The Tents of Wickedness (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Peter De Vries
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Plot: Comedy of manners
- Time of Work: The late 1950’s
- Setting: Decency, Connecticut
- Principal Characters: Charles (Chick) Swallow, Crystal Swallow, Elizabeth (Sweetie) Appleyard, Charles Appleyard, Mme Piquepuss, Nickie Sherman, Lila Sherman
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Literature, New England, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Detectives, Connecticut, Newspapers
- Locales: Connecticut, Decency, CT
The Novel
Toward the end of the second section of the book, Charles Swallow recounts a vision: “With that odd unreality we experience in dreams, I seemed unable to do anything right, but bungled whatever I put my hand to.” Though the events of the dream are indeed unreal, the incompetence that they expose is not.
As the Picayune Blade’s “Lamplighter,” Swallow advises those who write to him in distress. He takes this role of Dutch uncle seriously and so cannot refuse Charles Appleyard’s plea for help with his daughter. Years earlier, Swallow and...
[The entire page is 1834 words long]
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