Gyfford of Weare

UK Publisher: Sampson Low, Marston and Co. Ltd. (London). First published 1928

Review from Newport Vintage Books

In the darkness Sir Richard Guyfford, aware that some one is breaking into his house, stands rigid and alert. A leap, a faint cry followed by a fall, and light of a candle reveals his victim -- Lady Helen D'Arcy, reigning beauty and toast. She had come to steal a letter written to Sir Richard by a guileless and silly friend who repented of her folly. Taunting him for being the villain and reprobate that gossip asserted, Lady Helen leaves -- with the letter in her possession.

The Beginning of this delightful and typically Farnolesque novel of England in the early seventeen hundreds is but a taste of what is to follow. There is Cousin Julian, who more than deserves Richard's reputation, a group of shady gentlemen in Julian's power, an Irish duchess with a French name, and many another, equally picturesque.

Needless to say, the story is a network of intrigue and misunderstandings, all of which are handled with Mr. Farnol's extraordinarily skilful touch and with a literary charm reminiscent of his many successes.