Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York, Macmillan, 1950 [c1949]
Description
A unique and absorbing standalone mystery, Brat Farrar is an essential addition to the Josephine Tey collection. A stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizeable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerisms, appearance and every significant detail of Patrick's early life, up to his thirteenth year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself. It seems as if Brat is going to pull off this most incredible deception until old secrets emerge that threaten to jeopardise the imposter's plan and his very life.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Josephine Tey, along with Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, is my favorite mystery author. Sadly, she wasn't at all prolific. She only wrote seven novels before her death in 1952. What I find remarkable about them is that each really is so memorable and so different, yet each offers more than
Tey's probably best known for The Daughter of Time, and I'd probably name that one as my favorite Tey--that one is rather unique in mystery novels, with its fictional contemporary detective solving a centuries old real mystery about the Two Princes in the Tower and the true character of Richard III. But if you wish for a more traditional mystery, well, Brat Farrar for all it's very singular touches might be more your cup of tea and this is a close second favorite among the Tey mysteries.
The title character is an orphan who finds out he bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing English heir and so decides to impersonate the long lost Patrick Ashby. We meet the Ashby family in the first pages, so naturally you'd expect your sympathies would be with them, not the interloper. But Tey develops Brat in such a way you can't help but care about him. Because it's not the fortune that really attracts him--it's the chance to Belong. Before the book ends you feel tremendous sympathy for Brat, and the Ashbys, especially Aunt Bee who welcomes him into the fold.
There were so many small things that made this a pleasure to read. I loved the focus on horses, the breeding, riding, showing and life in a working stable. Also, Brat has an American background, having spent years there. So many times reading British authors tackling American characters or settings, they just don't ring true, or have this condescension about them--especially a book, like this one, written before 1950. Yet Tey writes of Americans and America with obvious insight and affection. And yet writes about England with such evident love you wish you lived there.
Purely as a mystery this more than passes muster. Rich characterizations, suspenseful, even moving, this is one of my favorite mysteries, one where its details stayed vividly in my mind decades after first reading it.
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just some intricate puzzle piece, and producing some jaw-dropping twist is usually beyond the point.Tey's probably best known for The Daughter of Time, and I'd probably name that one as my favorite Tey--that one is rather unique in mystery novels, with its fictional contemporary detective solving a centuries old real mystery about the Two Princes in the Tower and the true character of Richard III. But if you wish for a more traditional mystery, well, Brat Farrar for all it's very singular touches might be more your cup of tea and this is a close second favorite among the Tey mysteries.
The title character is an orphan who finds out he bears an uncanny resemblance to a missing English heir and so decides to impersonate the long lost Patrick Ashby. We meet the Ashby family in the first pages, so naturally you'd expect your sympathies would be with them, not the interloper. But Tey develops Brat in such a way you can't help but care about him. Because it's not the fortune that really attracts him--it's the chance to Belong. Before the book ends you feel tremendous sympathy for Brat, and the Ashbys, especially Aunt Bee who welcomes him into the fold.
There were so many small things that made this a pleasure to read. I loved the focus on horses, the breeding, riding, showing and life in a working stable. Also, Brat has an American background, having spent years there. So many times reading British authors tackling American characters or settings, they just don't ring true, or have this condescension about them--especially a book, like this one, written before 1950. Yet Tey writes of Americans and America with obvious insight and affection. And yet writes about England with such evident love you wish you lived there.
Purely as a mystery this more than passes muster. Rich characterizations, suspenseful, even moving, this is one of my favorite mysteries, one where its details stayed vividly in my mind decades after first reading it.
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LibraryThing member KimMR
A mystery involving an imposter and a possible crime set in and around a horse stud in the south of England, sometime after World War II, this is a novel which kept my interest from beginning to end. It's an intriguing work. On the one hand, the way in which the narrative develops and the
The major weakness of this work is that the ending feels rushed. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I would have liked somewhat more exposition. It felt a bit like Tey, having written a particular number of words, was keen to wrap up the novel as soon as she could. It didn't ruin the reading experience for me, though. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and although I didn't do so, I could easily have read it in one or two sittings.
I'm not sure why I read and enjoyed two novels by Josephine Tey when I was in my teens – “The Franchise Affair” and “The Daughter of Time” when I was in my teens and then didn't read another of her novels until last year, when I read two of the novels in her Alan Grant series. Neglecting Tey's novels for such a long time means that I missed out on a lot of reading enjoyment. On the other hand, not having read them before means that I still have that pleasure ahead of me.
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resolution of the mystery are extremely predictable. I'm not particularly skilled at solving literary crime before the protagonist charged with that task, but here I worked out what had happened and what was going to happen reasonably early in the piece. On the other hand, even though the novel contained no surprises, I still found it very suspenseful. Tey's prose is elegant, her characters are well-developed and she evokes a great sense of place and time. In addition, while I know nothing about the world of horses in which the novel is set, the way in which Tey writes about this world is entirely convincing. The major weakness of this work is that the ending feels rushed. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I would have liked somewhat more exposition. It felt a bit like Tey, having written a particular number of words, was keen to wrap up the novel as soon as she could. It didn't ruin the reading experience for me, though. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and although I didn't do so, I could easily have read it in one or two sittings.
I'm not sure why I read and enjoyed two novels by Josephine Tey when I was in my teens – “The Franchise Affair” and “The Daughter of Time” when I was in my teens and then didn't read another of her novels until last year, when I read two of the novels in her Alan Grant series. Neglecting Tey's novels for such a long time means that I missed out on a lot of reading enjoyment. On the other hand, not having read them before means that I still have that pleasure ahead of me.
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LibraryThing member craso
Brat Farrar, a youngman who has never known what it is like to belong in a family, impersonates a member of the Ashby clan who was thought to have committed suicide eight years earlier. The Ashbys welcome him back thinking he ran away from home. The only member who isn't thrilled with his return is
This was a wonderful mystery novel. I enjoyed reading it. Brat is a very sympathetic character, even though he should be the villain of the story he is actually the hero. His whole reason for the deception is because he wants to work with horses on the Ashby's horse ranch. He doesn't care about the money. You don't want him to be discovered, because he needs the family so much and the family needs him as well. The Ashbys all genuinely care for one another, except for the egotistical Simon. The author compares Simon's personality to an award winning horse who, although beautiful, tries to harm his riders. A very well written novel.
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Simon. He was just a few days away from inheriting the family estate when Brat appeared. Is he just jealous of his older twin brother or is there more to it?This was a wonderful mystery novel. I enjoyed reading it. Brat is a very sympathetic character, even though he should be the villain of the story he is actually the hero. His whole reason for the deception is because he wants to work with horses on the Ashby's horse ranch. He doesn't care about the money. You don't want him to be discovered, because he needs the family so much and the family needs him as well. The Ashbys all genuinely care for one another, except for the egotistical Simon. The author compares Simon's personality to an award winning horse who, although beautiful, tries to harm his riders. A very well written novel.
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LibraryThing member dreamingtereza
I was somewhat disappointed by this slow moving and predictable "mystery." Its serendipitous ending has all the coincidence of a Dickens novel without the accompanying finesse and resolution. Tey's elaborate characterization seems to be the novel's one redeeming aspect.
LibraryThing member reannon
Another old favorite that withstands re-reading after many years.
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
Let me say, howFrom the very outset, the reader knows that Brat Farrar will not turn down the offer (made for $$, of course) to turn him into Patrick Ashby, the long-missing heir to the Ashby fortune. Patrick was one of a set of twins, his brother Simon, within the next few weeks, will become the
I'm really not going to say more about this book because I don't want to give away anything to anyone who may be reading it.
Josephine Tey is one of my favorite writers, and probably would have gone on to more greatness had she not died. Brat Farrar is not my favorite of her works, but it is quite good all the same. I can recommend it to mystery readers, especially those (like me) who enjoy a good British mystery. Not a cozy by any stretch!
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master of Latchetts, the ancestral home of the Ashbys, with all the financial perks that go along with its ownership. So Brat is carefully groomed and tutored in the life of the missing Patrick, and when he's ready, he introduces himself as such to the Ashby family attorney. Eventually, he arrives back at Latchetts, and is put to the test. But soon he begins wonder what actually happened to the real Simon.I'm really not going to say more about this book because I don't want to give away anything to anyone who may be reading it.
Josephine Tey is one of my favorite writers, and probably would have gone on to more greatness had she not died. Brat Farrar is not my favorite of her works, but it is quite good all the same. I can recommend it to mystery readers, especially those (like me) who enjoy a good British mystery. Not a cozy by any stretch!
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LibraryThing member chenko
This is an amazing story. It's about a tramp named Brat Farrar who was accidently found by Simone on the street. Simone let him pretend to be his brother who suicided 8 years ago. A tramp then got access to a rich family, he became to enjoy the new life and forgot what he was. Later, Brat found
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something wrong a secret about Simone. The pity is that I can guess the ending of the story while I am reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member Smiler69
The Ashby family, now composed of aunt Bee and the four remaining children of her deceased brother Bill, has known it's share of drama. First, with both the children's parents dying in a plane crash eight years ago, then with the presumed suicide of firstborn son Patrick, who has disappeared one
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year later leaving behind a cryptic suicide note. The Ashbys are the owners of Latchetts, a centuries-old family estate in the fictional village of Clare, near the south coast of England, and have been breeding and selling horses for generations. Things have been difficult financially for aunt Bee and the children since the parents have been gone, but Patrick's twin brother Simon, who's twenty-first birthday is imminent, is soon to inherit Latchetts and a large trust fund left by his mother. Meanwhile, young Brat Farrar is approached on a London street by Alec Loding, an unsuccessful actor and a rogue who happens to be very intimate with the Ashby family. Brat is a dead ringer for the presumably deceased Patrick Ashby, and Loding sees an opportunity to make a fortune by recruiting Brat to pass off as Patrick, by claiming that he had run away for all those years and has now decided to return to the fold. He trains the young man thoroughly, teaching him about every detail that he should know about to pass himself off successfully and come into the inheritance. Brat is then sent off to integrate the Ashby family, with the instruction that he should simply act as himself. A compelling and riveting story which holds the reader captive and wondering all along at what moment Brat might slip up and reveal himself and as impostor. But the real treat is that Brat is in for a surprise which no training could have prepared him for. I found one section about horse racing too lengthy and detailed for my liking, but otherwise much recommended for Tey's wonderful writing and dialogue, and a really good yarn. Show Less
LibraryThing member raizel
There's not much mystery here, but I like the characters so much that it doesn't matter. Like E.L. Konigsberg's Father's Arcane Daughter, someone approaches a family claiming to be the child who disappeared many years before. And like that book, what is most compelling are the many ways that this
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stranger changes the family's dynamics, and not whether the newcomer is the authentic long-lost child. Show Less
LibraryThing member Eat_Read_Knit
Foundling Brat Farrar has been carefully coached to impersonate twenty-year-old Patrick Ashby, the heir to a significant fortune who has been missing, presumed dead, for eight years. But who is he really? If he's not Patrick, why does he look so much like Simon Ashby, Patrick's surviving twin? And
A superbly-drawn set of characters and a wonderful story of suspense. Not a mystery in the standard mould, but a very entertaining puzzle with a very tense denouement. Only the slight hints of soppiness and cliché in the last couple of chapters stop it from scoring a perfect 5.
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what really happened on the cliffs eight years before?A superbly-drawn set of characters and a wonderful story of suspense. Not a mystery in the standard mould, but a very entertaining puzzle with a very tense denouement. Only the slight hints of soppiness and cliché in the last couple of chapters stop it from scoring a perfect 5.
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LibraryThing member delphica
(#38 in the 2003 Book Challenge)
I love Josephine Tey, but never picked this up before because the description always left me cold. A young man pretends to be the son of an English family so that he can "return" to take his place as the family heir. Someone else in the family knows this person is an
Grade: B+
Recommended: Very much to people who enjoy English family type novels, especially those who like things like the Cazalet Chronicles, although it's not as cozy as Mitford books (not Nancy, the Jan Karon ones)
I love Josephine Tey, but never picked this up before because the description always left me cold. A young man pretends to be the son of an English family so that he can "return" to take his place as the family heir. Someone else in the family knows this person is an
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imposter, and plays along. This is more or less what they put on the back of the book, and it always struck me as very cruel. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this book actually manages to be kindly, and sort of sweet. Tey is known for her mysteries -- this book is rather mysterious, but not a detective novel.Grade: B+
Recommended: Very much to people who enjoy English family type novels, especially those who like things like the Cazalet Chronicles, although it's not as cozy as Mitford books (not Nancy, the Jan Karon ones)
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LibraryThing member elwyne
A brilliant story! Great twists and turns. I want more of this character; it ended too soon and too abruptly for me.
LibraryThing member RachelfromSarasota
This is my absolute favorite of all Tey's books. I reread it about once a year, and find that it wears phenomenally well. It involves twins, an assumed identity, an inheritance, and family tragedy -- and Tey takes these well-worn elements and weaves a brilliantly constructed, fascinating story out
The characters are beautifully drawn and individualized, and if the plot seems a tad familiar, it is important to remember that Tey wrote this back in 1948/9.
A great read, and highly recommended.
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of them all.The characters are beautifully drawn and individualized, and if the plot seems a tad familiar, it is important to remember that Tey wrote this back in 1948/9.
A great read, and highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member sumik
Love this book. How could I not? A mystery of mistaken identies and amnesia or possibly amnesia AND horses to boot.
LibraryThing member ccayne
I have not read many "classic" mysteries and Tey was cited as one to read. I loved it. It was beautifully written, the characters were complex and wonderful and the added bonus for me was the role of the horses.
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
A beloved old friend, I fell back on this when I found myself stuck in a reader's block. Written in 1949 it remains, but for some outdated attitudes and non-PC-ness, as fresh and vibrant as anything being produced nowadays, and a damned sight better written and plotted than most. It's a case of
Josephine Tey wrote far too little during her short career as a crime writer, but everything she left us is a small, perfect gem.
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imposture and mistaken identity but, in a twist on the conventions, it's the imposter who engages the reader's sympathies – with reason, as it later becomes all too clear. Also, there are horses. It's classified as a detective novel, but with not a detective in sight; only people, and their ways and means and manners, at their best and at their worst. And, at the heart of it, deep and abiding love – for family, for home, for a way of life fast vanishing – but hatred too, and bitter, monstrous jealousy, with all its consequences. Josephine Tey wrote far too little during her short career as a crime writer, but everything she left us is a small, perfect gem.
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LibraryThing member LaurieRKing
Tey does things with her apparently simple plots that no one, but no one else can manage. A deliciously sly woman.
LibraryThing member mstrust
Brat is a young man and orphan who's been roaming the world. Returning to England after several years in America working with horses, Brat is persuaded to pass himself off as Patrick Ashby, the missing heir to an extensive horse property. Welcomed back by the shocked Ashby family, Brat begins to
This was for the group read but I owned the book already and needed to get around to it. I've been a fan of Tey's since reading A Daughter of Time and that one is still my favorite so far, but this is a good one too. Really, the mystery comes very near the end of the book unless you count the question of whether Brat will get away with his ruse or if his guilty conscience will cause him to confess. The majority of the book is in seeing how each family member reacts to the return of their brother and how Brat reacts to having a family for the first time in his life.
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wonder what really happened to Patrick.This was for the group read but I owned the book already and needed to get around to it. I've been a fan of Tey's since reading A Daughter of Time and that one is still my favorite so far, but this is a good one too. Really, the mystery comes very near the end of the book unless you count the question of whether Brat will get away with his ruse or if his guilty conscience will cause him to confess. The majority of the book is in seeing how each family member reacts to the return of their brother and how Brat reacts to having a family for the first time in his life.
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
Long on my to-read list, I finally got around to Brat Farrar. And it was excellent: well written, well plotted, psychologically interesting. It feels like it could be an even better movie than book, although it does not seem like one has been made.
The setup is an English family, the children are
The setup is an English family, the children are
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orphans being raised by their aunt, the oldest son is about to turn 21 and get his inheritance, when someone claiming to be his (slightly) older twin who was presumed drowned in a suicide eight years earlier appears. There is no mystery about the claimant: the reader knows it is false and instead Brat Farrar is pretending to be the twin in part to collect the fortune, but also to be around all of their horses. The interest lies in what happens with this and the question of whether he will be discovered, how, and what impacts all of it will have on what seems to be a closely knit family. Show Less
LibraryThing member nosajeel
Long on my to-read list, I finally got around to Brat Farrar. And it was excellent: well written, well plotted, psychologically interesting. It feels like it could be an even better movie than book, although it does not seem like one has been made.
The setup is an English family, the children are
The setup is an English family, the children are
Show More
orphans being raised by their aunt, the oldest son is about to turn 21 and get his inheritance, when someone claiming to be his (slightly) older twin who was presumed drowned in a suicide eight years earlier appears. There is no mystery about the claimant: the reader knows it is false and instead Brat Farrar is pretending to be the twin in part to collect the fortune, but also to be around all of their horses. The interest lies in what happens with this and the question of whether he will be discovered, how, and what impacts all of it will have on what seems to be a closely knit family. Show Less
LibraryThing member LARA335
Interesting plot, and the characters were charming. This could have worked even better as an epic - I did find (except for the horse-show) much of the action telescoped and given as a summary.
LibraryThing member Figgles
A family story with a twist - a young man is persuaded to impersonate a missing heir, but is plunged into a darker mystery than he expected. Lovely descriptions of family life amongst a hard-working horse breeding English family contrast with the darker story. Well worth reading.
LibraryThing member raschneid
Cozy and incredibly English. Provides interesting and disturbing subtext for the novel in which I first encountered it (Jo Walton's Among Others).
LibraryThing member bunwat
Very, very good. Beautifully portrayed how good and evil and profound moral choices don't come wearing black and white hats and standing under a thunderous sky, they sneak in amidst the ordinary tenor of days. Like a kaleidescope sliding into place you suddenly realize, oh wait, that dull little
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person buttering toast over there is the font of kindness and decency on which this whole family is built. And that perfectly charming person polishing that table has no conscience. Show Less
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
Josephine Tey was a writer of novels which included a mystery. She was more interested in character and story than in creating a “puzzle” for the reader. This is especially true of her two mysteries that don’t feature her detective Alan Grant, Miss Pym Disposes and Brat Farrar. The unfolding
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and development of the characters is what drives the story and I consider it part of Tey’s genius that it is not long before she has the reader rooting for a character who is doing something illegal and ethically reprehensible. Perhaps it is because the character is aware of his culpability and unsure himself why he embarked on this precarious adventure. I found this an intriguing story and enjoyable read. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1949
Physical description
219 p.; 21 cm