![]() ![]() John is kinder than his French counterpart and tries to put to right some wrongs. In fact, initially only the dog smells that something is wrong - though towards the end Jean's lover Béla also surmises his identity. He forms a bond with the count's daughter who accepts him utterly, but is otherwise very wise for her age. ![]() He encounters the comte's family and, while the story is very well told, and actions have their internal logic, he is accepted by the household far too readily for me, which I simply cannot believe would happen as it does here, notwithstanding that there are tensions and a lack of intimacy with his wife. The next morning he wakes up in a hotel room to find the comte has taken all his clothes and possessions and left him his own, forcing a swap of their lives on him. They drink and dine, compare experiences of dissatisfaction with their own lives, and English John cannot tear himself away. In a hotel bar in Le Mans he bumps into Jean comte de Gué, who is his exact physical double. ![]() Published and set in the 1950s, the titular character is John, a lonely Englishman staying in France who is an expert in Medieval French history, but who is affected with a vast ennui about his life and future. ![]() This is one of du Maurier's less well known novels, but it is very well written and atmospheric. ![]()
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