Lady L was a really great little novella in the great Penguin Archive editions I love, and I’m surprised I hadn’t picked it up sooner. It begins as a seemingly conventional English country-house story, but quickly unravels into something much more intriguing as the Grand Dame unveils the true nature of her past.
As Lady L begins to recount her life story, a sinister air of mystery forms around the summer pavilion, and the polished world she inhabits starts to crack open. Celebrated as a great beauty, albeit a slightly cruel one, Lady L is finally ready to tell the truth about her past in Paris.
What emerges is a past that’s completely at odds with her present life: wild, idealistic, and deeply unexpected by the hapless listener of her tale, her longtime admirer.
The book works as a romance and a mystery, but it’s also a thoughtful exploration of anarchism and idealism, with philosophical threads woven throughout. Gary handles these themes lightly, with wit and a sense of play, so they never weigh the story down.
I love the character of Lady L: beautiful, passionate, controlled, savvy, and ruthless when needed. She’s a survivor who is both compelling and cruel.
The prose is beautiful and you know you’re in the hand of an accomplished storyteller.
Gary wrote this in 1958 in English, writing it into French himself in 1963.
One word: revealing.
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