The lonely man :. a romance of love and the secret service,. by Gilbert Frankau.
Gilbert Frankau (1884-1952)
Category
Books
Date
1932
Materials
Place of origin
London
Collection
Quarry Bank, Cheshire
NT 3217671
Caption
Set in the fictional village of Meadingbury-on-Thames, the attractive, wealthy and vaguely exotic Marcus Orlando, an occasional British secret agent, is hiding out following his recent divorce from his film actress second wife. Despite being sworn off women, his head is turned by the reserved yet magnetic personality (and beauty) of a young lady, Alix, who, along with her widowed mother, has fallen on hard times. She herself is recovering from a secret broken engagement and fighting off the affections of a well-meaning and wealthy but utterly uninspiring local boy. They share a connection but neither of them can tell each other their secrets. Underlying this love story is a commentary on the double standards held for men and women at the time. Marcus views Alix as a goddess of womanly virtue so when she does reveal her former relationship to him, he is hurt and his vision of her is shattered. Alix rightly feels anger over the double standards of Marcus who has been married and divorced twice but who demands ‘a women’s purity as price of love’ (p.160). After learning Alix’s secret Marcus immediately leaves on a mission to Angora (the historical name for Ankara, the capital of Turkey). There he confronts his ideas about women in the context of a newly formed, secular nation, where women had recently been emancipated.
Summary
Bibliographic description
i-x, 11-318, [1], 48 p. ;. 20 cm. Provenance: Blue rubber stamp on half-title: `Styal Village Club Library'. In pencil on flyleaf: `QBM Resource Bank 2.87'. Old NT inventory number at rear: `871'. Binding: Publisher's case, covered in black cloth, with gold lettering on spine and front cover, with single gold fillet. Label on spine with shelf no. in ink, torn. Binding loose. Shabby.
Makers and roles
Gilbert Frankau (1884-1952)