Instances of the Number 3

by Salley Vickers

Following the death of Peter Hansome, his wife Bridget is contacted by Frances Slater, her late-husband's mistress. Though the two are from opposite sides of London and meet under the least desirable circumstances, the women become close friends. In a subtly wrought turn of events, Bridget and Frances discover that they have in common what is important to them most: their parallel memories of Peter, killed in a car accident, and the shared reality of his spirit form, haunting them still. A gracefully tuned feat of the imagination, Salley Vickers's novel is a rare celebration of life's most intriguing geometries, the love triangle.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, British Literature, Contemporary, Literature, Friendship, Relationships

305 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Salley Vickers was born in Liverpool, the home of her mother, and grew up as the child of parents in the British Communist Party. She won a state scholarship to St Paul’s Girl’s School and went on to read English at Newnham College Cambridge.

She has worked, variously, as a cleaner, a dancer, an artist’s model, a teacher of children with special needs, a university teacher of literature, and a psychoanalyst. Her first novel, ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’, became an international word-of-mouth bestseller. She now writes full time and lectures widely on many subjects, particularly the connections between, art, literature, psychology and religion.

Her principal interests are opera, bird watching, dancing, and poetry. One of her father's favourite poets, W.B.Yeats, was responsible for her name Salley, (the Irish for 'willow') which comes from Yeats’s poem set to music by Benjamin Britten 'Down by the salley gardens'.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of her best. Psychologically fascinating, characters mostly quite sympathetic, even & especially the problematic ones. Yes, there is an otherworldly angle but it relates to the actual characters really well. Beautiful writing & marvelous references to Shakespeare & John Donne.

[Javi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man dies in a car crash leaving behind a wife and a mistress.

Next, both women become friends as the story progresses. The thought of bit was interesting for me. However the book is so slow that it was impossible for me to actually enjoy it.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highly acclaimed author of ‘Miss Garnet’s angel’ has written another astounding novel to add to an already prized collection, which is both stylish and compelling. If the eye-catching, striking front cover doesn’t capture your imagination then the storyline certainly will, that shows the three graces from ‘La Primavera’ by Sandro Botticelli a beautiful painting from Florence. This novel stood out distinctively by the effortless exactness and luminous, realistic perception by a writer who is highly talented. It combines a fictional personality underpinned by truth and authenticity, which entwined together, creates something so wholesome and believable before your very eyes. Glimpsing back to the past, the present that surrounds us and the future this is writing that is thought-provoking to the core; where one looks at life and those moments of significance. This is a classy, sophisticated book that is slick and stylish depicting London as a fine portrait in which one explores deep self-discovery. A philosophical approach combined with character observation forms ideas that are as vibrant as people, and which leaves you thinking for a long time afterwards. Salley Vickers has exceeded all expectations and triumphed spectacularly with this new work, her writing going from strength to strength with deeper meaning, ideas and notions that target ones heart and soul. Here is an author who is brave and courageous to ask those big questions in a way that is delicate and exquisitely done, without being overpowering or forced hence I fell under her spell and into her work. Death, forgiveness, optimism and understanding are all topics that are explored with the utmost sincerity and intelligence, which sustains your interest throughout the book that kept me from wanting to put it down. This is a novel that is not only highly readable and enjoyable but something much more than just a simple light read, as it goes much deeper in seeking out meaningful answers to questions that are fascinating & interesting. If you loved this as much as myself then I would also recommend Miss Garnet’s angel and Mr. Golightly’s holiday by the same author, which are just as readable as Shakespeare only with a lighter touch. A brilliant and engrossing read that has brightened up my year.

[Julie Chamaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Salley Vickers novel is original, surprising and delightful. It is full of literary references and allusions, and covers the various themes of infidelity, religion and grief with psychological insight which is applied lightly, and with humour in parts.

The friendship dynamic between wife and mistress initially seemed unlikely, but it was never more than tentative which gave the relationship a sense of believability. The interactions between these women were poignant, funny and annoying in turns, and given the complexity of their connection, this made the narrative utterly convincing. The ambiguous union between of the beautiful Iranian boy and the departed husband/lover adds a thread of mystery to the story until its final revelation (which l guessed somewhat earlier).

Finally, the inclusion of the apparition seemed to be a bugbear for some readers, however, for me, this added another layer of interest to the text because Vickers explores the notion of an after-life and purgatory, which is a somewhat ironic form of punishment for the ‘dead’ character.

This story deserves a slow, careful reading because the subtleties are many and finely executed.

4.5 Thoroughly enchanting stars rounded up
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

hm. Dull. I discovered Salley Vickers via a book group read, Miss Garnet's Angel. I enjoyed that because I liked the character of Miss Garnet and her journey of self-discovery. But the other two Vickers books I've read since have failed to grab me. She's a psychoanalyst and in this book it shows. Far too much heavy-handed exposition of characters' states of mind, with the three main characters almost ciphers standing for ideas. I never really cared about them. It all just seemed too obvious, and the "twists" were far too heavily signposted. Just in case you didn't "get" Zohin/Zelda, Zohin watches The Crying Game with Mickey. Yes, yes, got it! But in case we haven't, there's the scene of the bonfire, which is entirely superfluous. We've already grasped what's going on by that point. The fact that other characters (especially Peter) didn't realise despite ample opportunity was more startling than anything else in the story. Likewise, Frances' pregnancy is very obvious long before she discovers it herself.

There are better books about ways of coping with relationships and death. Home: was hard going, but it was more profound and moving than this.

[Cecily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and clever (despite the irritation of ghostly visits) story of widow and mistress befriending each other. Poignant in places, but never mawkish. Doesn't go for the obvious and easy ending.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Throughout my reading of this book I fought the feeling that I didn't want to finish it, but kept at it in the hope that something interesting would come of it. This did not happen. The premise is that 3 is an unstable number (the holy trinity aside) and circumstances in our lives involving 3 people are to be especially complicated. The trinity in this book is the wife, mistress and favored prostitute of a dead man. This may sound interesting, but the story is quite dull and its telling often like something that would come out of a high school creative writing class. The biggest criticism I have is that there are a number of circumstances in which the reader is supposed to understand how a character would feel or react, yet the characters are insufficiently developed for the reader to make these connections.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not what I expected it to be, much subdued, perhaps that's the difference between British and American mentalities. Everything happening beneath the surface, between the lines, much unsaid, and people making decisions based on independant thought rather than codependant emotions. It didn't sweep me away but it was an interestng and worthwhile read. I particularly enjoyed the literary allusions to Donne and Yeats and oh yes, Shakespeare. But really, Hamlet? The story did not go where I expected it to and that's probably a good thing. I do recommend it. It's worth the read, but it won't change your life.

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was at the library in the fiction section and the spine of this book caught my eye. i took it home hoping to find all kinds of interesting information about the number 3 throughout history...

this book did not provide that. the instance of the number 3 is a love triangle. a love triangle in which the shared man appears as a ghost watching over his ladies, as they live their lives after his death.

pfft. i was hoping to give it three stars but i just could not do it.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Peter is killed , his mistress and wife are drawn together by his memories (and his ghost). As secrets of his past life are uncovered, these unlikely friends find their lives enriched by neighbors, co workers and eventually Peter's newborn daughter in a web of extended family neither woman could have envisioned. Understated and wise, this very British drawing room novel reminds me of Penelope Lively, in its wit and language.

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I randomly found this on the Literature floor of my school's library, thought the title was intriguing, and decided I'd see what it was all about. Boring. Never got interesting. And the whole ghost thing was just weird, as well as the mistress & wife becoming very good friends.

[Andrea Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was mesmerized by this story. Sally Vickers has such an interesting take on life, death and relationships. I can't wait to read more of her work!

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So, you have come to be instructed,” Father Gérard had said. “And my first question to you is this: do you have faith?”

“My God”, Peter had answered spontaneously. “I have no idea!”

This turned out to be the right answer.

Sally Vickers writes like a dream. Reading her translucent prose is to have reality pasted scene by scene on the stage of a theatre called life. In Instances of the Number 3, she examines the consequences for Bridget and Frances of the unexpected death of Peter. He was married to Bridget and was having an affair with Frances. He was also otherwise preoccupied.

Bridget lives in London, Fulham to be precise. She is of Irish heritage and now runs an antique come bric-a-brac shop specialising in French nicknacks. Like you do. She and Peter have no children and she is fully aware that he has other interests besides herself and his work. She seems to have been happy with the role.

Frances works in an art gallery and regularly deals with painters, sculptors, and the like. She has been having an affair with Peter for a couple of years or more. She has a young body, younger than her age, she is told and attracted Peter. Both women are, let’s say, middle-aged.

Peter had a roving eye. On military service in Malaysia he took up with a local lass who had long black hair. Pretty normal in Malaysia, you might think, but he was taken by apparent novelty. Years later, he becomes captivated at the sight of another head of long black hair while driving in West London. Later, contact having been made, events eventually conspire to create a distraction while he is driving around a famously busy roundabout. The resulting accident takes his life, and the two women, Bridget and Frances, must share the grief and, as it turns out, quite a lot more.

When Zahin, a truly handsome young man emerges from anonymity to announce that he knew Peter, the two women befriended him. He is a strange lad who cleans rooms and drinks milk. He is training to be a chemical engineer but ends up running a sandwich business.

Bridget decides to move and buys a home in rural Shropshire. She meets the chimney sweep. There is a painter called Painter here and there and a young sculpture who has a way with words.

What happens to these people and the relationships they share is the basis of the novel’s plot, so I will say no more of it. Obviously, the book’s title refers to the eternal love triangle, but Salley Vickers does say at the start that, despite three legs always offering stability, the number is often trying to expand to four or reduce to two.

For me, there were a couple of weaknesses in the book. One was the character of Zahin, who just did not convince. He was necessary for the plot, but Bridget and Francis willingness to accommodate his foibles was not the strong point of their characterization.

Secondly, and perhaps on important to me, personally, the two principal characters, the women, reek of middle-class London values. They were clearly the types that would refer to Oxbridge rather than uni, to well-known shops in the West End rather than Tesco. They also regularly quote Shakespeare. Peter, incidentally, became a Catholic before he died, hence the quotation from the book at the start. And it is this religious aspect of the book that was least convincing.

But it is well worth read.

[Geoff Warden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read, with a strong narrative vein, but a great deal of reflection and cause for thought. Vickers is obviously very literary with many references to poets and in particular Shakespeare. There is a significant thread of the play "Hamlet" running through the novel. Another aspect is religion, as one of her mental characters converts to Roman Catholicism during the course of the novel and we are frequently part of a discussion about the after life and in particular the concept of Purgatory -add Heaven & Hell for another three!

The title of the novel refers to the three main characters (although there are other "trios" in the mix). Peter Hansome, is killed in a car crash at the start of the book, but is very much a part of the story. Indeed, not only does Vickers reflect on his life as it affects the other characters, but also has him appearing as a quite solid ghost on several occasions. Peter’s wife Bridget and his mistress Frances make up this trio. As the women come to terms with their grief at the death of Peter they also form a bond which becomes a kind of friendship and reliance on each other. They both try to move on from their bereavement. Into their lives comes the rather mysterious Iranian youth called Zahin, who it appears Peter had helped in his quest to settle in England to gain some qualifications. In an unexpected revelation at the end of the novel we learn that Zahin has been leading a double life, posing as his own sister and working as a prostitute and that Peter was one of his clients.

The novel is very carefully written and with some very profound relections. Not an easy read, but the narrative was strong enough to carry it forward. The only slight criticism I would have is that the ending seemed a little rushed and too tidy to me. Zahin is on his way to making a fortune in a sandwich business, Bridget sells up her London home and decamps to Shropshire and Frances moves in with an artist she has known for many years (and his mother - another three!), taking what is left of Peter with her - their baby Petra.

I would certainly be interested in reading more of Salley Vickers.

[Susan Aldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing title from Salley Vickers...After the death of husband Peter in a car accident, his widow Bridget forms an unlikely and unusual friendship with his mistress, Frances. The story is a quiet one, following the development of this relationship in the months following Peter's demise. A young man called Zahin, whom Peter had apparently befriended, turns up and becomes part of both women's lives. In an intruiging twist, it looks as if Zahin is also his 'sister' Zelda, a transexual (if that is the right word) sex worker whom Peter was also having an affair with (and, because he was on his way to see her – not Frances – on the night of his death, took the turning off the roundabout where the accident occurred). Another interesting element is Peter's appearance as a ghost to both women - hence, I suppose, the threesome/Number 3, continuing after his death. This novel is beautifully written, as I've come to expect from Salley Vickers, particularly when it comes to depicting the two main characters and their relationship. Zahin, with his fussy domesticity and eagerness to please, is also an engaging and colourful character. I've only taken a star off because the author seems to wander off into philosophical musings about the nature of life, love and relationships, which tends to interrupt the narrative and is maybe just a tad precious.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Peter Hansome dies in a car accident, his wife and mistress meet, striking up an unusual friendship and learning about themselves in the process. Peter becomes a Catholic at the end of his life, and Vickers plays with the idea of purgatory - Peter is a ghost in the novel. He needs assistance transitioning to heaven - in the form of forgiveness and understanding from those he wronged, specifically his wife?

Hamlet's father dies and comes back to Hamlet as a ghost, trying to convince his son to exact revenge for his death. Bridget is meant to be faced with this same moral decision - how should she respond in the face of all she learns?

Vickers includes a credit to Rupert Kingfisher re: inspiration for playing with the number 3 in his play "The Prisoner's Dilemma" - and this story could be read as a Prisoner's Dilemma - if both women were to exclude/deny the other, they would be worse off than if they were to become friends.

One of the blurbs describes the book as "stylish," which I though was a strange word to apply to a work of literature, but I have to agree; this is a witty and stylish look at love and fidelity and open-mindedness and autonomy.

Instances of threes:
--The three people Peter loves
--Husband, Wife, Mistress
--Heaven, Hell, Purgatory
--Bridget, Stan, Stan's wife

[Stven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is what persuaded me to pull this book off the library shelf and read it. It's so wonderfully specific and oblique at the same time.

We get pretty deep into the book, set in London, before the story seems to be about anything but the budding friendship between Frances, who before the car accident was Peter's mistress, and Bridget, Peter's widow. Both women are interesting characters, a little bit prickly in different ways, but neither caring to scorn the other just because conventionality would seem to suggest it.

We get to know Frances and Bridget and Peter and a number (greater than 3) of other characters quite well in the course of events. The tone stays fairly light and the prose is easygoing, yet we get lots of juicy contemplation of existence and relationships and religion and Hamlet. It made me feel glad about being civilized.

[Susan Chow-Dukhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Hansome, a sixty-two year old man is killed in an automobile accident on a roundabout. The roundabout played an important role in Peter's life, as it was centrally located from his matrimonial home, the apartment of his mistress, and a discreetly-fronted house of prostitution.
In an unusual story of nonconformity, Peter's wife and mistress meet after his death and develop an odd friendship, as they try to get a better understanding of Peter's life, accept their loss, and move forward. The presence of Peter's ghost watching over his wife and mistress adds a quirky touch to the story.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Competent writing but a style I find rather irritating. The characters lack some depth or believability. Also, as I am not familiar with Shakespeare, I felt some of the relationship between Bridget and Stan was lost on me. I’ve enjoyed another book of hers very much, but this one was a bit tiresome.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful. I loved the references to Hamlet all through, and being guided into thinking more deeply about the Shakespeare play. However, that isn't the main thrust of this book! It is about a dead man's wife and mistress (and another lover) and deals with things like grief, forgiveness, human relationships and the secrets of the human heart: all the things you want to read about, really .

[Zoé · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely, slow-building book shines with a deep understanding of both literature and human nature. With a few wonderful twists and turns, Vickers has created a real treat for lovers of classic literature.

[Mrs Lisa Jackson]

I love Salley Vickers. Each book is different to the last and all are written is such a lovely readable way. Instance of the number 3 was gently humorous, with characters you could see very clearly while the pace of the book keeps you interested.

[Tonie Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give 3 1/2 stars.
I liked the art and literature references, but I did feel this book was quite slow for me. I like a faster pace.
Also, I didn’t feel invested in any of the characters nor did I care much about them!
I enjoyed it to a point but it was a little boring

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rally enjoyed this book. i was quite moved by the story and the feelings and thoughts described in such descriptive detail, and the interweaving of the main characters' individual stories worked well

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to read this book but it was a disapointment. Maybe my expectation were too high. I did not like any of the characters, by the end I was bored and just wanted to be over with.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rarity for me to rate a book low but I was not into this rehashing of a marriage after the husband died. His wife and mistress become somewhat friendly, comparing their lives with Peter and he begins to make appearances to each, as well. Very over- written.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual, but entertaining story.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely 3 1/2 stars

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read , funny and thought provoking it keeps opening up different ways bereavement affects you and then resonates if you are experiencing grief. The fun bit is the best though

[Susan Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely entertaining, but not wonderful. Damning with faint praise? Well, I was intrigued by the basic plot and the characters were well drawn. A bit predicable, but interesting all the same.