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Empress Helen by Joel McCaw
Joel McCaw skillfully mocks the self-centeredness and superficiality of the New England gentry class in his humorous book Empress Helen. Helen was tired with her life as an honorary empress, giving seances and instructing Kiswahili lessons from her mansion on Brattle Street not far from Boston. She needed to change the setting in order to rekindle her passions. She thus takes advantage of the chance to take a break in Newport by signing a three-month lease to live in the luxurious Manner Manor.
The inhabitants of the desolate hamlet known as Belltone, sometimes known as the Hamleteers, are Helen’s neighbours, and she is eager to introduce them to a new “Period of Enlightenment.” “A toast to the new empress of Belltone!” cried the Hamleteers, and with that declaration Empress Helen supplanted Queen Charity as the cultural doyen in this quaint corner of Newport, RI.
Joel McCaw skillfully lampoons the conceit and shallowness of the New England gentry class in the humorous book “Empress Helen.” Helen used to perform seances and teach Kiswahili classes out of her mansion on Brattle Street near Boston, but she grew dissatisfied with her existence before she was made an honorary empress. She needed a change of scenery to rekindle her passions. She so takes advantage of the chance to take a break in Newport and signs a three-month lease to live at the luxurious Manner Manor.
Helen is eager to share a new “Period of Enlightenment” with her neighbours, the inhabitants of the desolate hamlet known as Belltone, also known as the Hamleteers. The elegant proprietor of Manner Manor, Charity Manner, is known for having a volatile temper that “was perceived by her neighbours as a symptom of an aristocratic temperament.” They gave Charity the title of uncrowned Queen of Belltone in honour of her eminent lineage.
However, Charity was bankrupt due to the expenses of running the mansion and maintaining her regal status inside the hamlet’s population, which was unknown to her subjects. She presents Helen, a well-known art supporter, as a selfless effort on her side in order to hide her insolvency from the Hamleteers. In her first performance, Helen uses two computers to send and receive T-mail messages in a high-tech séance.
Helen responds, “Thank God for this amazing technology,” and starts to call up the ghost of her late husband. Not to be outdone, envious Charity holds her own séance and gets in touch with the Quaker oatmeal magnate Early Manner, who is her ancestor.
Helen then organises an arts festival. In response, Charity throws a beach party at the lighthouse where she currently dwells. so forth. There is never a dull moment thanks to the antics of Helen, Charity, and the Hamleteers. McCaw writes with the mischievous flair of a Gothic author. He doesn’t use the phrase “Dear Reader,” although several of his authorial asides do.
The novel’s overall sense of levity never wavers, but when it diverts from Helen and Charity’s egotistical rivalry, its plot takes a turn toward the fantastical, before going completely off the rails at the very end. The second book in the author’s “Strangeways Saga” is a tremendously amusing but wildly rambling book.
About The Book
Helen Westmoreland, a summer resident from Boston, has rented a castle-like building in Newport, Rhode Island. Recognizing that her life needs renewal, she has set out with her long-time boyfriend, Roddie Feyman, to win the hearts and minds of the residents of the hamlet of Belltone.
Her landlady, Miss Charity Manner, has other ideas. Though giving up her mansion because of financial straits, Charity has no intention of giving up her position in local society. As a direct descendant of Early Manner, a Quaker settler who came to Rhode Island seeking freedom (commercial, that is, not religious), she has been for many years the uncrowned queen.
Until now, no one has tempted Fate by doing anything which might encourage the famous Mannerly temper. The battle for supremacy is fought against a lovely seaside backdrop, where the warm summer sand runs blue with ‘blood’ and no quarter is given or expected.
The Review
Empress Helen
8 Score
This book is an excellent page turner because it is interesting to read and has a satisfying ending. The book's plot is not only inventive, but it also features well-developed personalities. Overall, it's amusing, entertaining, and humorous. Excellent reading. I was brought back to my original reading passion by this book. A unique story that will have you laughing from beginning to end.
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