A review by paraguaytea
The Lighthearted Quest: A Julia Probyn Mystery, Book 1 by Ann Bridge

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 The Lighthearted Quest is part travel guide book, part political exposé, all adventure story. The ‘cosy’ mystery here will propel you through the pages. It’s exciting, well told, enjoyable, and masks a quite remarkable exploration of Morocco in the mid-20th century, as well giving a glimpse into the privileged lives of the British aristocracy at the time. 

The book is full of references to, and information about, such things as the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of England and her children to Gibraltar in 1954; British post offices in Morocco; conflicting international interests (British, French, Spanish, German, American, Russian, Jewish, Arab, and Berber); Edith Warton, Charles de Foucauld; the system of letters of introduction used by posh British travellers; the £100 limit on currency to be taken out of Britain at the time; tax laws; tit for tat assassinations - the list goes on and on. 

It also reflects attitudes prevalent at the time. Expect people who annoyingly can’t carry their own luggage and are confident that they will everywhere be received with the respect and in the luxury to which they, as superior beings, are evidently entitled. By her own admission Julia is ‘an impenitent imperialist, who is a convinced believer in the colonial system for backward races’. However, her views, the product of her upbringing, are challenged by actual experience.