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Dulcie Schwartz has more than her share of tribulations. A PhD English student at Harvard, she is saddled with Professor William Bullock for her dissertation director, a cranky, demanding professor who wrote a major work twenty years ago, leading to an endowed chair in the department; he hasn't written a word since, but keeps promising a new book. The subject of Dulcie's dissertation is THE RAVAGES OF UMBRIA, a fragment of a Gothic Romance novel she has uncovered. Unfortunately, she can't find the name of the author of the book, nor can she unearth a complete copy. To compound Dulcie's woes, after she leaves Professor Bullock's home, following a very unproductive session, she stumbles over the body of Cameron Dessay, a recent recruit to the English department from Comparative Literature. As Dulcie tries to find the person responsible for Cameron's death, she receives sage - if often enigmatic - advice from the specter of her beloved and wise cat, Mr Grey. Having toiled in the groves of academe for over thirty years, I can vouch for Simon's grasp of that world. Plagiarism is all too frequent, as is Professor Bullock's habit of passing off as his own the research done by a graduate student. While the plot is engrossing, the book's strength is in the characters. Simon has crafted a very well defined cast...all of whom are dependent on Professor Bullock for their careers. Dulcie is charming, if often befuddled; her usually genial office mate, Lloyd, is protecting Professor Bullock in order to keep his financial grants; Polly, another graduate student, who is Bullock's housekeeper and gofer, is sadly ageing without degree or prospects. Roger Gosham, the craggy and rude bookbinder and rare book dealer lives on Bullock's patronage. Most engaging are the two adorable cats, the wise, old Mr Grey and the feisty kitten who has attached herself to Dulcie. Harvard may never be the same. § Mary Elizabeth Devine taught English Literature for 35 years, is co-author of five books about customs and manners around the world and lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, May 2010
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