Treasure Hunt (Virago Modern Classics) Paperback – Import, January 1, 1990

I love Molly Keane but I really didn't like this book very much. The eccentric members of this Irish family are far too eccentric or plain potty for me, I lost my patience with their carryings on. One bonus for me was the vocabulary, especially gum boots. It was only after I went to live in England that I found myself saying Wellingtons and Wellies and here, in Ireland they use the term gum boots which part of my family of Irish descent always called them. If you like naughty eccentric old people you will enjoy this. How in this family there were two members, the youngest, that seemed quite sane is a bit of a mystery to me as the word "inbred" comes to mind.

Molly Keane is a completely brilliant and (I think) underrated novelist. This book is about a mid 20th century crumbling Irish estate and the efforts of the new lord of the manor to save it following his father's death and the realisation that the family is completely destitute. The characters are so well-drawn and the dialogue so astutely written that the story is not really the most important aspect of this novel. The double-act of the deceased Roderick's siblings Consuela and Hercules is very amusing, particularly with their feeble efforts to sabotage the plan to take in paying guests to save the estate. If you enjoy wonderful writing and keen people-observation, and appreciate Keane's classic Anglo- Irish- gentry setting then I highly recommend this.

Unbelievably silly saved by beautifully written descriptions of both the house interiors and its gardens. GOOD BEHAVIOUR is the 5 star Keane.