Gentlemen and Players

by: Joanne Harris

Published by: William Morrow

Review by Kathy Perschmann

Joanne Harris is the author of Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners and Blackberry Wine. She is half British and half French, and lives in England. This book is very unlike her previous works.

Gentlemen and Players has two narrators and is set in two times--about 15 years apart.

Roy Straitley is the quintessential Classics teacher devoted to his "boys" and his school, St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys. In the present day he is nearing 65, and having a hard time with all the changes in his workplace, computers, and a de-emphasis on a classical education. He loses his office and has to share his classroom.

The other narrator is a new, young teacher, one who has secret connections to the past, and whose father was the school's porter 15 years before.

This narrator, Snyde, also harbors a huge rage against the school. Snyde had envied the boys with their uniforms, their excellent education and their belonging. He had been able to sneak into the school in a stolen uniform, assume the identity of "Julian Pinchbeck," roam the halls, listen in on classes, and raid the library for books. Julian makes friends with an older student, Leon Mitchell, eventually becoming obsessed with him and his comfortable background.

It is clear from the beginning that Snyde has returned to destroy St. Oswald's. Straitley is the only teacher old enough, smart enough, and strong enough to discover the truth. There are several very startling twists and turns that will keep you gasping.

Armchair Interviews says: A shocking and riveting look into the politics of the British private school and the lives of the students and teachers, this book will prove popular with book clubs.