Miss Pym Disposes
A review of Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey – 231202
Sometimes you finish a book and the only reaction is wow, what have I just read? I have been a fan of Josephine Tey and Miss Pym Disposes, originally published in 1946, can only be described as an understated masterpiece. It is a wonderful, immersive and thought provoking story, set in a girls’ physical training school which Lucy Pym, a writer who has just published a best seller on psychology, visits to give a lecture.
The principal of the college is Miss Pym’s old school friend, Henrietta, whose invitation to lecture she has accepted. Miss Pym is so intrigued by the college and the characters of the students she meets there that almost imperceptibly she extends her stay there. Tey takes her time in unfolding her story, allowing the routines of college life to settle into the reader’s mind and for the psyche and character of each of the principal protagonists to be developed. We find that we are immersed in college life and are affected by the trials and tribulations that beset the girls as they prepare for their final exams, the Display, and for the allocation of posts in the outside world.
We know that something is going to happen, but for almost three-quarters of the book nothing out of the ordinary does. Perhaps because of that we are lulled into a false sense of security so that when the crisis occurs it occurs like a bolt out of the blue. And on the face of it, it is a relatively minor thing but in the febrile atmosphere of the college, is something that is to have catastrophic consequences.
As part of her role as Principal Henrietta has the ability to bestow positions at schools to her students. This year she has a particularly prestigious position to offer, at England’s top girls’ public school. To the shock and dismay of both her staff, Miss Pym, and the students she bestows it on a girl whom everyone deems to be unsuitable, passing over the more obvious talents of the year’s leading student. Henrietta stands her ground, refusing to amend her decision.
The girl in question meets with an accident in the gymnasium, sustaining injuries from which she subsequently dies. Miss Pym discovers some evidence that suggests that it was not an accident and her investigations coupled with her psychological observations of the students over the last few weeks leads to her to an uncomfortable conclusion that not only was their foul play but that she knows the identity of the culprit. She has a moral dilemma, disclosure of what she knows and has surmised could lead to the ruination of a promising student’s life, but should see justice done.
Her solution is to strike a Faustian pact with the girl she believes is the culprit and who readily confesses to her crime. However, in a further twist at the end, Miss Pym is left to wonder whether she had identified the right culprit after all.
In their different ways, both Henrietta and Miss Pym play God-like roles, Henrietta in determining the futures of her pupils and Miss Pym in deciding what form justice is to take. That they both make flawed judgments adds to the power of the book.
Tey’s tense and immersive writing is perfect for a story that seems so simple and mundane and yet is full of all that life is really like. Thoroughly recommended.
