Henry Dunbar, head
of a multi-million dollar media empire, finds himself locked in a
remote sanatorium in England. His two older daughters, Megan and
Abigail, have spirited him away and locked him up in a brazen attempt
to take over his empire for themselves. Meanwhile his youngest most
beloved daughter, Florence, is looking for him hoping to make amends
and with the help of Henry’s loyal ally, Wilson, keep the evil
daughters from completing their takeover.
While Florence and
Wilson search for him, Dunbar has managed to escape the sanatorium
with the help of his alcoholic actor friend, Peter. The two are now
wandering about England: Peter in search of a drink, and Dunbar
trying to get back his empire.
If you love
Shakespeare’s King Lear, this may be somewhat disappointing. The
plot is fairly true to the story line of the play. Instead of a king,
Dunbar is a corporate executive and the nasty plots center around
corporate intrigue and takeover bids. The characters are similar to
the Shakespeare characters, but I found them much less human. Megan
and Abigail and particularly unpleasant. Florence, trying to win back
her father’s approval, was my favorite character. She seemed the
most believable.
St. Auban’s prose
is clear and fast paced. Some of the scenes, particularly with Peter,
are amusing, but, for me, they didn’t reach the level of
Shakespeare’s comedy. I enjoyed the book, but
the drawbacks keep me from recommending it too highly.
I received this book
from Blogging for Book for this review.
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