0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
harnessing literary power, April 3, 2010
This review is from: Harness Room (Hardcover)
Most people looking for this book will know Oxford alumnus Hartley and the special atmosphere he has been able to impart into his books. The Harness Room is slightly disappointing, the storyline being a bit simple - the relationship between the boy Fergus Macready, 17, and the chauffeur, Fred Carrington, 28 - and the lack of a special setting, such as in Venice. There is also nothing special in the prose.
The "act" in the harness room which sets up the special relationship between the duo is never described, it being glibly skipped over as in Victorian times.
Nevertheless, this 1971 novel was Hartley's last and of some interest on that score alone.
Hartley, of course, notoriously had questionable relationships with his own chauffeurs in his old age and therefore had firsthand experience to draw on.
The climax comes when Fred accidentally knocks out Fergus during a boxing sparring session in the harness room, killing Fergus.
The harness room,
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