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Brat Farrar

Author	Josephine Tey
Language	English
Genre	Mystery
Publisher	Peter Davies
Publication date	January 1949
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
ISBN	0-330-10293-1 (first paperback edition)

Brat Farrar is a mystery novel by Josephine Tey.

Plot introduction

~Plot introduction~

The story centers around the Ashbys, an English country-squire family. Their centuries-old family estate is Latchetts, in the fictional village of Clare near the south coast of England. It takes place in 1946 or 1947. (The date is not given, but it is after World War II, but no more than eight years after the start of the war.) Eight years before the start of the novel Patrick Ashby, the heir to Latchetts, committed suicide, and the next brother Simon became heir. Brat Farrar, a foundling who looks remarkably like Simon, is persuaded by a family friend to impersonate Patrick and claim Latchetts.

Plot summary

Tone of this is really bad (start over from scratch?)

The Ashby family consists of Miss Beatrice Ashby ("Aunt Bee"), a 50-ish spinster, and the four children of her late brother Bill: Simon, 20; Eleanor, 18-19; and twins Jane and Ruth, 9. Bill and his wife Nora died in an airplane crash eleven years before. Since then, the Ashbys, like many old families, have been short of money. Bee has kept the estate going by turning the family stable into a profitable business. The Ashbys breed, sell, and train horses, and give riding lessons. All of them except Ruth ride frequently and work with the horses. The young Ashbys ride in equestrian competitions and win prizes. There is also great-uncle Charles Ashby in the Far East. Charles is coming home for Simon's 21st birthday, which is in a few weeks, though he will be a month or so late.

When Simon turns twenty-one he will come into a large trust fund left by his mother and gain legal control of Latchetts itself. Simon had a twin brother, Patrick, who was 15 minutes older. But soon after Bill and Nora died, Patrick disappeared, leaving a note that seemingly apologised for his suicide.

The title character, Brat Farrar, is a young man recently returned to England from America. He was a foundling, raised in an orphanage. At the age of 13, he choose to take an office job rather than attend school, but soon ran away out of boredom. He ended up in the western United States, where he worked at ranches and stables for several years, and became an expert horseman.

On a street in London, a complete stranger greets Brat as "Simon." He is Alec Loding, a second-rate actor. Alec's real name is Ledingham, and his family's estate, now sold, bordered Latchetts. He knows the Ashby family intimately, and even after Brat identifies himself, Alec is certain that Brat is an Ashby.

This gives Alec an idea: Brat should impersonate the missing twin, Patrick, and as the elder brother, claim the trust and the estate. Alec remembers everything about the Ashbys, Latchetts, and the village. He has lots of photographs and other memorabilia. He will coach Brat on all the background details, and in return Brat will give him a share of the money. Neither Brat nor Patrick have distinguishing scars or birthmarks. The Ashbys' dentist and all his records were destroyed by a German bomb. Conveniently, Brat left the orphanage at nearly the same time that Patrick vanished. Brat is reluctant but ultimately tempted by the possibility that he is related to the Ashbys and by the chance to work with horses, and agrees to Loding's scheme.

After two weeks of tutoring, Brat appears at the London office of Mr. Sandal, the Ashby family solicitor, and claims to be Patrick. Sandal is astonished, but convinced. "Patrick" says he adopted the name "Brat Farrar" after running away, and gives his own life story as the account of Patrick's missing years. Mr. Sandal informs Bee, who meets Brat and is also convinced. Over the next two weeks, Sandal verifies Brat's story.

Brat then moves to Latchetts. Ruth and Eleanor accept him, though Jane is hostile at first. Simon professes to accept him, and shows no apparent resentment at being displaced as heir. But Brat can tell that Simon is not deceived. Brat wonders why Simon seems to be certain that he is not Patrick, and why he keeps silent.

Brat settles in at Latchetts, and is accepted by the neighbors, in spite of making a few slip-ups. He has a home and family for the first time in his life. He becomes particularly fond of Bee, and feels guilty about deceiving her. He also wonders how long he can get away with the deception. Simon is clearly though covertly hostile. He invites Brat to ride Timber, an exceptionally fine horse, without warning him that Timber sometimes tries to kill or cripple his rider. He loosens Brat's girth just before a race, and once, in a fit of rage, he openly calls Brat an impostor, though he quickly withdraws the statement. Eleanor is confused, because she likes "Patrick" - but not the way a sister should like a brother. Then Simon tells Brat he knows Brat is not Patrick - because he murdered Patrick. Of course, Simon knows Brat cannot repeat this to anyone without destroying his impersonation.

Brat recognizes that continuing to impersonate Patrick will make him an accomplice of Simon in the murder of Patrick. While Brat is willing to be a party to impersonating Patrick, he is unwilling to be a party to murder. After a long night of reflection spent wandering the countryside, Brat realizes how Simon killed Patrick while maintaining a solid alibi of spending the day at the blacksmith. He also realizes the trauma the public disclosure of Simon's crime and his own impersonation will have on the Ashby family, and agonizes over whether to expose Simon or let sleeping bodies lie and just "run away" again.

To help him decide, Brat pays a late night visit to the family's minister, Alex Loding's brother-in-law, to reveal his own crime and ask the minister's opinion on whether Simon's murder of Patrick should be kept secret. Although the minister is not surprised by Brat's revelation that he is not Patrick, he cannot believe that Simon murdered Patrick. He does, however, state that murder cannot simply be ignored, that to do so invites anarchy. His indecision gone, Brat decides to investigate Patrick's disappearance on his own to find the evidence needed to convince others of Simon's guilt. When he sneaks out the next night to visit the quarry at the bottom of which he has guessed Patrick's remains lie hidden, Simon is waiting and tries to kill him. During a struggle, the two fall into the quarry. Simon is killed and Brat seriously injured. Patrick's bones are found, proving Simon's guilt.

Great-uncle Charles arrives. He recognizes Brat as the son of Walter Ashby, a long-dead cousin who drank a bit too much and never married. Brat can now be part of the family, and there is no barrier to his romance with Eleanor (who is only his second cousin).

Characters

~Describe and possibly link to characters of novel.~ Brat Simon Bee Eleanor? (check spelling, btw) George Peck

Major themes

~thematic description, using the work of literary critics (i.e. scholars)~

Literary significance and reception

~description of the work's initial reception and legacy based on the work of literary critics and commentators over the years, give citations~

References to other works

The barrister Kevin Macdermott, who plays a large part in Tey's novel The Franchise Affair, helps Mr. Sandal in vetting Brat's claim to be Patrick.

References to actual history, geography and current science

~description of how this novel mentions other incidents and subject matter outside the world of literature and criticism~

Any? Not sure it does, other than the Blitz which is not a major factor in the novel.

References in other works

~description of works that mention this novel or its characters, if applicable~

Awards and nominations

~lists awards the work received, and significant nominations, if applicable~

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In 1986, the BBC and A&E Television Networks adapted Brat Farrar for television as a three-part six-hour miniseries. The date of the story was shifted from the 1940s to the 1980s. See Brat Farrar at IMDb. (Move that to External Links?)

It was also loosely adapted in 1963 by Hammer Films as Paranoiac, but with some of the details changed: the Ashbys are wealthy by other means with no money problems, and no need to raise horses, plus there is no uncle coming to visit them. Also, the impostor who plays Tony is still an impostor, and not a long-lost cousin.

Publication history

~*year, country, publisher ISBN 1234567890, Pub date DD Month Year, binding~

Sources, references, external links, quotations

~references to sources etc~ ~include quotes or links to Wikiquote here~