The Quincunx
Encyclopedia
The Quincunx is the epic first novel of Charles Palliser
. It takes the form of a Dickensian mystery set in early 19th century England, but Palliser has added the modern attributes of an ambiguous ending and unreliable narrator
s. Many of the puzzles that are apparently solved in the story have an alternative solution in the subtext
.
, and its dealing with the eccentricities of English land law. In a review citing parallels with Great Expectations
, Little Dorrit
, Our Mutual Friend
, Martin Chuzzlewit
, The Pickwick Papers
, Oliver Twist
and Nicholas Nickleby, Michael Malone
has written that
"Mr. Palliser appears to have set out not merely to write a Dickens novel but to write all Dickens novels".
J. Hillis Miller
points out that
"The conventions ... of Dickens’ novels,
are made salient through parody and exaggeration, just as a
postmodern building makes the fragility and artifice of those old styles
evident..." But Palliser differs from Dickens in that there are "no benevolent father figure, no guiding Providence, almost no
good people, no guarantee that justice will eventually be done,
nothing, for the most part, but uncertainty and prolonged suffering. It
is as though Palliser were saying: 'Let me show you what things were
really like at that time'."
The book is deeply researched. For example, a crucial point in the plot is the timing of John Huffam's birth. This is indicated by reference to contemporary events such as the Ratcliff Highway murders
, the Great Comet of 1811
, Wellington's
capture of Ciudad Rodrigo
, and the passing of the Rose
act determining how parish register
entries should be made. On another level the hero's name hints that the author may have given him the same birth date as Charles John Huffam Dickens
.
At the beginning of each Part a quincunx
of quatrefoil
roses from the relevant family's arms
are displayed. These then reappear as a count of one to five roses at the start of each Book. At the end of the novel all five families' devices are combined in a larger design, a quincunx of quincunxes. The pattern of narration of the 125 chapters - John Huffam, an omniscient narrator and a third person - exactly matches the colour pattern - white, black and red - of the 125 elements of the design.
The mixture of first-person and detached narration is similar to the alternation between Esther Summerson's story and a neutral point of view in Bleak House
.
Palliser also notes that the heart of the book is an account taken from a journal which has a further subdivision into five "Relations" and a central ambiguity made by some missing pages. The information in the journal (as John Huffam suggests obliquely at the end of the book) is a key to reinterpreting all the events.
The design of the five families' devices is also important within the story, when it is the key to the secret hiding place of the second will.
At the end of each Part of 25 chapters, a partially revealed family tree is given, showing the relationships as John so far understands them.
The book also includes extracts from Richard Horwood
's 1813 map showing key locations in London. The rural locations are, however, fictional. Although the central settlement is on the York-London road and shares its name with Hougham
in Lincolnshire the story contradicts this identification by placing it south of Grantham
.
Charles Palliser
Charles Palliser is a best-selling novelist, American-born but British-based. His most well-known novel, "The Quincunx", has sold over a million copies internationally. He is the elder brother of the late author and freelance journalist Marcus Palliser.-Life and career:Born in New England he is...
. It takes the form of a Dickensian mystery set in early 19th century England, but Palliser has added the modern attributes of an ambiguous ending and unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
s. Many of the puzzles that are apparently solved in the story have an alternative solution in the subtext
Subtext
Subtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
.
Plot introduction
The novel begins in London with a secret meeting between two legal men. A bribe reveals the confidential details of a correspondent who is the link to a vital hidden document. Meanwhile young John Mellamphy is growing up in the remote countryside with his mother Mary, ignorant of the name of Huffam. Gradually it becomes clear that they are threatened by the search for the document.Plot details
- Exploring one day, John ventures into the estate of Mompesson Hall, where he encounters Henrietta Palphramond and her governessGovernessA governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
, Miss Quilliam. Later an attempted burglary persuades Mary to show her hand. She possesses a codicilCodicil (will)A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions , or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will...
to a willWill (law)A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
which controls the inheritance of the estate, and she reluctantly considers selling it to Sir Perceval Mompesson. She is put under pressure by treacherous advice which persuades her into a loss-making property speculation. An attempt is made to abduct John; it is possible that his death would alter the legacy. To escape, John and his mother travel to London. - With dwindling savings, John and his mother are forced into successively poorer lodgings and are pursued by bailiffs. They find refuge with the Isbister family, but flee when they discover they are amongst the body-snatchers of Bethnal GreenLondon BurkersThe London Burkers were a group of body snatchers, operating in London, who apparently modelled their activities on those of the notorious Burke and Hare...
. They discover Miss Quilliam, who takes them in, but they are caught by the bailiffs. Mary is forced to sell the codicil and is persuaded to send John to a school in Yorkshire for safety. But the excessive cruelties of the school put John in further danger and he escapes back to London. There, further debts have forced Mary into a debtors' prison which she has only been able to escape by entering into a form of prostitution. On reencountering John she leaves that life but, still penniless, she ultimately dies of consumption. - John seeks out Henry Bellringer, who is a relation of a school friend. But instead he finds himself among a gang of thieves, living in a part-built mansion. There he reads his mother's journal, which gives tantalisingly incomplete details of his parentage and his chance of attaining the inheritance. Mary's family, the Huffams, were the original owners of the estate. But the legacy could pass to any of five families – the Huffams, the Mompessons, the Clothiers, the Palphramonds or the Maliphants. Eventually John escapes from the gang and is taken in by the Porteous family. But their act is not as generous as it first appears, for they too stand to benefit from the legacy. Once John learns this they have him sent to an insane asylum.
- In the asylum John meets Peter Clothier, whom he now knows as his father. John escapes from the asylum with the help of the Digweed family, whom he once encountered in the countryside. He starts a new life with them, surviving by scavenging the sewers of LondonLondon sewerage systemThe London sewerage system is part of the water infrastructure serving London. The modern system was developed during the late 19th century, and as London has grown the system has been expanded.-History:...
. He visits Jeoffrey Escreet, who tells the story of the murder of Mary's father. John resolves to take the name of Huffam. His salvation may lie in a second will, hidden in the Mompesson's London house. After a failed burglary he gets a job as a servant at the house and is eventually able to steal the will. - John again seeks out Henry Bellringer to help him take advantage of the will. But Bellringer betrays him to another potential legatee, Silas Clothier. Clothier burns the will and attempts to murder John, but John escapes. It emerges that burnt will was only a copy and that Bellringer has the original. With that, it is possible for him to win the inheritance by marrying Henrietta. During a storm, John interrupts a secret marriage ceremony in a derelict chapel at Mompesson hall. Bellringer is killed by David Mompesson, who flees the country. As the book draws to a close John finally comes within reach of the inheritance. As he does so he loses his original heroic character, becoming cynical and dismissive of his past friends. At the last moment it is revealed that the inheritance is still being determined in ChanceryCourt of ChanceryThe Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
and may be worth nothing because of debts. With the outcome unresolved the story ends.
Style
The Quincunx was a surprise bestseller. It is notable for its portrayal of 19th century England, covering the breadth of society from the gentry to the poor and from provincial villages to metropolitan London19th century London
-Overview:During the 19th century, London was transformed into the world's largest city and capital of the British Empire. Its population expanded from 1 million in 1800 to 6.7 million a century later . During this period, London became a global political, financial, and trading capital...
, and its dealing with the eccentricities of English land law. In a review citing parallels with Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
, Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....
, Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
, Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialized between 1843-1844. Dickens himself proclaimed Martin Chuzzlewit to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels...
, The Pickwick Papers
The Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is the first novel by Charles Dickens. After the publication, the widow of the illustrator Robert Seymour claimed that the idea for the novel was originally her husband's; however, in his preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens strenuously denied any...
, Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
and Nicholas Nickleby, Michael Malone
Michael Malone
Michael Malone is an Emmy Award-winning American author and television writer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He is best known for his work on the ABC Daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as for his best-selling works of fiction Handling Sin , Foolscap , and murder mystery First Lady...
has written that
"Mr. Palliser appears to have set out not merely to write a Dickens novel but to write all Dickens novels".
J. Hillis Miller
J. Hillis Miller
Joseph Hillis Miller, Jr. is an American literary critic who has been heavily influenced by—and who has heavily influenced—deconstruction.- Early life and education :...
points out that
"The conventions ... of Dickens’ novels,
are made salient through parody and exaggeration, just as a
postmodern building makes the fragility and artifice of those old styles
evident..." But Palliser differs from Dickens in that there are "no benevolent father figure, no guiding Providence, almost no
good people, no guarantee that justice will eventually be done,
nothing, for the most part, but uncertainty and prolonged suffering. It
is as though Palliser were saying: 'Let me show you what things were
really like at that time'."
The book is deeply researched. For example, a crucial point in the plot is the timing of John Huffam's birth. This is indicated by reference to contemporary events such as the Ratcliff Highway murders
Ratcliff Highway murders
The Ratcliff Highway murders were two vicious attacks that resulted in multiple fatalities, and occurred over twelve days in the year 1811, in homes half a mile apart near Wapping in London.-Murders:...
, the Great Comet of 1811
C/1811 F1
The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, a record it held until the appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997...
, Wellington's
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
capture of Ciudad Rodrigo
Ciudad Rodrigo
Ciudad Rodrigo is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population of about 14,000. It is the seat of a judicial district as well....
, and the passing of the Rose
George Rose
The Right Honourable George Rose was a British politician.Born at Woodside near Brechin, Scotland, Rose was the son of the Reverend David Rose of Lethnot, by Margaret, daughter of Donald Rose of Wester Clune...
act determining how parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
entries should be made. On another level the hero's name hints that the author may have given him the same birth date as Charles John Huffam Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
.
Structure
The novel has a fivefold structure. It is divided into five "Parts", each taking the name of one of the families linked to the inheritance. Each Part is then divided into five "Books" and each Book is divided into five chapters.At the beginning of each Part a quincunx
Quincunx
A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, that is five coplanar points, four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center...
of quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
roses from the relevant family's arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
are displayed. These then reappear as a count of one to five roses at the start of each Book. At the end of the novel all five families' devices are combined in a larger design, a quincunx of quincunxes. The pattern of narration of the 125 chapters - John Huffam, an omniscient narrator and a third person - exactly matches the colour pattern - white, black and red - of the 125 elements of the design.
The mixture of first-person and detached narration is similar to the alternation between Esther Summerson's story and a neutral point of view in Bleak House
Bleak House
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853. It is held to be one of Dickens's finest novels, containing one of the most vast, complex and engaging arrays of minor characters and sub-plots in his entire canon...
.
Palliser also notes that the heart of the book is an account taken from a journal which has a further subdivision into five "Relations" and a central ambiguity made by some missing pages. The information in the journal (as John Huffam suggests obliquely at the end of the book) is a key to reinterpreting all the events.
The design of the five families' devices is also important within the story, when it is the key to the secret hiding place of the second will.
At the end of each Part of 25 chapters, a partially revealed family tree is given, showing the relationships as John so far understands them.
The book also includes extracts from Richard Horwood
Richard Horwood
Richard Horwood was a surveyor and cartographer. In 1795 he published a Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster the Borough of Southwark and Parts adjoining Shewing every House, at a scale of 26 inches to the mile. At the time this was the largest map ever printed in Britain.Horwood also...
's 1813 map showing key locations in London. The rural locations are, however, fictional. Although the central settlement is on the York-London road and shares its name with Hougham
Hougham, Lincolnshire
Hougham is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It once had its own Hougham railway station on the line between Grantham and Newark...
in Lincolnshire the story contradicts this identification by placing it south of Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
.
External links
- Forum: http://s1monmorr1s.wordpress.com/quincunxsnarkout/ (copied from the defunct http://www.snarkout.org/seven/000827.php)
- Unofficial website: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/gix/quincunx/index
- Charles Palliser Bibliography, José Ángel García Landa. (WordMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
document; in A Bibliography of Literary Theory, Criticism and Philology) - Blog: http://myquestforaclassic.com/category/books/the-quincunx/