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Book has no faults that I can see. >>> These three novellas, Orlando King, Orlando at the Brazen threshold and Agatha were originally published in 1968, 1971 and 1973. I read The Shooting Party years ago when the film came out, and though I enjoyed it, I had no idea how acclaimed (nor prolific) her output was. These are elegantly written novellas, with a forensic depiction of how human nature was shaped - and distorted - by politics and public life between the wars. There's a coolness in the writing, especially when the comedy is dark, that is reminiscent of Waugh, but her compassion for her characters does not diminish as they become more absurd. - You might think there is a fairytale element to the first half of the first novel, though this soon slips into the territory of Greek tragedy. Orlando's upbringing seems so unlikely, and so very much removed from the world in which he will eventually (mis)take his place that when the bitter realities do intrude, they seem all the more bitter and all the more real. It's definitely one of those stories where when you finish, you want to reread it so that you can see early events in the light of their eventual outcomes. (Jane Louis-Wood on Goodreads)
