
The Middle of Things
'The Middle of Things' Summary
A house party at Crome is viewed largely through the eyes of Denis Stone. Described by his hostess as "one of our younger poets", he has been invited by Priscilla and Henry Wimbush to join their summer guests. Denis is secretly in love with their niece, Anne Wimbush, who appears more interested in the artist Gombauld. The rather naïve flapper, Mary Bracegirdle, decides to embark on an amorous adventure so as to overcome her repressions and makes unsuccessful advances to Denis and Gombauld before falling for the libertine Ivor Lombard one summer night. The hard-of-hearing Jenny Mullion confines most of her thoughts on what goes on to her journal, in which Denis eventually discovers a devastating deconstruction of his self and fellow guests. Mr. Wimbush, the owner of Crome, has been writing a history of the house and its family, from which he gives two evening readings. His wife is obsessed with alternative spirituality and finds a fellow sympathiser in the prolific literary hack, Mr. Barbecue-Smith. Also part of the party is Henry's former schoolfriend, the cynical Mr. Scogan, who lies in wait for anyone he can waylay with his reductive criticisms of the time and his visions for a dystopian future. After several ludicrous failures in trying to capture Anne’s affection, Denis despairingly arranges to be recalled home on 'urgent family business' and departs on the same slow train that had brought him.
Book Details
Authors

J. S. Fletcher
England
Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 – 30 January 1935) was an English journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, and was...
Books by J. S. FletcherDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Cut by the County; or, Grace Darnel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Darnel Park is situated in a county that thrives on gossip and secrets, and the Darnel family, as it turns out, has many of them. An attempt at Sir Al...

Last Stroke by Lawrence L. Lynch
In 'Last Stroke,' the peaceful world of a school is shattered when Mr. Brierly, the esteemed schoolmaster, vanishes without a trace. His under-teacher...

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
The Law and the Lady is a detective story, published in 1875 by Wilkie Collins. It is not quite as sensational in style as The Moonstone and The Woman...

Black Cat Vol. 01 No. 02 November 1895 by Various
This volume of *The Black Cat*, a popular literary magazine of the late 19th century, presents a collection of eight original short stories exploring...

Web of the Golden Spider by Frederick O. Bartlett
The Web of the Golden Spider follows Wilson, a young man caught in a web of intrigue and adventure. In a land on the brink of revolution, he navigates...

Rome Express by Arthur Griffiths
On the Rome Express, a train traveling from Istanbul to Paris, a murder occurs in one of the sleeping compartments. The victim is Sir Charles Cartwrig...

Black Cat Vol. 04 No. 02 November 1898 by Various
Prepare for a thrilling literary journey with the second issue of Volume 4 of The Black Cat magazine, published in November 1898. Within its pages, yo...

The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Old Man in the Corner is an unnamed armchair detective who appears in a series of short stories written by Baroness Orczy. He examines and solves...

The Camp Fire Girls at Sunrise Hill by Margaret Vandercook
The Camp Fire Girls find themselves embarking on an unforgettable journey filled with mystery, friendship, and the thrill of the unknown. The story be...

The Clue of the Gold Coin by Helen Wells
When a mysterious gold coin bearing a cryptic message arrives in the mail, it sets the stage for a thrilling mystery that will keep readers guessing u...
Reviews for The Middle of Things
No reviews posted or approved, yet...