Brat Farrar

Last updated

Brat Farrar
BratFarrar.jpg
First edition
Author Josephine Tey
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Peter Davies
Publication date
1949
Media typePrint
ISBN 978-0-671-50978-1

Brat Farrar is a 1949 crime novel by Josephine Tey, based in part on the Tichborne case.

Contents

Plot

The story is about 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 the late 1940s, after World War II.

The Ashby family consists of Beatrice Ashby ("Aunt Bee"), a spinster of about 50, and the four children of her late brother Bill: Simon, 20; Eleanor, 18–19 and the twins Jane and Ruth, 9.

Bill and his wife Nora died eight years earlier. Since then, the Ashbys have been short of money. Bee has kept the estate going by turning the family stable into a profitable business and combining breeding, selling and training horses with riding lessons. When Simon turns 21, he will inherit Latchetts and a large trust fund left by his mother.

Simon had a twin brother, Patrick, who was older than him by a few minutes, but soon after Bill and Nora died, Patrick had disappeared and left what was taken to be a suicide note.

The title character, Brat Farrar, is a young man recently returned to England from America. He was a foundling. At the age of 13, the orphanage placed him in an office job but he ran away instead. He ended up in the western US, where he worked at ranches and stables for several years and became an expert horseman, until a fall injured his leg, leaving him with a limp.

On a street in London, someone completely unknown to Brat greets him as "Simon". The stranger is Alec Loding, a second-rate actor. He knows the Ashby family intimately and sees a way to help his own fortunes.

Alec's idea is for Brat to impersonate Simon's missing twin, Patrick, and, as the elder brother, claim the trust and the estate. Alec remembers a great deal about the Ashbys, Latchetts and the village, which will allow him to coach Brat on all of the background details. In return, Brat will give him a share of the money. Brat is reluctant but eventually agrees, especially when he hears about the horses.

After two weeks of tutoring, Brat appears at the office of the Ashby family solicitor by saying he adopted the name "Brat Farrar" after he had run away. He gives his own 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. The family receives "Patrick" at Latchetts.

His presence leads to the discovery of Patrick's actual fate of being murdered by Simon. The final confrontation leaves Simon dead and Brat in hospital. There, Bee's Uncle Charles identifies Brat as an illegitimate son of Bee's wastrel cousin, Walter

Adaptations

A version was produced in 1950 and shown on television in the series "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse".

The novel was loosely adapted in 1963 by Hammer Films as Paranoiac , but some of the novel's details are changed in the film. The Ashbys are wealthy by other means with no money problems and so do not need to raise horses, the impostor who plays Tony is not a long-lost cousin and the character of Uncle Charles does not appear.

In 1986, the BBC and A&E Television Networks adapted Brat Farrar for television as a three-part miniseries. [1] The setting of the story was shifted from the 1940s to the 1980s.

The Oxford University Press made an adaptation of the original story to be sold to students. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tess of the dUrbervilles</i> 1891 novel by Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British illustrated newspaper The Graphic in 1891, then in book form in three volumes in 1891, and as a single volume in 1892. Although now considered a major novel of the 19th century, Tess of the d'Urbervilles received mixed reviews when it first appeared, in part because it challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England.

<i>After the Thin Man</i> 1936 film by W. S. Van Dyke

After the Thin Man is a 1936 American murder mystery comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and James Stewart. A sequel to the 1934 feature The Thin Man, the film presents Powell and Loy as Dashiell Hammett's characters Nick and Nora Charles. The film also features Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshal and Penny Singleton.

<i>First Among Equals</i> (novel) Novel by Jeffrey Archer

First Among Equals is a 1984 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer, which follows the careers and personal lives of four fictional British politicians from 1964 to 1991, with each vying to become Prime Minister. Several situations in the novel are drawn from Archer's own early political career in the British House of Commons, and the fictional characters interact with actual political figures from the UK and elsewhere including Winston Churchill, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, Douglas Hurd, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Gary Hart and Queen Elizabeth II.

<i>Puddnhead Wilson</i> 1894 American novel by Mark Twain

Pudd'nhead Wilson is a novel by American writer Mark Twain published in 1894. Its central intrigue revolves around two boys—one, born into slavery, with 1/32 black ancestry; the other, white, born to be the master of the house. The two boys, who look similar, are switched at infancy. Each grows into the other's social role.

<i>Brighton Beach Memoirs</i> 1984 play written by Neil Simon

Brighton Beach Memoirs is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon.

<i>Paranoiac</i> (film) 1963 British film by Freddie Francis

Paranoiac is a 1963 British psychological thriller film directed by Freddie Francis, and starring Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, and Alexander Davion. The screenplay, written by Jimmy Sangster, was based loosely on the 1949 crime novel Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey.

<i>Falconers Lure</i> 1957 novel by Antonia Forest

Falconer's Lure is a 1957 falconry-based novel by Antonia Forest. Falconer's Lure is the third book in the series, between The Marlows and the Traitor and End of Term.

<i>Company for Henry</i> 1967 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Company For Henry is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 12 May 1967 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title The Purloined Paperweight, and in the United Kingdom on 26 October 1967 by Barrie & Jenkins, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Stallion</span> Fictional horse

The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion after he comes into Alec's possession through a ship journey gone awry. Later books in the series furnish the Black's backstory. Shaytan is the Arabic word for "devil".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Matthews (actor)</span> English actor (1927–2014)

Francis Matthews was an English actor, best known for playing Paul Temple in the BBC television series of the same name and for voicing Captain Scarlet in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

<i>Eight Cousins</i> 1875 novel by Louisa May Alcott

Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. Eight Cousins was originally published as a serial in St. Nicholas. It is the story of Rose Campbell, who has been recently orphaned and resides with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family, until her guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad to take over her care. Through his unorthodox theories about child-rearing, she becomes happier and healthier while finding her place in her family of seven boy cousins and numerous aunts and uncles. She also makes friends with Phebe, her aunts' young housemaid, whose cheerful attitude in the face of poverty helps Rose to understand and value her own good fortune.

<i>Max Dugan Returns</i> 1983 film by Herbert Ross

Max Dugan Returns is a 1983 American comedy-drama film written by Neil Simon and directed by Herbert Ross. Starring Jason Robards in the title role along with Marsha Mason and Donald Sutherland, it marks the film debuts of both Sutherland's son Kiefer and Matthew Broderick, and is both the last of five Simon-Ross collaborations and the last of Simon's films starring Mason.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nora Walker</span> Fictional character from the television series Brothers & Sisters

Nora Walker is a fictional character on the ABC television series Brothers & Sisters. She is portrayed by veteran actress Sally Field. Nora is the main character of the series. Field was one of the two characters to appear in all the episodes of the series. She was listed in the Top 10 TV Moms by Film.com. Field won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series for her portrayal, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, nominated for two other Emmys, and nominated for three Golden Globes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Steele (actor)</span> American actor

Bob Steele was an American actor. He also was billed as Bob Bradbury Jr..

<i>Black Foxes</i> Novel by Sonya Hartnett

Black Foxes is a novel written by Sonya Hartnett and published in 1996. The story revolves around the life of Lord Tyrone Sully, his best friend Auguste Oscar Herringbone, and his much-loathed cousin Silke. in the 19th century, this book is split into three sections, each covering a period of his life, and leaving gaps between each section.

<i>Duel in the Jungle</i> 1954 film

Duel in the Jungle is a 1954 British adventure film combining the detective film with the jungle adventure genres directed by George Marshall and starring Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain and David Farrar. It was shot at the Elstree Studios near London and on location in Southern Africa. The film's sets were designed by the art director Terence Verity. It was produced by Associated British in conjunction with Marcel Hellman. It was released in the United States by Warner Bros.

<i>The Ivy Tree</i> 1961 novel by Mary Stewart

The Ivy Tree is a novel of romantic suspense by English author Mary Stewart. Her sixth novel, it was published in 1961 in Britain by Hodder & Stoughton and in 1962 in the United States by William Morrow. As usual with the author, the novel is narrated in first person by a bold and intelligent young woman, and the setting is picturesque - in this case, Northumberland.

<i>The Golovlyov Family</i> 1880 novel by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

The Golovlyov Family is a novel by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, written in the course of five years, first published in 1880, and generally regarded as the author's magnum opus.

<i>The Bottom of the Bottle</i> (novel)

The Bottom of the Bottle is a novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon. The original French version Le Fond de la Bouteille, written in 1948 when Simenon was living in Arizona, appeared in 1949. The novel is among his romans durs, a term roughly translated as hard, or harrowing, novels; it was used by Simenon for what he regarded as his serious literary works.

The Clouded Image (<i>Playhouse 90</i>) 9th episode of the 2nd season of Playhouse 90

"The Clouded Image" was an American television play broadcast on November 7, 1957, as part of the second season of the CBS television series Playhouse 90. James P. Cavanaugh wrote the teleplay, as an adaptation of Josephine Tey's novel Brat Farrar. Franklin Schaffner directed, and Martin Manulis was the producer. Farley Granger, Judith Anderson, and Vincent Price starred.

References