Scandal in St Loo

 The July selection in the 2026 Read Christie Challenge is The Rose and the Yew Tree (1948) in the category of 'best-kept secret'. Agatha Christie published this novel, and five others, under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott to allow her freedom to write stories that were different from the detective fiction she was best known for. 

The Rose and the Yew Tree is a melodramatic tragedy novel which starts with a terrific intrigue, then flashes back in time to show how the story ended up at this point.

 

In Paris, Captain Hugh Norreys is visited by a woman he does not know. This woman insists he immediately comes with her as a Mr Gabriel is on his deathbed and wishes to see him. Norreys cannot imagine why he has been summoned as he has not seen nor heard from John Gabriel for many years. Norreys does not want to visit Gabriel and is delighted to hear that he is dying. He proceeds to tell the woman that Gabriel can 'rot in Hell' as he is an odious man. The woman is shocked and proceeds to speak of Gabriel 'as one speaks of the Messiah' and reveals that Gabriel, the former MP for St Loo, best known as an alcoholic womaniser, is now Father Clement, a devout man of the cloth. Curiosity gets the better of Norreys, and he follows the woman to visit Gabriel in his dying hours. In this opening passage, peppered with hints and intrigues, is the end of the story. The novel which follows has Norreys narrating his history with Gabriel.

We are taken back to 1945 when Norreys is on a train from Penzance where he sits opposite a crying woman, Jennifer. He comforts her and they form an attachment. Shortly thereafter, Norreys is in a car accident on the Harrow Road which renders him a 'maimed, broken wreck with nothing to live for' so he breaks off his relationship with Jennifer. This early vignette shows how Norreys gathers information about people, the assumptions he makes and how he can be blinded by his misconceptions. 

His sister-in-law Theresa moves Norreys into her house in St Loo Cornwall to recuperate, Theresa is campaigning for the Conservative Party and refuses to let Norreys dwell on his infirmity. She has him folding leaflets and conversing with the ladies who volunteer for the cause - Lady St Loo, her sister Lady Tressillian, her sister-in-law Mrs Bingham Charteris, and her granddaughter Isabella - women he refers to as the Three Witches and the Enchanted Maiden. As an invalid, Norreys spends a great deal of time listening to the woes and secrets of others.

Into this mix comes John Gabriel, a suave charlatan who becomes the Conservative candidate in the upcoming election. He is an opportunist and a swindler, a charmer who can persuade all around him to his cause. But when he is seen having coffee with a married woman, then later seen walking along a path with her, rumours swell of potential scandal. But Gabriel has something more in mind and secretly woos a woman away from her betrothed, ruining his political career, and shocking St Loo. Years later Norreys happens to run into Gabriel in Europe but their reunion is cut short by a tragic incident after which they part in anger. Which then brings the story back to the beginning to Gabriel's death bed confession. 

This was a strange, intriguing novel. I really liked Christie's witty turns of phrase which I long to adopt in my own vernacular ('Fine words butter no parsnips'), and her biting political and class satire. The first person narration was also good, with sharp dialogue and a blunt observations. What I struggled with was the pacing as after the vibrant intro I felt the story lulled in parts. However the ending brought the story together, with depth and meaning. 

Christie wrote six novels under her Mary Westmacott alias. While I missed the detective angle, I will definitely being reading more by Christie's alter ego.