E F Benson

Robin Linnet E F Benson

The book starts with a reference to Damon and Pythias, which in the Victorian age -- and apparently also into the first few decades of the 20th century, given this book's publication date -- was code for same-sex love. Here the love that dare not speak its name (but almost does, as is characteristic of Benson's work) is between Robin and his best buddy from (Eton and then) Cambridge. But the bond between the two young men is completely incidental to the main plot: in fact, as the story progresses, it turns out it is primarily about Robin's mother, the rather wonderful Lady Grote and how, when WW1 upsets her pleasure-seeking existence and demands something more of her, she manages to step up to the occasion. The book has excellent characterisation, and is beautifully written, with witty dialogue, lyrical descriptions of the natural world, and an ending a tad too edifying for modern sensibilities. (Aleardo Zanghellini)