The Episode at Toledo

Julia Probyn #6

by Ann Bridge

'The Episode at Toledo' takes us to Spain, not only to the world of Embassies, Military Intelligence, and Cold War intrigue, but into a little-known area of Spanish life. Here Hetta accidentally uncovers a Communist plot to assassinate an American Admiral during his visit to inspect a NATO base.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Spain

463 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Mid twentieth-century novelist [real name, Mary Anne O'Malley] who began by exploiting the milieu of the British Foreign Office community in Peking, China, where she lived for two years with her diplomat husband. Her novels combine courtship plots with vividly-realised settings and demure social satire.

She went on to write novels which take as the background of their protagonists' emotional lives a serious investigation of modern historical developments (such as the leap by which Turkey progressed from a feudal-style government to become a modern republic in which women enjoyed equality of rights and equality of opportunity).

Ann Bridge also wrote thrillers centred on a female amateur detective, travel books, and family memoirs.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hetta Atherley is one of my favorite characters from the series, a young girl who escaped from Communist Hungary to Portugal and married a British diplomat, so I was delighted to find this book centers around her, although Julia Probyn makes the obligatory appearance toward the end of the book. Hetta is now the mother of a young girl, with another child on the way, and very used to the foreign service way of life. She helps uncover a Communist plot to kill the U.S. ambassador and risks her own life in the process. This series is of the author's time and perspective with husbands all wanting sons most and discounting their wives' observations and a bunch of unbelievably foolish American diplomats.

[Greg Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this novel, as to me it seemed to be a kind of lukewarm rehashing of The Portuguese Escape. Clearly Ann Bridge adored Portugal, and to me, the Portuguese Escape was more of a loving travelogue of that country rather than a spy thriller. I enjoyed her descriptions of life in Portugal at the time. The spy thriller aspect of this book is weak, and seems to have been simply an excuse to get Hetta back to the same family in Portugal in order to continue the elaborate and loving description of life in that Portuguese town. Personally, I would have preferred if Bridge had simply written a travelogue of Portugal (as Honor Tracy did), and abandoned the pretense of the Communists deciding every few years to chase Hetta around in circles again.

[Kate Thorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that follows up female protagonists from earlier books in the series. Fascinated by the detail of country estates in Portugal. Bridge’s writing style continues to be consistently readable and sympathetic to women in their negotiations with the men in their lives.
Bridge’s politics remain very conservative throughout this series. Don’t read it unless you’re prepared to hear Franco preferred over communists in Spain, and lots of paternalistic attitudes that don’t wear well in this century.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough Julia for me as this one is told from Hetta's point of view but still another interesting look at life in the Cold War English diplomatic corps in Europe.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. But very hard to categorize. The story is part spy novel, part suspense, part almost cozy, and even includes a little romance. Although this is the sixth book in the Julia Probyn series, Julia only appears at the beginning and end. Instead the main character is young Hetta Atherley, the Hungarian wife of English diplomat Richard Atherley, now stationed in Madrid. So when Hetta thinks she recognized the chauffeur of one the American diplomats as a Hungarian Communist, she is not sure what to do, especially since an American bigwig will be arriving soon. So she writes Julia for advice. This is just the beginning. But what makes this book so good is the interactions between the characters, and the depth of feeling that is apparent between many of. And since many of these characters appeared in previous books of the series, the reader also experiences a feeling of comfort and homecoming. Recommended.

[Carol Kerry-Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't resist starting this straight after The Dangerous Islands even though there's at least one book in between, still this one is told from Hetta's point of view, not Julia's

3.5 stars - felt this one flopped a little towards the end, but other than that another excellent outing from Ann Bridge

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was a Julia book the main characters are from a previous one. I liked Hetta as a woman married to a diplomat (Richard) with a small child and her past as an escapee from the Hungarian communists.

[Chrissie]

*********************

*Enchanter's Nightshade 4 stars
*The Dark Moment 4 stars
*A Place To Stand: A Novel 4 stars
*The Tightening String 4 stars
*Illyrian Spring 3 stars
*Peking Picnic TBR

*Julia Probyn Series:
1. The Lighthearted Quest 4 stars
2.The Portuguese Escape TBR
3.The Numbered Account TBR
4,The Dangerous Islands TBR
5.Emergency In The Pyrenees TBR
6.The Episode at Toledo TBR
7.The Malady in Madeira TBR
8.Julia in Ireland TBR

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird ending -- otherwise good reading