Valerie French (novel)

Valerie French is a 1923 adventure novel by the English author Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), a sequel to Anthony Lyveden. It was first published in monthly instalments in The Windsor Magazine.[2]

Valerie French
1940 dustjacket
AuthorDornford Yates
GenreNovel
PublisherWard Lock & Co[1]
Publication date
1923[1]
Media typePrint
Pages312[1]
Preceded byAnthony Lyveden 

Plot

Anthony Lyveden loses his memory, and confuses the two women who love him, Valerie French and André Strongi’th’arm.

Background

After completing Anthony Lyveden, the chance reading of an article in The Spectator convinced Mercer that his writing needed more gravitas, and he significantly altered his style for this volume to incorporate the systematic use of the colon. He also introduced a device that became his trademark – the words 'More' or 'Worse' standing alone between periods.[3] His biographer AJ Smithers commented, "Whether or not this was an improvement on his old style must be a matter of opinion."[4]

Chapters
Chapter Book Title Windsor Title Date Volume Issue Pages Illustrator
I A Pillar Of Salt A Pillar Of Salt December 1922 LVII 336 3-16 Norah Schlegel
II Leviathan Rogues And Vagabonds January 1923 LVII 337 130-142 Norah Schlegel
III Figs Of Thistles Figs Of Thistles February 1923 LVII 338 248-260 Norah Schlegel
IV Blind Alley Blind Alley March 1923 LVII 339 372-386 Norah Schlegel
V Fallacy Row Fallacy Row April 1923 LVII 340 483-494 Norah Schlegel
VI Poor Players Poor Players May 1923 LVII 341 603-614 Norah Schlegel
VII The Sieve Of Vanity The Sieve Of Vanity June 1923 LVIII 342 17-30 Norah Schlegel
VIII Straight Street Straight Street July 1923 LVIII 343 141-154 Norah Schlegel
IX The Swine's Snout The Swine's Snout August 1923 LVIII 344 261-275 Norah Schlegel
X Until The Day Break Until The Day Break September 1923 LVIII 345 405-419 Norah Schlegel

Illustrations

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

Critical reception

The editor of The Windsor Magazine reluctantly agreed to accept the book for publication.[5] Smithers, writing in 1982, was not enthusiastic either, commenting that the seams show too clearly where the individual episodes have been padded out to the required length by moralising.[5] He found both Lyveden and Miss French to be austere characters to whom it is impossible to warm, and felt that Mercer preferred the dog in his story to any of his human characters – and that he was probably right.[6]

References
  1. "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. Smithers 1982, p. 103.
  3. Smithers 1982, pp. 110–111.
  4. Smithers 1982, p. 111.
  5. Smithers 1982, p. 112.
  6. Smithers 1982, pp. 111–112.

Bibliography
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