Aiding and Abetting

Rating:
Summary: An ingenious little book : absolutely wonderful !
Review: 25 years after the seventh Earl of Lucan clobbered his wife and killed the nanny, he shows up in Paris at the office of psychiatrist Dr. Hildegard Wolf. But she already has a patient who claims to be Lord Lucan. Will the real one please prove it? And what about Hildegard, who really is Beate Pappenheim, a fugitive fake stigmatic from Bavaria? The author has great fun twisting things around between these three bad people, at times coming close to the Keystone Cops. But blood will tell, with murder, with stigmata and with the British nobility. This book does not make much sense, but it is good fluffy fun.

Amusing sideline: Bavaria had a well-known stigmatic - Therese von Konnersreuth - who "practised" there from 1925 until her death in the 1960s. She was never accused of fraud but, to this day, Rome is rather sceptical.

Rating:
Summary: A witty mystery...
Review: A mystery filled with wit, and based on the famous Lord Lucan case (a murderer who escaped, and to this day, no one knows if he's alive or dead). Spark has not lost her touch, and this is a short, engaging book that you won't want to put down.

Rating:
Summary: For people who know how to deal
Review: A remarkably entertaining read from the author of "A Far Cry from Kensington", which incidentally, is the first Muriel Spark novel in my collection.

Not only for true crime afficionados, the story serves to fill in the blanks in the life of the 7th Earl of Lucan, who disappeared in November 1974, after mistakenly murdering the nanny, and attempting to murder his estranged wife.

With a little help from his friends, he has managed to elude capture, and stay one step ahead of the law. He is declared officially dead in 1999.

Enter Dr. Hildegard Wolf, roving German "psychiatrist", who charges huge fees to talk mainly about herself. She soon has two patients claiming to be Lord Lucan, and she suspects that the pair are in fact partners, and up to no good.

Sure enough, her chequered and spotted past comes to light, and unable to report her patients to the authorities, she deals with the situation in her own way, as she is not without friends herself.

Enter Lacey, daughter of one of Lucan's friends, and Dr. Joseph Murray, another Lucan acquaintance, who set off on a search mission, which ends up as a quest of mutual self discovery.

With more people studying the habits of the original Lord, the game begins afresh, and the world becomes a little smaller for the two "Lucans", as their aristocratic shield begins to thin and fade.

Muriel Spark throws together a group of unlikeable characters, and concocts a gripping story with a most fitting if slightly abrupt ending.

Amanda Richards, August 20, 2004

Rating:
Summary: Superb Spark in Top Form
Review: Here's one British reader who is feeling generous this morning so has given 'Aiding and Abetting' two stars instead of one...

The seventh Earl of Lucan disappeared on November 7, 1974, having bludgeoned the child-minder to death and failed to dispose of his wife in the same manner. By all accounts, he was a fairly useless individual, so it should come as no surprise that he mistook his intended target. If he is to be remembered (which seems fairly unlikely in the long term) it will be for the fact that, despite having no obvious talents or abilities (other than the consistent ability to lose at gambling), he has managed to evade the law for so long. Suspicion lies with the so-called nobility for having sheltered and financed him for so many years "...to protect his good name..." can you believe!

If Muriel Spark is to be remembered, it will most likely be for 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. It will most certainly not be for 'Aiding and Abetting' which reads like an unfinished second draft. The sentence structure is impoverished, the characters lack either characterization or motivation, and the story is, frankly, stupid.

Save your money... you'd do better buying a Superman comic.

Rating:
Summary: Sharp and lively satire
Review: Muriel Spark's new novel interweaves the story of Lord Lucan, a dissolute English Earl who murdered his children's nanny and tried to kill his wife in 1974, then disappeared, with the story of Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist with an unconventional method of treating patients and a secret past of her own.

Rumours of Lord Lucan's whereabouts continue to pop up: noone knows if he is still alive or not. In this book, Spark has two separate "Lord Lucan"'s visit Dr. Wolf for treatment. Before long Wolf is wondering how much they know about her, how much they know about each other, and which if either of them is the real Lord Lucan. Several other people are drawn into the search for Lord Lucan, including an old friend of his, and the daughter of another old friend of his, and Hildegard's long-time lover. The resolution is amusing and unexpected.

Spark considers the complicity of accomplices in crime, and the morality of the "upper classes", and the persistence of guilt. Her writing is as always extremely clever -- dare I say it sparkles? -- and the book is slantingly funny and morally insistent and a thoroughgoing joy to read. At 82, Muriel Spark remains a truly brilliant writer. (Like another reviewer, I can't quite bring myself to rate this 5 stars -- but only because the book is so short. It's better than the average 4 star book, at any rate.)

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Novella
Review: Muriel Spark's novels have always been fabulous and Aiding and Abetting is certainly no exception. It is a fictional account of an actual murder suspect from Great Britain in the early 70s. Lord Lucan was accused of murdering his children's nanny and the attempted murder of his wife, but escaped capture. Although there are those that suspect he then killed himself, there are others who believe he has been living in some form of exile, with the help of many of his wealthy friends, the aiders and abettors the novel's title refers to. In this novel, we meet two "Lord Lucans", both seeking treatment in the present day from Dr. Hildegard Wolf, a psychiatrist practicing in France. She too is escaping some deceptions of her past (although they are no where near as heinous as murder). She initally believes they are both frauds, but things begin to change her mind. The novel also follows the paths of two people who believe they are closing in on Lord Lucan. But are they? This is an intriguing novella that tells an interesting story. Spark's writing is fabulous, as usual. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: An ingenious little book : absolutely wonderful !
Review: Muriel Sparks' latest novel "Aiding & Abetting" doesn't take up much shelf space but sure proves the adage that less may be more ! This psychological thriller, based on the unsolved Lord Lucan murder mystery, is so cleverly constructed and seamlessly meshed with the subject of another true story - that of the fake stigmatic Beate Pappenheim - I found myself unable to stop until I finished it in one sitting. Sparks' ingenious plotting is once again evident in the way the pulsating narrative takes unexpected twists and turns that keeps you in total suspense with the unyielding promise of a surprise ending. I felt my heart thumping and my mind racing just watching the two Lucans and Hildegarde and their aiders connive and plot to outwit each other. The novel may have taken class as its starting point but it is blood that binds their fate. Nobody writes like Sparks these days. Her dry wit and rare economy with words make for an eloquence that is both unique and unparalleled. It is also a hallmark of great writing. "Aiding & Abetting" may be her best work in recent times. This slim novel sure packs a wallop. It comes highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Light, brisk satire mocking yesteryear's British aristocracy
Review: The high-brow farce of "Aiding and Abetting" revolves around two drawn-from-real-life criminals who both have "blood on their hands." The first, Lord "Lucky" Lucan, who intended to murder his wife but mistakenly killed his children's nanny, disappeared in 1974 and hasn't been seen since. The second is Beate Pappenheim/Hildegard Wolf, a fraudulent stigmatic and faith healer who bamboozled her followers before escaping with a fortune.

But, to complicate matters even further, Spark adds a third impostor: a former butler who looks so much like Lucan ("They were not indistinquishable, but they might have been brothers.") that the two work in league to thwart either's capture. The comedy results when Spark brings together her three characters: a fraud who reenters the "real" world by assuming a new identity, a murderer who flees to the underworld by assuming a fake identity, and a butler who straddles both worlds by assuming the identity of a killer pretending not to be a killer. Each of the three becomes dependent on the other two for survival, and an uneasy detente results because the exposure of any of them would likely result in the exposure of all three.

Since authorities suspected that Lucan's escape was enabled by his aristocratic peers, the author adds further irony depicting an upper class who protects a murderer because it's the "proper" thing to do: "They seemed to have been faithful in the class-conscious sense." No doubt it's hard for modern (especially young) readers to imagine that, only thirty years ago, upper-class snobbishness extended even to assisting a homicidal maniac. British aristocrats "are not the same people as [they] were a quarter of a century ago . . . Since Lucan's day, snobs have been greatly emarginated." Spark is ridiculing both British aristocracy and their hankering for the "good old days"; it is this theme in particular that recalls the early satires of Evelyn Waugh.

The novel's hasty ending likewise reminds the reader of Waugh's "A Handful of Dust"; it is somewhat unsatisfying, not the least because the perspective shifts unexpectedly during the final pages. Still, although a slim, brisk read (barely a novella, in fact), "Aiding and Abetting" hits many of its upper-crust targets while simultaneously mocking the meaning of identity.

Rating:
Summary: Satire, Irony, and Farce
Review: This book will be a four star effort for most British readers and a two star work for most American ones. I averaged the two to reach my three star rating.

The absurdities of the upper classes always amuse the British, and this one is excellent in that regard. Being the 7th Earl of Lucan doesn't mean that you have any sense, have any purpose in your life, or do any good. Regardless of all that, people will rally around to help him . . . because of the old school tie and all that.

For Americans, the joke runs a little thin. It could have been carried off in short story. Ms. Spark seems to have imagined her ending, and then simply developed a plot that could connect that back to the real-life murder and attempted murder that form the basis of the book.

The second story line is about a fake stigmatic from Bavaria who disappeared after stealing donated funds. Being at least a little imaginative, Beate Pappenheim will appeal to more readers than Lord Lucan will. However, she wasn't really necessary for the joke, but does give Ms. Spark the ability to stretch a short story into a novella.

To stir up a little interest, the book has a small mystery to solve. Who is Lord Lucan? In pursuing this idea of identity, the book takes off on modern psychiatry . . . basically pointing out that there's not much there. Ms. Pappenheim pretends to be a psychiatrist, ignores all the rules, and still creates a series of very devoted patients who depend on her.

Ms. Spark also explores imagery in many significant ways to develop her story. Blood is the key image. Blood ties the upper classes together. Blood is part of a woman's monthly cycle. A messy murder causes blood to be spilled. Being able to use blood in new ways creates opportunity for Ms. Pappenheim. Being able to describe what it's like to kill in cold blood is a way to identify Lord Lucan. And so on. Ms. Sharp shows her writing brilliance in these ways.

Ultimately, I was sorry that she didn't pick a more worthy subject for her humor. Lord Lucan seems like such a useless person that it seems like a waste of one's time to even have to think about him. That could have been overcome by spending more time satirizing those who helped him, but, alas, she did not do that.

If you're British (or have a very British outlook), read the book. If you're American (or don't like British humor about the upper classes), skip the book.

If you do decide to read the book, think about who would stick by you no matter what you had done. Why would they? How can you develop more close ties who would do the same, not because they will need to do so, but because you will benefit from that kind of close relationship?

Support worthy activities!

Rating:
Summary: repetitive and boring
Review: this comes from someone who knew nothing of the legend of lord lucan.. but still from the opening of the story i was intrigued by it.. however the book is constantly repeating the few details that it shares with us on the crime and lord lucan's disapperance over and over again. I felt the book to be very incomplete.. and the key word here really is repeatitive.. It's just a bore! Pass it! (the last two sentences being the only two in need of capitalization)