The Mountebank

by William John Locke

The Mountebank is a man born in a circus tent, who had lived a fun makers life until the Great War came, who was a private at its beginning, a brigadier general at its end, who could then have married into the English aristocracy , but chose to honor until fate released him, the ties that bound him to a woman who had shared his ups and downs of fortune.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

William John Locke was a British novelist, dramatist and playwright, best known for his short stories. His works have been made into 24 motion pictures, the most recent of which was Ladies in Lavender, filmed in 2004 and starring Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Probably the most famous of Locke's books adapted to the screen was the 1918 Pickford Film Corporation production of Stella Maris starring Mary Pickford. In addition, four of his books were made into Broadway plays, two of which Locke wrote and were produced by Charles Frohman.

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Andrew Lackaday was born under circus tents. As he grew up (to a 6'4" skinny redhead) he perfected his trade in mimicry, sleight of hand, gymnastics and mountbankery (is that a word? :)

Then the war came. And the world changed. What people thought funny before the war was no longer amusing. How can it be? And besides, how can Lackaday go back to playing the fool in second rate music halls when weeks before he wore the stripes of a Brigadier General? The whole situation is ludicrous.

Then there's love. Lackaday holds the heart of a divine lady in the palm of his hand but unbeknownst to her, there's another woman, a coarse but kind circus performer who has stuck by him from the very beginning...

This was good. Quite a character study and not as improbable as it might look at first glance. The situations felt true and realistic. But Beloved Vagabond was better. This story needed a bit more humor in it. It was fairly dark. I wanted more lightheartedness. And if not lightheartedness I wanted more grit. Lackaday never talked about the war and I wanted to hear/ see a bit more how he was affected by it. But aside from the war putting the dampers on his livelihood he seems to have escaped unscathed. Was that even possible?

Still, a good read. I have a hardcopy (with nice d/j) but I tended to pick up my ereader for most of this reading because of the many French phrases I wanted to translate.

CONTENT:
PROFANITY: Mild, some D's.
MY RATING: G

[Creolecat]

The Side Show of Life (1924)

[Estott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this one. A vaudeville clown joins the army during WWI and becomes a general. He is involved in a military action where, through being given poor orders, lives are disastrously lost. He is given the option of forced retirement with the rank of a General- but no pay or pension. Attempting to return to the stage he finds that now he's no longer funny. The book is a nice blend of wit and pathos, such as a scent where an old acquaintance recognizes General Lackaday as "Le Petit Patou" and Lackaday, after ensuring privacy, puts on a juggling act in full uniform.