Brat Farrar (1949) – Josephine Tey
Brat Farrar is one of the two mysteries by Josephine Tey that does not feature detective Alan Grant. Written in 1949, it was among the post-war novels — the other two being Daughter of Time and The Franchise Affair — that helped cement Tey’s reputation as one of the best of the Golden Age mystery writers.
Tey first introduces us to the Ashby family having a lively lunch in their home, Latchetts, which has been in the family for generations. The eldest, Simon, is soon to be “of age” and inherit Latchetts, and he is joined at the table by Aunt Bee (who has raised the children since their parents died in a plane crash eight years earlier) and his siblings, Eleanor, who teaches horseback riding to children at a nearby school, and the young twins, Ruth and Jane. The scene is a warm, happy one and draws the reader into the book.
But then we meet the orphan Brat Farrar, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Simon. Brat is persuaded by a “friend” of the Ashbys to pose as the long-lost Patrick Ashby, Simon’s twin, who disappeared shortly after his parents’ death and whose body has never been found. Brat quickly insinuates himself into the family, explaining that rather than killing himself, as everyone assumed, he ran away to sea and lived in America until recently. As the older twin, Brat/Patrick will inherit Latchetts, not Simon. One by one, he wins over the Ashby family, leaving only Simon believing he is a fraud.
Tey is such a talented writer that she makes it difficult for the reader to dislike Brat despite his dishonesty. By the time he begins to suspect that Patrick was a victim of murder and not a suicide, we find ourselves firmly on his side. Brat’s dilemma is that by proving that Patrick was murdered, he will expose his own crime and bring further sorrow to the family he has come to love.
Brat Farrar has typical Tey touches: a humorous spoof of overly permissive schools like Summerhill and an exciting horserace, as well as some of her most appealing characters in Aunt Bee and Brat himself. It’s a masterful book from start to finish.
Here’s a link to Amazon if you want to buy the book: Brat Farrar
March 26, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Masterful, indeed. A fine novel by a classic writer.
October 2, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Josephine Tey has written such books as I shall never trade, sell, or otherwise dispose of. To me the best of these are The Daughter of Time, Brat Farrar, and the first one I read, many years ago…The Franchise Affair. There are, of course, others, but to my mind these are her best and always worth reading again. For those who enjoy “being read to” the recording of The Daughter of Time read by Sir Derek Jacobi is excellently done. It is a pleasure to know that this wonderful author (whose name is unfamiliar to many of my acquaintance, to my shame)is still remembered and with such fondness as is evident in your lovely critique.
Thank you for this.
October 30, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Another huge fan of Tey, and Brat Farrar is, I think, my absolute favourite. Unusually, I thought the BBC dramatisation of many years ago was excellent – most of those seen of beloved books are spoilt IMO by too many changes of plot and personalites.
April 18, 2010 at 7:45 am
great review for a great book
May 13, 2011 at 11:23 pm
The Ashby parents died in a PLANE crash, not a CAR crash.
May 14, 2011 at 11:45 am
You are absolutely right. (Just saw it on p. 21 of the 1997 Scribners paperback.) Mea culpa. I’ll correct it in the original review. Many thanks!
May 13, 2016 at 7:19 pm
[…] of Time, I find it brilliant on some days and tedious on others. Reviews of all three: TL&BW, BF, […]