The Comforters (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Muriel Spark
- First Published: 1957
- Type of Work: Satire
- Time of Work: The 1950’s
- Setting: London and the surrounding countryside
- Principal Characters: Caroline Rose, Laurence Manders, Louisa Jepp, Georgina Hogg, Willi Stock (The Baron), Mervyn Hogarth, Eleanor Hogarth
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: 1950’s, Self-discovery, Suffering, Authors or writers, Polygamy or bigamy, England or English people, Christianity, Mysteries, London, Catholics or Catholic Church, Smuggling or smugglers, Precious metals or stones, Church or churches, Diamonds, Gems
- Locales: London, England
The Novel
The Comforters contains two broad plot lines: Laurence Manders’ discovery of his grandmother’s involvement in a diamond-smuggling operation, and Caroline Rose’s persecution by an invisible consciousness, a “Typing Ghost” that repeats and remarks upon her thoughts and actions. Much of what happens in The Comforters is connected to the attempts of Laurence and Caroline to solve these mysteries and to prove to each other that their perceptions are grounded in a reality external to themselves.
At the beginning of the novel, Laurence has...
[The entire page is 1449 words long]
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