Great Mischief

by Josephine Pinckney

On the surface, Timothy Partridge was the mildest of men. But within him dwelt the most shocking notions, desires he did not dare to whisper even to himself.

All this might have remained forever secret. But one day a very unusual woman appeared. She had an even stranger proposition. Timothy Partridge's headlong descent into Hell had begun...

Genres: Fiction, Classics

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the pandemic as an impetus to clear out my library, I picked this up to read again before sending it out into the world. I remembered enjoying it many years ago, when it came to me in a box of estate sale books. It was just as good the second time around.

For me, the book falls into the magical realism genre. Suspend disbelief, go where the author takes you and enjoy Timothy's guilty pleasure in exploring a world he has been taught to dread and fear. Also, read a bit about the author, and her love of the Carolinas, to get a better understanding of the story.

(I find it interesting that the only readers who took time to review are ones who didn't much care for it. I'll bring the average stars up a bit.)

[ADD · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this book particularly engaging. Reminded me a little of the movie Secret Window, where the protagonist is clearly going insane. Evidenced by the end of the story when he is talk to (or at) one of his last remaining relatives following an earthquake, which everyone is interpreting as the end of the world, and he mentions the girl who has been leading him on his downward spiral. His relative responds with an interrogative clearly showing that she never existed as no one has seen her except the protagonist, Timothy. Too much moralizing in this story to be real entertainment.

[Meli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice to have read something from a female southern writer of this era. Slow but imaginative tale.

[Diane Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book after reading another one where the main character moved into Ms. Pinckney's HOME. And not knowing anything of the author decided I should remedy that. This being the smaller or shorter of the two I choose to read I began with it. It is SLOW. It takes a minute to get going, and it moves a mere breath faster after its start. BUT the writing is well done. It is not very long before you begin to question the sanity of the main character. And the further you read the further you draw on that conclusion. There is a lot of Overtly MORAL questioning that goes on, and for someone unsure of where they stand on any given issue of God/good vs Satan/evil you might find this a "stumbling block" on the "path of righteousness". HOWEVER, I did enjoy it, though it took me a very long time to get through it as I had way to many other books distracting me from picking it back up. In the end, While I enjoyed it, it wasn't Outstanding, or something I would readily recommend to other readers. HOWEVER< if someone wanted to delve into writers of THAT era... that might enjoy this one. Its "different", than many others from the SOUTH and in this Writers "group" from the time period. Overall I would give it 2.5-3 stars. I would rate it PG simply due to the descriptions of HELL and Loss of life. It will not be staying on my shelves, but out into the world it will go.

[Amanda Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good slower read. It deals with the moral quandaries of good versus evil and what it means philosophically and religiously. Though it isn't a book trying to sell religion at you it's more so a glimpse into beliefs and stories of hell back in the 40s. Our main guy Timothy is dabbling in the dark arts and has a hard time deciding if it's really that bad or if it's still God's will.
Only 240 pages and can be knocked out in a day or so and I was pretty hooked the whole time so if you have it id definitely give it a go.
Fair warning though, the racial standards for what's acceptable had definitely not held up. It is to be expected from a southern author from 1948 but it has to be read through a historical lens otherwise it can be difficult to get through at times.

[Redderationem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dopo una prima parte che sembra ben promettere nella costruzione di quella che si mantiene nei confini di una lunga allucinazione individuale, il romanzo si perde in situazioni e speculazioni che di solito in romanzi di "genere" vengono portate avanti e concluse in modo più soddisfacente. E la Pinckney non era un'autrice di "genere".
Se poi tutto era concepito per leggere, a posteriori e da autrice locale, il terremoto di Charleston del 1886 come lo spalancarsi degli inferi...

[Super Piss Baby · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good book. From the cover I thought it was going to be a fantasy adventure but it threw me for a loop when it’s actually a romance between a man and a witch.