Anthony Lyveden

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Anthony Lyveden
Anthony Lyveden dustjacket.jpg
1925 dustjacket
Author Dornford Yates
GenreNovel
Publisher Ward Lock & Co [1]
Publication date
1921 [1]
Media typePrint
Pages308 [1]
Followed by Valerie French  

Anthony Lyveden is a 1921 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer). It was first published in monthly instalments in The Windsor Magazine . [2] The book was Mercer's first attempt at a full-length novel, and was succeeded by Valerie French which continued the story of the main characters.

Contents

Plot

Anthony Lyveden DSO, a destitute ex-officer, is forced to take a job as a footman at the Gramarye estate. The estate's owner, Colonel Winchester, becomes mad and leaves Lyveden in charge under a power of attorney. The situation drives Lyveden himself to madness.

Background

The author was not a happy man at the time, his father having committed suicide early in 1921, and Mercer's biographer AJ Smithers reports a suggestion that at this date he was not far from suffering a nervous breakdown. [3] He defied The Windsor Magazine's tradition that every episode should end with a lovers' meeting, though he was pressed hard by the magazine's editor. [4]

Chapters

ChapterBook TitleWindsor TitleDateVolumeIssuePagesIllustrator
IThe Way Of A ManIn The First PlaceJanuary 1921LIII313101-116Norah Schlegel
IIThe Way Of A MaidIn The Second PlaceFebruary 1921LIII314205-220Norah Schlegel
IIIThe Voice Of The TurtleIn The Third PlaceMarch 1921LIII315311-324Norah Schlegel
IVThe Golden BowlLivery Of SeisinApril 1921LIII316411-425Norah Schlegel
VAn High Look And A Proud HeartA Month's WagesMay 1921LIII317517-531Norah Schlegel
VIThe Comfort Of ApplesGramaryeJune 1921LIV3183-16Norah Schlegel
VIINehustanGrey MatterJuly 1921LIV319109-124Norah Schlegel
VIIIThe Power Of The DogEx-Parte MotionsAugust 1921LIV320223-239Norah Schlegel
IXVanity Of VanitiesThe Return Of The SpiritSeptember 1921LIV321337-355Norah Schlegel

Illustrations

The illustrations from the Windsor stories by Norah Schlegel (1879-1963) were not included in the book version.

Critical reception

Smithers considered Anthony Lyveden to be a book of varying quality, and too episodic to be truly called a novel. [5] He criticised the characterisations, suggesting that a reader might with some justice think the hero a pompous prig, one of the young women a humourless, suspicious creature, and the other a trollop manquée. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornford Yates</span> English writer and novelist (1885–1960)

Cecil William Mercer, known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous, some thrillers, were best-sellers during the Interwar Period.

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<i>The Courts of Idleness</i> 1920 short story collection by Dornford Yates

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<i>Berry and Co.</i> 1921 short story collection by Dornford Yates

Berry and Co. is a 1921 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, his third book, featuring his recurring characters Bertram ('Berry') Pleydell, his wife and cousin Daphne Pleydell, Daphne's brother Boy Pleydell, another cousin Jonathan ('Jonah') Mansel, and Jonah's younger sister Jill Mansel. The group of five - Berry, Daphne, Boy, Jonah and Jill - are collectively 'Berry and Co.'

<i>Jonah and Co.</i> 1922 short story collection by Dornford Yates

Jonah and Co. is a 1922 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>Adèle and Co.</i> 1931 novel by Dornford Yates

Adèle and Co. is a 1931 comic novel by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters. This was Yates's first full-length Berry novel, following several earlier Berry short story collections. It was the first Berry book to be published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton, and the first not to be serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>And Berry Came Too</i> 1936 short story collection by Dornford Yates

And Berry Came Too is a 1936 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>The Berry Scene</i> 1947 short story collection by Dornford Yates

The Berry Scene is a 1947 collection of comic short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, featuring his recurring 'Berry' characters.

<i>Blind Corner</i> (novel) 1927 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blind Corner is a 1927 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. The book was the first in his Chandos thriller series and is narrated in the first person by Richard Chandos. In addition to Chandos and his servant Bell, the novel features a cast of characters who recur in many of the later books: George Hanbury and Jonathan Mansel; their respective servants Rowley and Carson; and Tester the Sealyham terrier. Mansel's character also appears as Jonah Mansel in the author's 'Berry' series of comic books and short stories, though he is not written for comic effect in this nor the later Chandos books.

<i>Perishable Goods</i> 1928 novel by Dornford Yates

Perishable Goods is a 1928 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the second in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blind Corner. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator), Jonathan Mansel and George Hanbury, with their respective servants Bell, Carson and Rowley.

<i>Blood Royal</i> 1929 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Blood Royal is a 1929 novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the third in his Chandos thriller series. The story features the recurrent characters Richard Chandos (narrator) and George Hanbury, with their servants Bell and Rowley. Jonathan Mansel does not appear in this book.

<i>Fire Below</i> 1930 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Fire Below is a 1930 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, the fourth in his Chandos thriller series and a sequel to Blood Royal. The book was published in the US under the title By Royal Command.

<i>Valerie French</i> (novel) 1923 adventure novel by Dornford Yates

Valerie French is a 1923 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates, a sequel to Anthony Lyveden. It was first published in monthly instalments in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>And Five Were Foolish</i> 1924 short story collection by Dornford Yates

And Five Were Foolish is a 1924 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, first published in The Windsor Magazine. The title is a reference to the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

<i>As Other Men Are</i> 1925 short story collection by Dornford Yates

As Other Men Are is a 1925 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates, first published in The Windsor Magazine. The title is a reference to the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.

<i>Maiden Stakes</i> 1928 short story collection by Dornford Yates

Maiden Stakes is a 1928 collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates originally written for The Windsor Magazine.

<i>The Stolen March</i> 1926 fantasy novel by Dornford Yates

The Stolen March is a 1926 fantasy novel by the English author Dornford Yates, first serialised in The Windsor Magazine.

<i>Summer Fruit</i> 1929 omnibus volume by Dornford Yates

Summer Fruit is a 1929 omnibus volume by the English author Dornford Yates containing the two novels Anthony Lyveden (1921) and Valerie French (1923).
It was published by Minton, Balch & Company of New York. No similar omnibus volume was published in the UK.

<i>This Publican</i> 1938 novel by Dornford Yates

This Publican is a 1938 novel by the English author Dornford Yates. It was first serialised as She Knew Not Mercy in Woman's Journal for November 1937 to March 1938, with illustrations by Forster.

<i>Period Stuff</i> 1942 story collection by Dornford Yates

Period Stuff is a collection of short stories by the English author Dornford Yates. Some were written in 1939 but not published in book form until 1942. Some of the tales had originally appeared in The Windsor Magazine and others in The Strand Magazine.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. Smithers 1982, p. 103.
  3. Smithers 1982, p. 104-105.
  4. 1 2 Smithers 1982, p. 105.
  5. Smithers 1982, p. 104.

Bibliography