Arthur Calder-Marshall (1908–1992)

A very strange children's fantasy. It has sort of a surreal vibe to it, similar to Roald Dahl or Lewis Carroll. I liked it, and immediately started re-reading it to try to pick up on things that I missed the first time through. It left me wondering what my reaction would have been if I had read it as a child. I think I would have loved it.

The story is about some children and staff from a school/home for orphans with disabilities. They are each changed in some way by their visit to the fair. The book is a mishmash of good and evil, humour and horror, religion and science, morality, miracles, friendship, healing, and, most prominently, acceptance. It is so full of wordplay that I was constantly looking for hidden meanings. I know that I missed a lot.

Something that intrigued me was a deadly game of cricket that was going on in the background. One of the players was (for quite obvious reasons) called Mr. De Ath. I had to wonder whether this was also a subtle nod to Dorothy L. Sayers, as it made me think of a scene in Murder Must Advertise. This suspicion was reinforced by a passing mention of Lord Peter Wimsey later in the book.… (more)

The subject matter here is fairly interesting, but this is a case where the author got a bit in the way of actually enjoying the book. While Georgiana Devonshire and Elizabeth Foster (later Devonshire) were both women of unusual character living in very interesting times, Calder-Marshall keeps the reader and himself at a respectful distance even while trying to delve into the minds and motives of these ladies, which means the book never quite gripped me. Calder-Marshall's choice of being present in the telling (there are many asides and comments in which he specifies he is speculating or that various documents aren't available to him) is jarring, and his bias toward the Second Duchess Elizabeth is apparent. Also, the book's distance means people and events flowed by at breakneck speed and often I was lost amid piles of lengthy names and untranslated phrases in French.

The final effect is that of hardly any effect. Yes, there's scandal, sexual intrigue, adultery and unusual situations here, but rather than relish them, decry them, or even attempt to understand them, Calder-Marshall seems a bit put off by it all. He's wearing latex gloves as he writes so that he can poke and prod without getting any on his hands, so to speak. It's all quite interesting, but not as interesting as it could be, which made a very short book a bit of a slog. I suspect there are better versions of this story around.… (more)