Status Updates From Art and Artifice: A Novella

A delight! This bright & breezy comedy of manners,Owen Hebbett’s 1st novel is,I hope, the 1st of many. Beautifully paced, quietly hilarious & w/ a wonderful cast of characters-feels a little like being in a PG Wodehouse novel but w/ more nuance than slapstick! Butler Lancaster has the pedigree of Stevens in Remains of the Day, the savvy of Downton’s Carson but w/ a self-awareness that’s Hebbett’s own addition

Lancaster gives his opinion to Dudley which seems very unusual

Lancaster demonstrates his intelligence and doesn’t betray his loyalty by suggesting Lucian asks his wife why she isn’t using a certain bathroom after the flood.
Very clever

Almost slapstick comedic scene involving someone using a bathroom they weren’t supposed to be in , a chase and a bath bomb
Creative

Haven’t missed that there’s a romantic connection / chemistry between Paige Schopenhauer and Lancaster - although he keeps everyone at arms length
Lancaster is resentful to share time with her, with Liam

Didn’t see that one coming either, thought the flood situation had been resolved.

Was half expecting / pre-empting The Picture of Dorian Grey (in the impression of Dudley Peterkins)
Or another grotesque image of the whole household in the an image similar to Da Vinci’s Last Supper mural

Not a predictable narrative, will be sad to finish this book!

Example: comedy of manners

Do you think he'll be expecting us to come?”
"Do you expect me to?"
Dudley missed a beat …”Oh. Hmm."
Amelia sighed. "It's fine. No, Lancaster," she said, stopping me as I was making for the door.
"It's fine. We're fine. I can be the bigger person, Dudley." She looked at Dudley significantly.”

looking at each other & Lancaster finding nothing of significance on the ceiling

Didn’t predict the flood - thought the bath bombs were a throw away reference to Kandyss’s influencer ‘job’

How Lancaster collects himself:

I polished my glasses. I tugged on my waistcoat. I straightened my cuffs. I polished my glasses again, breathing long, deliberate breaths. I looked out across the rich, abundant gardens,

Ritualistic, habitual - not the right word, but he has something lacking and it’s sad, best intentions but can’t engage.

Dudley frustrated because he wants advice of what to do about Amelia’s mood - is Lancaster clueless or is it simply that he doesn’t want to interfere? It’s not his place.
Protests he’s not a married man so he doesn’t know how to speak to a wife, Dudley’s retort is “you’re a human!” - exasperated.
Lancaster the android? Surely it’s not that simple.

“Look at me. I appreciate finer things. Not like my idiot bimbo wife." Kandyss
Wouldn’t have given her credit for this level of perception

“The sounds of unqualified voices pretentiously judging society for its ills wafted through the open window of the studio to pollute the grounds with rhetorical smog.”

Commentary on what’s wrong with modern life, associated with characters who encapsulate what’s wrong with modern life

Pg 116 - a clue? Sleeping in his employer’s basement as a 9year old - is he an orphan /orphaned at a young age? Like something from Victorian literature
Would explain his unease around people - it’s a defence against losing those he cares for?
Paige explaining Amelia Peterkins behaviour- shows Lancaster doesn’t understand much about human nature - not nurtured in youth?

Paige makes a comment that she assumes Lancaster was born wearing a tie - due to him constantly fussing with his clothes and making sure his appearance is faultless- conveys his anxiety.