Brat Farrar

The Return of Patrick Ashby
Review of the Arrow paperback edition (2009) of the 1949 original

Josephine Tey is one of the classic mystery writers and the author of the genre-bending time-crossing The Daughter of Time (1949) where her regular detective Inspector Grant investigates the supposed crimes of England's Richard III through historical documents.

Brat Farrar is one of Tey's few non-Inspector Grant books. She still makes a few genre-bending steps by revealing the main character's impersonation deception at the front end. Despite that revelation early on, there is still a constant level of suspense and increasing danger throughout the book. You are wondering whether the deception can be maintained and whether there are people who know show more more than they will reveal. And you wonder whether there are some who definitely know that Brat Farrar could not possibly be the lost heir Patrick Ashby, and there is only one possible reason that they could know that. show less

On the eve of his twenty-first birthday, Simon Ashby is poised to inherit Latchetts, a very profitable horse farm in the south of England. But then his older twin brother Patrick comes home. Patrick, who was presumed dead by suicide at the age of thirteen.

Patrick is, in fact, an orphan named Brat Farrar who has an uncanny resemblance to Simon. Brat has been carefully and expertly coached in all things Patrick, and he's so successful that he's welcomed back into the Ashby family.

It looks as though Brat is going to be able to pull off the deception until old secrets emerge that put not only his plan but also his life in danger.

~

For the most part, Golden Age mystery writers leave me cold. There is one exception, however: Josephine Tey. Her show more originality of thought, her dialogue, her characters, her subtlety... she just suits my mystery-loving mind right down to the ground. Brat Farrar, like Tey's The Daughter of Time, is considered to be one of the best mysteries ever written, and I'm not going to argue with this assessment.

There's something about how Tey lets us in on the con from the beginning. We know Brat is not Patrick Ashby, but as we see things through his eyes, and as we see the effect he has on the people around him, we almost want to flout the law and let him assume Patrick's place for time and all eternity.

Let's see... we know Brat is an imposter, and it's really not all that difficult to deduce what really happened to Patrick eight years ago. The real mystery is how everything is going to turn out for Brat. We know he's done wrong, but we still want him to be happy. We still want him living at Latchetts. And as for Latchetts, even Dick Francis couldn't do a better job at depicting a horse farm.

After thoroughly enjoying Brat Farrar, I have to wonder why there hasn't been a modern film adaptation of it because it would be perfect. What I don't have to wonder about is which Josephine Tey mystery I will be savoring next. I am slowly working my way through her books and enjoying myself every step of the way. show less

Brat Farrar at first appears to be the usual impostor-pretending-to-be-the-missing-heir story, but soon becomes far more than that. Brat (a corruption of "Batholomew") Farrar was raised in an orphanage and lived a rough life out west in America before drifting back to England. His passion is horses, but it's next to impossible to get work in a horse barn in England. When a shady actor/con man mistakes him for the heir of the Ashby estate, the two work together to create a convincing story (though not without Brat's conscience giving him some trouble).

The original heir to the Ashby property, Patrick Ashby, committed suicide at age 13 after their parents were killed in a car accident. Patrick's body was never found but he left a note show more asking the family's forgiveness. Aunt Bee took charge of the family (Patrick's twin brother Edward and sisters Eleanor, Jane, and Ruth) and the farm until Edward would turn 21. The problem was, Brat showed up the week before the birthday as Patrick Ashby, claiming that he had merely run away. And a complicated family drama ensues. What really did happen to Patrick Ashby? And can Brat continue to squash his conscience and take an inheritance that was never his?

This is the weakest of Tey's mysteries that I've read so far, but it's still quite good. It's one of those stories that is so engaging that the actual plot seems rather obvious in hindsight, but you didn't think so at all while you were reading. The characters are, as usual with Tey, very well-drawn and you are pulled into their struggles. I very much enjoyed this story — recommended! show less

‘Brat Farrar’ is an impressively tense mystery. The plotting is extremely adroit and the characters very intriguing. As the book starts, a young man claiming to be a long-lost relative reappears and the Ashby family of rural gentry must decide whether to accept him or not. The reader knows from the start that the titular character is an imposter, thus sharing his fear of discovery and guilt for misleading a family he grows to love. The characterisation is witty and has dated hardly at all; the women are pleasingly practical. Brat Farrar, the narrator, is delightfully enigmatic yet sympathetic. Even though I have no interest in horse riding, Tey somehow makes it involving. Once I’d got twenty pages in, I was hooked.

I show more uncharacteristically managed to guess the twist quite early on, so was on tenterhooks to see whether my hunch was correct. As soon as Simon met Brat-as-Patrick, I theorised that Simon had killed the real Patrick. Then I wondered if Patrick had killed Simon, or witnessed his accidental death, then taken his place for some reason. When Brat began to suspect Simon’s murderousness, I returned to my initial hypothesis. And it proved to be right! This made the ending especially satisfactory. I also liked that things weren’t tied up too neatly although I did wonder what happened to Alec Loding. Any comeuppance? How would he even find out what happened to Brat? What a satisfying little mystery novel, written in an elegant, understated style. show less

Josephine Tey’s best known for her mysteries featuring the suave Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant, particularly The Daughter of Time; however, Brat Farrar has to be her best book. The novel, which deals with mistaken identity and how appearances can be deceiving — on many levels — builds such suspense that you can’t put the book down. That’s such a cliché, I know, but, in the case of Brat Farrar, it’s actually true.

By chance, British-born orphan Brat Farrar gets the chance to pose as the long-lost heir to a horse stable in the English countryside. Brat has spent the last years as a cowboy in France, other parts of Europe and America. On Brat’s return to England, in a move reminiscent of The Prince and the Pauper, a show more distant relative of the heir, Alex Loding, realizes that Brat’s the spitting image of the missing heir, Patrick Ashby. Alex drills Brat on the Ashby family and directs the imposture where Brat would reclaim Patrick’s legacy.

Thirteen-year-old Patrick disappeared eight years and was presumed a suicide. Since then the estate, The Latchetts, was to go to Patrick’s fraternal and slightly younger twin, the mercurial Simon. Needless to say, Simon’s none too happy to see his long-lost brother, but Aunt Beatrice — along with a team of lawyers — happily accept Brat as Patrick. Despite the initial subterfuge, the reader comes to sympathize with Brat. Will Brat be able to keep up the deception? And what really happened to Patrick those many years ago?

Despite having been published more than 60 years ago, Brat Farrar holds up magnificently: Tey does an amazing job keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Don’t miss out on this classic suspense story! show less

Patrick Ashby disappeared 8 years previously when he was 13, and was presumed dead. Now, days before what would have been his 21st birthday, when he was due to inherit the Ashby fortune, a stranger has appeared, claiming to be Patrick. He narrates the story of his life lived under the pseudonym Brat Farrar, since the day of his disappearance. He knows things about Patrick's life and the Ashbys that only Patrick could have known, and he is the exact image of Patrick. However, we the readers know from the beginning that Brat is an imposter, and despite his involvement in the fraudulent scheme to assume the Ashby fortune, we like him. As Brat becomes more involved in the lives of the other Ashby family members, and suffers moral misgivings show more about his participation in the scheme, suspense is created as to how he is going to extricate himself. And then, there is also the issue of who would have inherited had Patrick not returned--does someone have reason to want Patrick/Brat dead?
This was a lovely, and unusual, classic crime novel. show less

This is one of Tey’s stand-alone mystery novels. Though it is set in the same “world” as the Inspector Grant books, he does not make an appearance.

The plot is told from the point of view of Brat Ferrar, an orphan, who is recognized by a young member of the local well-to-do as a dead ringer for a long-dead heir to the Ashby estate. Once Brat (nee Bartholemew) convinces himself to go along with the idea of defrauding the Ashbys, he makes contact with their lawyer, and is then welcomed into the Ashby family with open arms as the long-lost Patrick. The only exception is Simon, his twin brother. It is clear from the outset that Simon knows this is not Patrick. In addition, by the arrival of the eldest son and heir, Simon is now no show more longer slated to inherit the estate.

Excellent characters, strong clean writing. The story is unsentimental yet evokes deep feeling and suspense. There is enough discussion of horses for those so inclined (it had moments where I was reminded of early Dick Francis). Brat is a strong, plausible main protagonist whose choices, though hard, are clearly understood by the reader.

What Tey does so well in this book and [b:Miss Pym Disposes|243399|Miss Pym Disposes|Josephine Tey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348697101s/243399.jpg|517557] is to show the difficulty the protagonist has when confronted with a deep moral dilemma and in coming to a decision about which action to take. With the protagonist-point-of-view narration, you participate in his/her thoughts and concerns and reasoning process, and it adds tension to the plot. It also makes the main character deeper, richer and more believable. You feel for them in a way that one doesn’t usually for many characters found in mysteries.

Loved it. show less