The Middle of Things
'The Middle of Things' Summary
A house party at Crome is viewed largely through the eyes of Denis Stone. Described by his hostess as "one of our younger poets", he has been invited by Priscilla and Henry Wimbush to join their summer guests. Denis is secretly in love with their niece, Anne Wimbush, who appears more interested in the artist Gombauld. The rather naïve flapper, Mary Bracegirdle, decides to embark on an amorous adventure so as to overcome her repressions and makes unsuccessful advances to Denis and Gombauld before falling for the libertine Ivor Lombard one summer night. The hard-of-hearing Jenny Mullion confines most of her thoughts on what goes on to her journal, in which Denis eventually discovers a devastating deconstruction of his self and fellow guests. Mr. Wimbush, the owner of Crome, has been writing a history of the house and its family, from which he gives two evening readings. His wife is obsessed with alternative spirituality and finds a fellow sympathiser in the prolific literary hack, Mr. Barbecue-Smith. Also part of the party is Henry's former schoolfriend, the cynical Mr. Scogan, who lies in wait for anyone he can waylay with his reductive criticisms of the time and his visions for a dystopian future. After several ludicrous failures in trying to capture Anne’s affection, Denis despairingly arranges to be recalled home on 'urgent family business' and departs on the same slow train that had brought him.
Book Details
Author
J. S. Fletcher
England
Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 – 30 January 1935) was an English journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, and was...
More on J. S. FletcherDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle thought he had finished forever with his immortal sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his chronicler, Dr Watson. Exhausted and bored wit...
Three Midnight Stories by Alexander Wilson Drake
Embark on a Journey of Mysterious Tales in "Three Midnight Stories" by Alexander W. Drake Are you ready to step into a world where darkness and enigma...
Miss Dee Dunmore Bryant by Pansy (Isabella Macdonald Alden)
Miss Dee Dunmore Bryant is a young woman with a secret. She is a gifted psychic, and she can see the future. But her gift is also a curse, as she is o...
A House to Let by Charles Dickens
The plot concerns an elderly woman, Sophonisba, who notices signs of life in a supposedly empty dilapidated house (the eponymous "House to Let") oppos...
The Late Tenant by Louis Tracy
In the peaceful English countryside lies a house with a dark secret—a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Enter "The Late Tenant" by Louis Tracy, a gripp...
The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux
One of the first locked room mysteries, The Mystery of the Yellow Room focuses on a supposedly impossible crime which has been committed within a lock...
Kastle Krags: A Story of Mystery by Absalom Martin
In the shadowy recesses of Kastle Krags, secrets slumber like ancient echoes, waiting to be awakened. Absalom Martin invites readers on an enthralling...
Colin: A Novel by E. F. Benson
In the charming world of Colin, secrets are woven into the very fabric of society, and behind the veneer of polite society lies a web of hidden desire...
The Box with the Broken Seals by E. Phillips Oppenheim
Originally published in 1919, this captivating story has stood the test of time and continues to captivate readers with its gripping narrative. The bo...
The Technique of the Mystery Story by Carolyn Wells
The Technique of the Mystery Story is a complete practical guide for writing detective and mystery stories. The guide is useful reference for writing...
Reviews for The Middle of Things
No reviews posted or approved, yet...