Victorians! discussion

Welcome to The Fate of Fenella : Ch. 16-18

Ch. 16- Arthur A'Beckett, “In New York”
Ch. 17- Jean Middlemass, “Confined in a Madhouse”
Ch. 18- Clement Scott, "Within sight of home"

Summary Ch. 16-18

Things are not going well for Senator and Mrs. Clutterbuck (Lucille deVigny) in America. Neither has gotten what was bargained for, and the senator has learned about her existing marriage and the jewel heist. He gives her money to leave quietly, but does not convince her to divulge the whereabouts of her “nephew” Ronny.

Frank arrives in New York, but gets little help from the NY police, due to Clutterbuck’s position. Once it is learned that Ronny is no longer under the senator’s protection, the police begin to search for him.

On the streets of NY, Frank goes into another trance and enters an unknown house to awaken in the presence of Madame deVigny. He confronts and nearly strangles her. When released, she injures her head, then crawls away and faints. Upon revival, Lucille calls for a doctor and convinces him to take Frank away as a madman.

Once Frank has been secured, Lucille makes some immediate plans, which include paying off the woman who is in charge of Ronny’s future. We learn that Lord Castleton and Jacynthe Clitheroe have arrived in New York on behalf of the Onslow family.

Meanwhile, Frank suffers as a sane man in a lunatic asylum. However, Fate brings Lord Castleton to the asylum in the company of a police detective. They quickly have Frank released and the doctor incarcerated.

Unfortunately, Frank’s experiences bring on a breakdown and Frank sinks into a delirium. Castleton takes charge of his care and Clitheroe tracks down Ronny with information from the jailed doctor. The friends put Frank and Ronny into a cabin on a steamer headed for England. Also aboard the steamer is Madame Lucille deVigny in the custody of a Scotland Yard detective.

-How does being in America put Frank at a disadvantage?
-What has been the most surprising twist in the story so far?
-What detail has been the most confusing or unresolved so far?

Poor Frank! He really doesn't get any breaks.

I'm glad that the senator dealt with Lucille the way she deserved-but she's a hard woman to stop.

He certainly had a rough time of it in this section!

The way that Frank entered the house of Mrs Clutterbuck/Madame deVigny was frighteningly similar to the way he sleepwalked into the killing of Fenella’s lover. At first I thought he had been entranced by Madame’s witchy ways, but when he attacked her I thought, Oh No here we go again!

I thought that there were a couple of holes in the story in this section. The first was the way that Ronnie was so easily found and rescued by Lord Castleton and Jacynth, when Lucille was determined to ruin both Frank and Fenella’s lives.

Secondly, what happened to Jacynth’s hatred of Frank? He now seems to be helping him rather than being his rival. Has Lord Castleton been the peacemaker between the two or is Jacynth being sly and playing a waiting game?

My favourite part of this section was the torrid description of the asylum, which, although harrowing, was full of truths about the haphazard and often damaging treatment of mental illness.

Yes, the asylum section seemed the strongest and most interesting. I was actually disappointed that they didn’t do more with it.

I’ve suspected all along that there was an indication of Lucille practicing mesmerism on Frank. A bit of reverse-Trilby. There are hints that never seem to come to fruition. Otherwise it’s a very odd plot point. There seems to be no root in his past, it’s just a handy bit of weirdness.

One of the weaker points of this experiment has been that the authors involved don’t seem to have agreed on what to make of Jacynthe or Castleton. Is Castleton a gossip up to no good or an honorable friend? Is Jacynthe a rival, a prude, or a hero? It makes the story very uneven. Even Fenella and Frank suffer from being portrayed as vacillating between weakness and strength. Leaving no room for character growth.

I agree. None of the characters, except Lucille, behave in consistent manner.