false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169282107m/39262.jpg 39262 2 <I>The Red Hat</I> in question in John Bayley's novel is the headgear worn by a young woman in a Vermeer masterpiece; it is also the McGuffin that gets the plot rolling. At the center of Bayley's tale is Nancy Deverell, a rather androgynous young woman who travels from London to the Netherlands with two friends to view the Vermeer exhibition. Nancy's companions are Charles, a gay man, and Chloe, Nancy's best friend and Charles's fiancée. Once at the exhibition, Nancy realizes she could be the twin of the woman in Vermeer's <I>Girl in a Red Hat</I>. Before you can say <I>chapeau</I>, Nancy finds herself involved with a mysterious stranger who might be a secret agent or possibly a bellboy and up to her neck in kidnapping, terrorism, and murder--or maybe not. Bayley, a leading British critic, plays an energetic literary shell game with his characters which may have fans of postmodern fiction clamoring for more. 38972 1997 The Red Hat total:4|5:2|3:1|2:1| 4 15 5 0 5 0 false false Wed Sep 09 16:21:25 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 16:21:25 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Jul 16 20:21:09 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 20:21:09 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat May 01 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Fri Mar 20 07:16:07 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 20 07:16:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jun 28 09:32:12 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 09:32:12 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Tue Sep 18 19:20:13 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 19:20:13 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=39262