LemonSky reviewed To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
Review of 'To Love and Be Wise' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
My favorite Tey so far, though it is definitely not for everyone. This is not your typical mystery by any means.
The story starts at a dinner party being held to celebrate the publication of romance writer Lavinia Fitch's latest book. Inspector Alan Grant has gone to pick up his friend, Marta Hallard, so they can go out to eat. While there he meets Leslie Searle, a very handsome, even beautiful, young man with a gift - or is it a curse? - for attracting attention. Searle has an earthly, unsettling air about him that both attracts and repels people. He dominates the novel, even when he is not present.
Searle claims to have a mutual acquaintance with Lavinia's nephew, Walter Whitmore, and Lavinia quickly invites him to come stay with them. Lavinia, her widowed sister Emma, Emma's stepdaughter - and Walter's fiancee - Liz Garrowby, and Walter live in …
My favorite Tey so far, though it is definitely not for everyone. This is not your typical mystery by any means.
The story starts at a dinner party being held to celebrate the publication of romance writer Lavinia Fitch's latest book. Inspector Alan Grant has gone to pick up his friend, Marta Hallard, so they can go out to eat. While there he meets Leslie Searle, a very handsome, even beautiful, young man with a gift - or is it a curse? - for attracting attention. Searle has an earthly, unsettling air about him that both attracts and repels people. He dominates the novel, even when he is not present.
Searle claims to have a mutual acquaintance with Lavinia's nephew, Walter Whitmore, and Lavinia quickly invites him to come stay with them. Lavinia, her widowed sister Emma, Emma's stepdaughter - and Walter's fiancee - Liz Garrowby, and Walter live in the small town of Salcott St. Mary, which has become, quite unwillingly, a sort of artists' colony. Searle casts a spell over many of the inhabitants in the town - Lavinia, who becomes infatuated with him, but also appears to hate him; Walter, who befriends him, but then comes to resent him out of jealousy; Liz, who appears to be falling in love with Searle; Emma, who hates Searle for disrupting her well-arranged and comfortable match between Walter and Liz; Toby Tullis, the playwright, who quickly falls for Searle and humiliates himself vying for his attention; and Sergei Ratoff, a ballet dancer and companion of Tullis, who hates Searle for probably the same reasons as Walter.
The tension is palpable and everything comes to a head when Walter and Searle have an argument. They had planned to write a book - Searle, a professional photographer, would take the photos, and Walter, a professional writer and traveler, would provide the narrative. Everything seems fine until Walter loses his temper at the local pub, the Swan, and storms off. Searle, however, is quite calm, acts as if nothing is wrong, and cheerfully walks out of the Swan - never to be seen again.
If Searle's presence is disruptive, his disappearance is even more so. As Grant investigates Searle's background, the mystery simply deepens. As always, Tey is more interested in the story than in the mystery. She doesn't play fair. We're not talking Ellery Queen here. However, Tey does an excellent job of characterization, something that mystery writers often leave out. All too often the characters are simply cardboard with no personality of their own and highly suspicious motivations for their actions. However, I could understand why people both loved and hated Searle - and both at the same time. The title, "To Love and Be Wise," is very apt for love is at the root of this novel.
Highly recommended.
