cover image Echoing Stones

Echoing Stones

Celia Fremlin. Severn House Publishers, $20 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7278-4524-5

Set in the English countryside, Fremlin's ( Dangerous Thoughts ) determinedly cheerful novel follows Arnold Walter as he retires from his accountant's job to become caretaker and tour guide at the historic Tudor mansion, Emmerton Hall. Arnold is thrilled with his new post; Mildred, his wife, is not and, to his bemusement, leaves him. Their rebellious teenage daughter Flora has also left, following a lifestyle that dismays her father. Arnold throws himself in to the delights of Emmerton Hall, guiding tourists through the historic ruins and befriending Joyce, the daughter of Emmerton Hall's former curator, Sir Humphrey Penrose. Sir Humphrey, 90, suffers from senile dementia, and unless sedated, runs amock, acting out historic events. Mysterious late-night phonecalls begin; a subdued Flora returns to run the tea room; and finally Mildred reappears with Gordon Belfort, a professed expert on historic tapestries. The odd, not-quite-with-it characters collide in the dark halls of the mansion, propelling themselves and the plot to a comedy-of-errors climax. Though billed as a mystery, this humorous tale is more a light comedy of manners exploring a contemporary English middle-class family and its discontents. (Dec.)