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A Citizen of the Country is the third in Sarah Smith's trilogy that began with The Vanished Child and The Knowledge of Water. It is an epic work. Alexander Reisden lives in Paris with his wife Perdita and his toddler son Toby in the year 1911. He is the head of Jouvet, an institute that specializes in treating mental illness. A major client is Count Andre Montfort, who creates the character Necrosar for his Grand Necropolitan Theatre du Monde. Andre also writes the plays for the theatre, always about horror. Reisden has treated Andre, but thinks the theatre is good for him, which disgusts Andre's adoptive father, Maurice Cyron, a soldier, a hero of France, and an actor himself. Cyron persuaded Andre to marry Sabine, a young sorceress, but Andre is convinced she tried to poison him on their honeymoon. He has as little as possible to do with her. Most of the story takes place at Andre's ancient castle, Montfort. Cyron, Andre, and others are making a Revolutionary-era movie called Citizen Mabet. Reisden takes care of Andre as well as acting in the picture. It is a major production and Montfort is crowded with all the people needed for such an effort. Suspicious things take place. One man is found dead near the castle's sacred well; it may be murder or accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. A couple of weeks later his girlfriend is also found dead, perhaps of food poisoning. Spies try to blackmail Reisden into telling the secret of Montfort, which Reisden isn't able to discover. The book is driven much more by atmosphere and characters than by plot. The movie-making, the old castle, the gothic horrors that Andre revels in, all lead to a rather cobweb-laden atmosphere. The sense of doom is hightened by the pre-World-War-I setting. It is best to read A Citizen of the Country after the other books in the series. I read it as a stand alone and got confused by some of the family relationships and situations. Sarah Smith is a literate and literary writer, and she here provides a highly original novel. Recommended.
Reviewed by Mary A. Axford, February 2003
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