Book Review: The Wyvern Mystery

The Wyvern Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Mildred Tarnley is the only redeemable character thus far. Reads like a combination of Jane Eyre x Gone to Earth? A madwoman (neglected wife from Hoxton in this instance - not the sort who has been up to 3am snorting coke then been snapped by Facehunter whilst draped in horrendous fashionable rags and staggering out of some nightlife hotspot in a desperate attempt to hold on to her fast fading youth - although she does possess a magazine with the latest fashions - none of your overpriced crap from Beyond Retro for this vile harridan) appears halfway through the book and takes up residence in her old rooms. Meanwhile meek and mild Alice (who is a criminal simpering bore) slumbers nearby unawares. Alice reminded me forcibly of Webb's Hazel Woodus, who was such a simpering idiot - in short she's a simpering personality devoid dullard.

The wretched Charlie is caught between the two women - one his concealed wife, the other his newlywed 'wife'. Why anyone would want to marry him (apart from the lure of inheriting Wyvern House) I don't know, he's neither compelling nor charming. Mildred keeps the household ticking over and seems the only one with an ounce of common sense, alongside culinary skill and other household chores.

This is the longest story I've read by Fanu and it does suffer from a huge number of chapters which just feel like filler. Sure he creates a great atmosphere and there are some notable and beautiful descriptions of character and countryside - but ultimately it doesn't satisfy in the same manner as some of his shorter and more gruesome spooky tales. This feels like a watered down short story stretched into a novel. I got really frustrated with the two 'newlyweds' - endless simpering declarations of love and 'darling' was a word I never wish to see repeated again. Ultimately you don't really care much about the outcome. Not his strongest work, compared to the fantastic Carmilla it pales in comparison. I got seriously fed up with it by the end, way too sentimental for my tastes, and it became a bit of a slog - what was the mystery of the title exactly? The 'secret wife' was hardly what I would define as a mystery, it just felt rather unsatisfactory as regards the plot.

The one thing I did like however, which redeemed the middle of the story slightly; was the blind wife slicing through the wallpaper with a knife and scuttling along the papered up passage connecting the two rooms, deliciously creepy scene!

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