Review: Cynthia's Chauffeur

Cynthia's Chauffeur by Louis Tracy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the years before World War I, while P.G. Wodehouse was barely moving beyond school stories, this romantic comedy appeared, involving members of the British and American upper classes, false identity, disapproving elders, questions of finance in the context of marriage, rapid romance, and the British countryside, all elements the master was later to adopt as part of his standard fit-out.

Cynthia is the daughter of an American railroad tycoon. When George, Viscount Medenham, only son and heir of the Earl of Fairholme, comes across an old Boer War comrade whose car has broken down, meaning he can't fulfil his contract to drive Cynthia on a tour of the South-West of England, Medenham volunteers to help his old friend out by substituting for him until the car can be fixed. He little knows that he will fall in love with Cynthia almost immediately - and be unable to speak up, since he's claimed to be merely a chauffeur.

On their journeys to see lovingly described landscapes and landmarks, accompanied by Cynthia's scheming chaperone, who wants to fix her up with an impoverished French count, their relationship blossoms, the count is vexed, the chaperone panicked, both fathers get in a taking because their precious child has fallen into the hands of (they each believe) a schemer, and the unfortunate servants (including Medenham's own chauffeur) are torn between duties.

It doesn't rise to the level of farce later perfected by Wodehouse, but on the other hand, the romance is a lot less ramshackle and better developed than he typically achieved, too; for Wodehouse, romance is usually a plot complication rather than a plot. I saw the attractive qualities in the pair, and the shared delights in history and beauty that drew them together, and believed in their love, even though it progressed so quickly.

There are dramatic and adventurous moments in the book too, but they're not pushed so far as to become implausible, though the final crisis is a bit over the top.

I was disappointed with the same author's Karl Grier , but not with this one. It's not one of the all-time greats, but it's a sound, solid rom-com with adventure and travelogue thrown in.

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