I suppose calling anything by Robert Aickman weird or odd would be quite superfluous to those who are familiar with Aickman's enigmatic stories.  The Late Breakfasters, an early, very hard to find, novel which was published in 1964, exhibits Aickman's standard absurdities and odd cast of characters, but in clocking in at 250 pages, it is by far, his longest work.  Aickman allows himself more character development, particularly with the heroine of the novel, Griselda de Reptonville. The novel is a fine mix of drawing room comedy, Greek fairytale, feminist tract, a lesbian love story, a spoof of the upper classes, a screed against communism and the unwashed masses, and, I suppose, the death of a particular way of life.

The plot revolves around the life and loves of Griselda (a name some may remember from Cinderella, the mother of those awful step-daughters) who meets the love of her life, Louise, at a party.  Louise disappears and the rest of the book revolves around Griselda's attempts to find her.  The familar story of Hero and Leander is a trope running throughout the book.  Now, the thing is, Louise and others of the circle that are close to Griselda may be ghosts.  A subplot involves the mysterious inhabitants of a mansion, who the townspeople and commoners revile. These are a doomed set, what with a new world approaching, without gods, without heroes, only democracy. A macabre death-scene of one such local lord is confirmation of the onset of some common plague.  Political events and disasters are alluded to, but never spoken of directly.  The reader understands that the world is crumbling, but not so close that entertainment is impossible.  So the revelers drink, dance, and make merry in their decadent way. Amusing subplots involve Griselda's marriage to a foppish poet who becomes involved in shady political dealings, and her employment at a local bookshop, owned by a strange man spouting effusively to such an extent that hardly anyone understands him, among others.

Today, with gender studies and magic realism a part of the literary landscape, The Late Breakfasters would surely find a more willing audience than in the early 1960s.  Let us hope it is republished to delight readers of Aickman and those looking for a truly strange and wonderful story.
 
 

Rich Romeo
(August 6, 2001)