The Yellow Room Conspiracy

Rating:
Summary: Good Dickinson
Review: Peter Dickinson reminds me of two other British novelists, Robert Barnard and J.I.M. Stewart. His works usually contain mysteries, as do Barnard's, and are usually novels of manners, as are Stewart's. And like both, he is at his best when delineating complicated and ambiguous relationships whose history and roots illuminate present events. In addition, Dickinson shares the satirical wit and polished style of the other two.

"The Yellow Room Conspiracy" is a mystery and a novel of manners. Narrated alternately by an aged couple looking back on critical events of their youth, Paul Ackerley and Lucy Vereker, the novel evokes a between-the-wars world of Eton and country house parties followed by a post-war empire whose decline culminates in the Suez crisis.

The double narration Dickinson employs is an effective technique. Between them, Lucy, the society beauty, and Paul Ackerley, the archetypal outsider, recreate a series of events that climax in the death of another outsider, Gerry Grantworth, and the burning down of Lucy's family home.

Who killed Gerry? Who burned the house? These are the questions that Paul and Lucy finally explore after spending a lifetime together -- each secretly believing the other had. Dickinson makes you care about the answers.