Patsy

by Henry de Vere Stacpoole

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254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Henry De Vere Stacpoole (9 April 1863 – 12 April 1951), pseudonym: Tyler De Saix, was an Irish author, born in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire). His best known work is the 1908 romance novel The Blue Lagoon, which has been adapted into feature films on three occasions.

A ship's doctor for more than forty years, Stacpoole was also an expert on the South Pacific islands. His books frequently contained detailed descriptions of the natural life and civilizations with which he had become familiar on those islands.

He moved to the Isle of Wight in the 1920s and lived there until his death. He was buried at Bonchurch in 1951. [Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is so very different from H.V. Stacpoole's "Beach of Dreams" and "The Man Who Lost Himself" that it took me several chapters to get my bearings and understand just what I held in my hands. I think I know now.

"Patsy" is an Irish comedy. And just so you know, Patsy is not a girl but a boy; a rather enterprising, cheeky, very Irish boy. The language is in the vernacular but just enough to be humorous and not so heavy as to be unreadable.

Ok so the plot...well, at its heart we have a lovelorn couple thwarted in love. The man's uncle disapproves of the match and has arranged a more "suitable" suitor for his ward; a man with money (but alas very tight), much older, no sense of humor and a glass eye. Yes, you heard right. A glass eye. And remember this book is a comedy soooo can we just say that things happen with regard to said glass eye.

And then there's Patsy who has just landed a job in the big house as a sort of "fetch and carry" boy. As was mentioned he's a bit of a Cheeky Charlie with extras. In this case, the extras involve a bandit uncle who is the terror of the countryside along with his accomplice. The baddies have got wind that there's people of "quality" staying at the great house and they smell money. A break-in is arranged...and a trap is set. The results are zany and unpredictable.

I think this could be a 5 star book depending on the audience. I went into it having no idea what it was about and it was entertaining but not one I'd probably reread. However if I had read it when I was a young adult, I would have loved it to pieces. Give it a go, its free on public domain sites like Openlibrary.org.

CONTENT: G

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not generally a fan of rascally irish in novels, but the characters in this are a joy. H de Vere Stacpoole was the most versatile of authors, seemingly able to turn his hand to any genre he fancied. This is a comic romance, and a rattling good read.