"Brat Farrar" by Josephine Tey

I have just read Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey. I loved it.

This book was first published in 1949. Once again I have read this due to a recommendation on Jo Walton's Tor.com blog. It was a compulsive read which I devoured over a couple of days.

The plot is fairly simple. Simon Ashby is about to turn 21 and thereby inherit the family estate, Latchetts. Meanwhile, someone who knows the family well trains an orphan, Brat Farrar, to impersonate Patrick Ashby. Patrick was Simon's older twin who apparantly committed suicide when he was thirteen.

The Ashbys support themselves by breeding and training horses. Brat has travelled in the USA, working with horses and his love for them is quite a large factor in his agreeing to take part in the scheme.

Tey succeeds in making Brat a really likeable character. Through him and his love for horses the reader becomes enchanted with Latchetts and the Ashby family.

This was the first of Tey's books that I have read. It was really delightful and I am sure I would enjoy some of her other books.

I am back onto genre books with my next read, which is Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link.