The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris by Leon Garfield

Her brother, Harris, and his friend, Bostock, are responsible, yet who could really blame them? They were just acting out the Greek stories of exposing an infant to the elements, the stories their teacher had read to them. Miss Adelaide is, of course, the baby, who through no fault of her own goes missing and turns up in a poorhouse. Here you have the recipe for Leon Garfield’s hilarious T he Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris. Throw in a gipsy baby as a substitute for the missing infant and a jaded investigator with a clubfoot and penchant for charting webs of deceit and lies. Add in a sentimental young lady and two misguided suitors with their own agendas. Imagine this: Two mischievous schoolboys inspired by a dangerous idea and an incomplete understanding of the Greek myths.

Although this scenario doesn’t sound the least bit funny, Garfield turns the story into a delightful comedy. The story concerns the mysterious disappearance of a baby and the various attempts to find and restore the missing child. I remembered discovering the book more than twenty years ago and thoroughly enjoying it. That day as I lingered over some of the older historical fiction, a book by Leon Garfield caught my eye.

While I rarely reread any of the fiction, I enjoy perusing the titles and remembering the pleasure each gave. The other day I was dusting my bookshelves (a rather uncommon activity in my house.) I have a lot of books, with bookshelves in every room.

The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris by Leon Garfield