The Brandon Papers

by Quentin Bell

What is the tantalizing secret that Lady Mary Brandon holds from the world till death? A dedicated suffragette and philanthropist, beloved by all, she expires peacefully in her bed at the age of seventy-two, yet the attending physician refuses to sign a death certificate. This circumstance inspires young Maurice Evans to take a closer look at Lady Brandon's past.Probing byways untrod by her official biographer, Evans follows the trail of Mary's early life, from a sequestered girlhood in a castle off the coast of Labrador to an education in the capitals of Europe as a proper Victorian heiress. Eventually she returns to the heart of the Brandon family in the Sussex countryside, where all too soon she is swept into the arms of a handsome cousin. Although their marriage is short-lived, their macabre wedding night is long to be remembered.Drawing on numerous documents, including Mary's autobiographical novel, the memoirs of her governess, and the eyewitness account of a French maid, Evans gradually uncovers an imbroglio of deception and debauchery in the upper ranks of English society. He dies, alas, before the fruits of his research can be made public. Quentin Bell steps in to present The Brandon Papers--a literary entertainment of ingenious design, insidious humor, and deliciously Gothic suspense.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell was an English art historian and author.

Reviews

[El Convincente Gon · Rating 4 out of 5]

El enorme placer de encontrar dinero tirado en la calle solo es comparable al de comprar muy barato un libro de segunda mano del que no tenías referencia alguna, solo porque te gusta cómo empieza, y que resulte ser (por decirlo de tres formas diferentes) un feliz descubrimiento, una pequeña joya, totalmente tu mierda.

En esta novela hay: manuscritos encontrados, investigación biográfica a lo Ciudadano Kane, tono de cotilleo fino, confrontación de testimonios a lo Rashomon, un misterio policial, sordidez en las clases altas a lo Oscar Wilde, estilo atemporal, estructura poliédrica a lo Pobres criaturas... Un pastiche muy disfrutable para amantes de la literatura inglesa y, en especial, de Wilkie Collins.

No le pongo cinco estrellas porque le falta chispa y resulta un poco plana en el retrato de los personajes.

[Yoselin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book and read the first few pages, I could never have guessed how the plot would unfold! It's a real treat when a book keeps you guessing! I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to my friends/family!

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marvelously entertaining pastiche: a mystery, a parody of an obsessive hunt into the past, and, ultimately, a postmodern take on the roles people play in life (well before its time in examining the performative aspects of gender presentation!)

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quentin Bell is not generally known for his fiction, but in this take-off on gender-bending he shows off his skills nicely. The story of Mary Brandon takes a page from Bell's aunt Virginia Woolf's "Orlando", but its time period is limited only to the length of one person's lifetime. Written as though it were a true tale of a man's life as he lives it as a woman, the book draws the reader in and keeps one wondering how he/she pulled of the deception and why he/she was forced to do it.

Born a man, Henry Brandon, he finds himself ostracized from most of his family and forced to go on an errand for his wealthy Uncle Amos - go to a small, isolated island and bring back Uncle Amos' daughter and her (of course, wicked) step-mother. From this point on misadventures plague Henry's every step. Uncle Amos has never met his daughter and wouldn't know her from any woman on the street. After his accidental murder of Mary Brandon, Uncle Amos' long-lost daughter, Henry decides to take her place. With the collusion of Mary's lady's maid, Therese, Henry becomes "Mary Porthow", and throughout the rest of the novel he is a "she".

I'll not go on to explain what happens to Mary/Henry as the deception continues; suffice it to say that after her death a man takes an interest in Mary's life story and goes about detecting exactly how she ended up married and the bizarre deaths of her husband and his valet. Telling more would ruin the book for the new reader. But although there were some slow spots in the book, for the most part it moves along, carrying the reader along its strange journey to Mary Brandon's death.

[Sparrow .]

How unfortunate that the "book cover image" is "not on hand", to use the terminology of "goodreads"; the cover illustration, "attributed to James McNeill Whistler" -- but I have a reason to believe, actually painted by Quentin Bell himself -- is a captivating portrait of a Lady Brandon, the suffragette and philanthropist who is the central subject of this study. Quentin Bell, the author, is nephew to Virginia Woolf, and also her biographer (or rather, I should say, one of her legion of biographers). No one but me will ever read this book, how sad! Though it was written rather recently, in 1985, when Quentin must've been roughly 69. That's a pure guess. I still haven't looked him up on Wikipedia, to learn the tantalizing details of his "distinguished" life (according to the back cover). I found "The Brandon Papers" on the free table at the thrift shop in Phoenicia, New York. Which conforms to my philosophy of reading. Wait for the Right Book to come, and in the meantime read anything that's less than twenty cents.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his foreword to this book Quentin Bell quotes a biography of Mary Brandon: "... her motivation was right through her life completely devoid of egotism and of sordid calculations of any kind." Then he adds: "Brave words indeed, but if the following narrative be true they may have to be rewritten."

This remarkable little book about a fairly obscure woman, Mary Brandon, who lived in Canada, the USA and England from 1870-1942 has some stunning revelations about the truth of her life.