The limner

by Paul Darcy Boles

Boles is a fiddlefooted writer -- from stories for young people to the somewhat unstructured experiences of a New England Black in Curling (1968) and now this vigorous story written with a magnificent hand for language and a liveliness sometimes misspent on a narrative which fails to focus the writer's natural power. But The Limner is exuberantly readable, with all the plot hooks of 19th century melodrama and some of the hijinks of Twain. He's a painter, Luke Applegate, with the heaven-sent gift of a medieval craftsman. He falls for a sixteen-year-old he suspects of murdering her father, while in turn the girl, Letty, suspects him. They run off together, set up house and get a deserted old mill in working order (this is freely conceived by Boles). But the law forces Luke to flee just when paradise is at hand, and he wanders into the Reconstruction South in hopes of finding Letty's mother. There are dozens of quickly sketched rural and city types, road-wise hype artists, all seen with a clear and forgiving eye. And after the murder is solved, Boles goes on to firm up Luke as a husband and matured man of integrity and limitless capacities. He sometimes attempts too much but does catalyze your interest in a spirited fashion. -- Kirkus Reviews

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Vincent]

I randomly picked this book up at an antique store. I looked up the author Paul Darcy Boles and this is considered his most popular book. I am generally willing to accept sections of the plot that in the real world would most likely never happen, but two parts of his story just seem illogical. After saying that Mr. Boles is a wonderful writer and I wish his talented writing skills were combined with a better plot. I would still recommend this book to others, and I am going to put his book of short stories on my reading list.

[Peejay(Pamela)]

I first read The Limner 50 or so years ago when I was a teenager in the 1970s. I remembered loving it then for the adventure, the love story, and the mystery. I enjoyed it this second time around, but I didn’t remember how racy it is!

[LaMeat Jamal]

3.5/5 stars

[Simon Mcleish]

Originally published on my blog here in February 2000.

Set in the American midwest in the second half of the nineteenth century, The Limner is a crime novel in a loose sense. Lucius Applegate is a painter (limner is an old word for portrait painter) who makes his living travelling around the country painting small portraits for whatever the sitter can afford. Staying with wealthy farmer Hans Eisner while painting his beautiful daughter Letty, he gets up one night to find Eisner's body, just before Letty bursts in on him, asking him to flee with her. Though neither actually killed the old man, both think that the other did so, and the natural conclusion of the law officers investigating was that they must have done it together.

Generally well written, The Limner does occasionally strike the odd wrong note. Small problems with the plot - at one point a balloon journey needs to be more predictable than they can be, for example - lead to a rather unsatisfactory ending. The background is less rural in feeling than it makes out, the general atmosphere not as wild as some details imply, making it a less than convincing evocation of the American midwest at the time.

[Natalia]

Paul Darcy Boles

[Janice]

I read this in high school and fell in love with it. Read it again in my late 20s and loved it even more. Not sure why it struck such a chord with me.