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Executive Times |
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2008 Book Reviews |
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The
Headmaster’s Dilemma by Louis Auchincloss |
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Rating: |
** |
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(Mildly Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Boys Louis
Auchincloss continues to cultivate his niche as the novelist who unravels the
mysteries of upper class life as he sets his latest novel, The
Headmaster’s Dilemma, at an exclusive New England prep school. This is a
story of how a contemporary episode of homosexual rape at the school is mishandled
by the headmaster, and leads to a confrontation with another old boy, a
trustee with a vision for the school that conflicts with that of the
charismatic headmaster, an old boy himself. Money, power, intrigue: it’s all
here. Unfortunately, it’s here with an excess of exposition over dialogue,
and what dialogue is here comes across as written by a very old man who may
lost his ear for the way people speak today. With his age, however,
Auchincloss retains wisdom, and the conflict presented, and how each human
behaves, makes The
Headmaster’s Dilemma an interesting book to read. Here’s an excerpt, from
the beginning of Chapter 3, pp. 30-33: A
full partner? An equal partnership? Well, for
a time Ione had tried to see it that way. The first year at Averhill had been
a busy and distracting one for her: rearranging and redecorating the rather
worn
headmaster's residence, getting the children settled at the local nursery
school, meeting the faculty and the faculty wives, acquainting herself with
academic ways and traditions. But after that it became apparent that there
was a wide and impassable gap between the new headmaster's hectic and crowded
days and her own so much more placid ones. For
there was really little enough for a headmaster's wife to do, in the highly
organized academic schedule, that seemed worthy of her training in law or
even of her general aptitudes. There was the duty of entertainment, to be
sure: visiting parents, trustees, and alumni had to be greeted and sometimes
fed; "parlor nights," when selected groups of students came to her
house for games and cider, had to be organized; faculty wives had to be
visited and certain school functions attended. But it was all a bit like
being royalty on a very minor scale; a trained and efficient staff did most
of the work, and a gracious smile often sufficed as her contribution. Nor did
she find any particularly congenial friends among the faculty wives, who
struck her on the whole as a rather dreary lot. Everyone was very kind, very
helpful, but she was a long way from the glittering world of her parents,
which she at last fully appreciated. And the contrast of her life with
Michael's zestful and industrious one was not pleasant. For he had plunged with energy
and enthusiasm into what he didn't hesitate to call the challenging job of
hauling the school into the modern era. The introduction of coeducation had
substantially enlarged the student body; a new dormitory had to be
constructed, classrooms expanded, women teachers employed. Courses in science
and philosophy had to be added to the schedule, and Michael himself, despite
the endless administrative demands on his time, had insisted on teaching a
new class in current events that included everything from the arts to
government. He even lent an occasional hand in football coaching, and he
always attended the Saturday afternoon games with neighboring schools. There
was little relief for him, either, on weekends, when he made himself
available for conferences with worried parents when he was not traveling to
New York or Boston to address alumni on fund drives. One period each day, however,
was rigidly kept for him to be alone with his wife, and that was the
half-hour before their bedtime when they discussed the events of the day over
a nightcap. "Darling, you're going to
kill yourself if you don't ease up," Ione observed sadly on one such
occasion. "Not so long as I thrive
on it!" Michael exclaimed. "So long as I can actually see the barge
getting slowly under way as I tug on it, the whole thing is a joy. Arnold of
Rugby said there was no happiness on earth comparable to that of a headmaster
who feels his school is on the right track." "And Arnold died of it at
age forty-six. Read your Strachey." "Anyway, I'm
sure he died a
happy man. But don't worry, my love. I shan't do much dying so long as I have
you. Which brings me to something I've been mulling over and which I'm now
ready to discuss. I've been very much aware that I cannot expect you to get
the same kick out of this Averhill job that I do. And I never forget that you
gave up a career you loved for me." "Oh, Michael, it wasn't
all that great," she protested, suddenly mortified at receiving so much
credit for so minor a resignation. "I rather liked your thinking I'd
sacrificed myself for you. Not that I wouldn't have, anyway." "Nonetheless, you did it.
And I've been racking my brain to find a way of reviving your law career. The
big firms in Boston or Springfield are too far to commute to with any
comfort, and I'm too selfish and too crazy about you to contemplate your
moving there and our being reduced to a weekend marriage." "Oh, never. Not
that." Boys will be boys, and old and
new boys provide ample opportunity in The
Headmaster’s Dilemma for a reader’s brief visit into the world of an
upper class prep school. Steve
Hopkins, June 20, 2008 |
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Go to Executive Times Archives |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the July 2008 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/The Headmaster's Dilemma.htm For Reprint Permission, Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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