The Old Flame

by A.P. Herbert

Robin Moon finds Phyllis rather a distraction in the Sunday morning service – after all her golden hair does seem to shine rather more brightly than the Angel Gabriel’s heavenly locks. His wife, Angela, on the other hand, is more preoccupied with the cavalier Major Trevor than perhaps she should be during the Litany. Relations between the Moons head towards an unhappy crescendo, and when, after an admirable pot-luck Sunday lunch, Robin descends to the depths of mentioning what happened on their honeymoon, the result is inevitable – they must embark on one of their enforced separations. Finding his independence once more, Robin feels free to link up with Phyllis and her friends, and begins to dabble in some far from innocent matchmaking. This ingenious work brilliantly addresses that oh so perplexing a problem – that of ‘the old flame’.

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH (usually writing as A.P. Herbert or A.P.H.) was an English humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist. He was an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford University for 15 years, five of which he combined with service in the Royal Navy.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

1925 and very much of its time. The plot, such as it is, is non-threatening, even though the premise is a bit daring. But what's fun is the language, at the sentence level or 2-3 sentence sequence level: the tone and bon mots. It's like Noel Coward without the snarkiness. Very easy on the mind and good for some giggles.