much as it stood now; a yeoman’s dwelling. And for nearly two of those three hundred years Ashbys had lived in it.”

She also considers the difference between Simon and his – presumed dead – brother.

“All she really remembered, now she thought about it, was that he was solemn and kind.

Kindness was not a common trait in small boys.

Simon had a careless generosity when it did not cost him inconvenience; but Patrick had had that inner kindness that not only gives but gives up.”

It’s eight years since Patrick vanished; struggling actor Alec Loding knows the family and thinks he has found a way to make some money. I really enjoyed how Tey introduced this reprehensible character:

“He had a pink, collapsed face that reminded one of the underside of fresh mushrooms. The flesh hung away from his good Ledingham bones with a discouraged slackness, and the incipient pouches under his eyes detracted from their undoubted intelligence. Managers who had once cast him for gay young rakes now offered him nothing but discredited roués.”

He has spotted Brat Farrar’s resemblance to Simon, and therefore Patrick, and has offered to coach him in return for a regular salary once Brat inherits. Brat isn’t sure, but he is struggling to find the work he wants. This is an interesting choice for the 1949 Club, because Brat’s circumstances are directly informed by the post-war situation:

“It seemed that there were far more people interested in stable jobs in England than stables to accommodate them. The horse world contracted as the horse lovers expanded. All those men who had lost their main interest in living when the cavalry was put down were still hale and active, and besieged stable entrances at the mere whiff of a vacancy.”

Tey loved horse racing, and there is a lot about it in this novel. I hate it, so I must admit I skipped these passages. But even if you don’t mind racing, you may want to skim – I think her editor should have been more assertive!

Brat heads to the country pile and manages to convince most people most of the time that he is Patrick. He’s helped by the ambiguity of Patrick’s note: “I’m sorry, but I can’t bear it any longer. Don’t be angry with me. Patrick.” and the fact that similarly to Patrick, he is a lot more likeable than Simon. People want him to be Patrick.

“He had an odd feeling of identity with Patrick.

Even he himself noticed this, and found it strange. He should have been filled with guilt when he considered Patrick. But his only emotion was one of partisanship; almost of alliance.”

He also doesn’t overly struggle with guilt as he takes a strong dislike to his supposed twin:

“It was because there was something about Simon Ashby that repelled him. There was something unaccountable about Simon. There he sat, being light-hearted and charming, and there sat his relations and friends silently applauding his nobility and his courage. They were applauding an “act,” but they would all be staggered to know what an act Simon was really putting on for their benefit.”

And so ultimately, Tey is exploring the moral challenges that Val McDermid mentioned in her discussion of Miss Pym Disposes. Brat Farrar is pleasant, responsible and would make a good heir to run the estate. Simon is none of those things. But he is the rightful heir, and Brat Farrar is a con man who is using an intensely painful experience in a family to his own advantage. Tey positions the reader in a way that we question what we want the outcome to be, and why.

There’s also some nice gentle humour to enjoy, lightening what is essentially quite a dark tale. My favourite characters were stubborn, scruffy, horse-obsessed little Jane, and the bookish, seemingly naïve Rector, who made a surprise marriage to a beautiful debutante, and is more worldly than people give him credit for:

“”I know,” Nancy said, agreeing. “Like walking on jelly.”

“I was going to say picking one’s way over a bog, but I think the jelly is a better description.”

“Or one of those uneven floors at fun fairs,” the Rector said unexpectedly, as Bee took her leave.

“How do you know about fun fairs, George?” his wife asked.

“They had one at the Westover Carnival a year or two ago, I seem to remember. A most interesting study in masochism.”

“You see now why I have stuck to George,” Nancy said, as she walked with Bee to the garden gate. “After thirteen years I am still finding out things about him. I wouldn’t have believed that he even knew what a fun fair was. Can you picture George lost in contemplation of the Giant Racer?””

Brat Farrar was adapted as Paranoiac in 1963 by Hammer films. From this trailer I would say it’s a very loose adaptation indeed 😀

25 thoughts on ““If you thought about the unthinkable long enough it became quite reasonable.” (Josephine Tey, Brat Farrar)”

  1. It’s a long time since I read this one but I get totally what you say about the horse racing aspects. I had considered it for this week but that might be what put me off… You’re spot on about Tey’s books, though, they really aren’t traditional GA crime. When I think about The Franchise Affair and Miss Pym, both are outside the genre though wonderful reading!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I have this on order at the library but it looks as if it isn’t going to come in time for the club week. Having read your review, I am less keen to read it as I hate horse racing; I can’t bear hearing about the equine casualties even on the radio. I still want to read Miss Pym Disposes though.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. I really enjoyed this book – as I’ve enjoyed everything written by Tey. The Franchise Affair is a great read as well. Not sure if you’re aware of this, but The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart is a reworking of this same story. It’s also a really fun read!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. As I read your review, I was thinking the book would make a fantastic television series. When I read the description of Alec Loding’s face, I was not surprised to learn he was a struggling actor. Even with too much about horse racing, Brat Farrar sounds like an engrossing book.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • That’s a great idea! A tv series could really build the tension and charismatic lead actors could bring out the ambiguity in Tey’s story and characterisation.

      I did enjoy it a lot, even with skimming the racing!

      Like

      Reply

  8. I also read this for 1949 Club and really enjoyed it. I found it interesting that Tey makes Brat so likeable we want him to succeed even though he’s committing a crime! The horse racing parts didn’t interest me either, although that didn’t spoil the book for me.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Great to hear you liked this one too! She does put the reader in an interesting position doesn’t she, with Brat being likable and clearly so much better suited to running the estate than the heir. The horse racing didn’t spoil it for me either, thankfully.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I love this book, even the racing bits, and I think the reader really grasps how much the horses enticed Brat into a distasteful impersonation. And, as you mention, such great secondary characters! There was a miniseries years ago and I must have watched it because I remember thinking the actor who played Brat and Simon was too sinister. With the right cast and director, it could have been much better!

    Like

    Reply

  11. Pingback: 1949 Club: your reviews! – Stuck in a Book

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.