12/7/25
The novel opens in Le Mans where our narrator, John, an English academic, is on holiday. his new friend is a French count, Jean de Gué. taking all of John’s clothes and possessions with him and leaving his own in their place. Jean’s chauffeur Gaston arrives, ready to drive him home to his château. de Gué.
The glassworks is facing financial ruin. John says he had years of training in French and spoke the language and had studied the history. John had told Jean that his life was empty, Jean had lent me his name, his possessions, his identity.
When Jean gets back to his chateau his wife Francois and sister Blanche had thought he was not coming back from Paris as he had not phoned them. They do mention that his hands are cleaner and he smells different. Marie Noel the daughter is worried that she may have measles that could cause harm to the unborn baby. Now we learn that Jean and Francois had married soon after liberation. The relationship with his sister Blanche is difficult.
Jean insists on them opening the presents he brought from Paris at the table but this is an error as one to his brother in law is an elixir against impotence and in Blanches is a message for Bele his mistress. Marie Noel was very happy with her gift a book The Little Flower 1897 about St. Theresa the making of a saint. Part of this family were devout Catholics.
Jeans mother tells him that her late husband was always in a better mode after he returned from his mistress and so encourages him to keep a mistress.
First he tell them he got a good agreement from Carvelet and then phones Paris and discovers that the only contract he can get they results in producing at a loss. He knows Blanche heard the conversation on her phone extension.
He goes to the bank to learn about the family assets which are in minus but has seen the family papers in the bank safe. That If Florence produces a son the Inheritance comes to the family head and if Florence dies the same. The verrerie(glassware factory) was important for the status of the family and the jobs of the workers.
1952 They mention rabbits dying with the plague of myxomatosis this was caused by a French physician, Paul-Félix Armand-Delille, released infected rabbits on his estate as a form of pest control, causing massive decline of rabbit numbers in Europe.
This is 15 years after the German occupation. Jean goes into the master house at the verrerie and sees it just left frozen in time after the death of Maurice Duval. the almanac is showing 1941 and furniture and boxes of books. Duval was taken in the middle of the night and shot by his own country' men, cut to pieces and thrown in the well. Julie tells him that she was accused of being a collaborator as she helped a young German boy soldier launder his uniform so he would not get into trouble about a stain on it. Jean de Gue had been an officer in the underground but left people like Julia to cope with the Nazi's.
His watch strap broke and he threw it into the fire and retrieved it suddenly and burned his hand so that he could avoid taking part in the hunt the next day. The hunt is led by his brother and amongst other thing Jean is there and has no control of Cesar who ran into the forest and sent the birds up prematurely, wrecking the hunt and then it rains and not many come to the gathering afterwards.
Marie Noel had disappeared and gone down the well but Cesar had stayed with her and one of the workmen saw the dog and realized to bring the sleeping child up with little glass articles she found.
Florence his wife died falling over the balcony and it was considered suicide but the daughter Marie Noel hung over the balcony to retrieve the locket that Jean had given Florence so it was an accident. At the hospital the doctor told Jean he would have had a son. The countess appears to be pleased at the death of her daughter in law. The Countess had become an opium addict. Jean tells her that she must stop the opium as he need her to take over running the house. She immediately get stuck in to inviting guest to the funeral.
Bela had bandaged his burned hand and now Blanche also. He saw the old photos of themselves as children and Maurice Duval was a finer person than Jean. Maurice was killed through jealousy not because he was a collaborator with the Germans as many decent French were collaborators to stay alive. With the armistice murder of him was seen as heroic. Papa had given Maurice the position of master of the verrerie and Blanche was attracted to him. Blanche he tells to move to the masters house and take over running the foundry she is the capable one. She can be artistically innovative and open it to tourists instead of delivering scent bottles at a loss to Carvalet.
Paul and Renee can go and live their lives. Paul had taken over the foundry as he felt responsibility to the family business. Even Marie Noel says that now that Mamam died everyone is getting what they want.
" I haven't been saddled with a baby brother and have you to myself. "
A phone call from Jean de Gué who saw the death of Florence in the press. Only a week has passed since Jean left John drugged asleep in the hotel bedroom. John meets Jean at the masters house at the foundry, John says he loved Jeans family. Jean says unlike England their country was invaded by the enemy. John and Jean change clothes. John gets his car back. He visits Bele who tells him she realized he had changed. Jean explains that John hasn’t been whistling to César in the correct way and this is why he hasn’t been obeying his commands.
What if John and Jean weren’t doubles after all?
Jean tells John that he has emptied John’s bank account, sold his flat and furniture in London and resigned John’s position as university lecturer – in other words, destroyed John altogether, because John never really existed and is no longer necessary.
