A Maggot

A Maggot is a novel written by John Fowles. Released in 1985, it tells of a voyage taken by various travelers in the eighteenth century.

Characters[]

"Mr. Bartholomew" - the mysterious figurehead of the five travelers
Rebecca Hocknell Lee (or Fanny and Louise) - a Quaker turned prostitute who joins the expedition after Mr. Bartholomew hires her
Dick Thurlow - Bartholomew's deaf and mute childhood friend
Francis Lacy (or Mr. Brown) - an actor hired by Bartholomew to play the part of his uncle
David Jones (or Sergeant Farthing) - an actor hired by Bartholomew to play the part of a soldier
Henry Ayscough - a lawyer hired by the Duke to find his missing son
John Tudor - Ayscough's clerk
The Duke - Bartholomew's father
Richard Pygge - a lawyer
James Wardley - the leader of the Quaker splinter group that Rebecca is a member of
John Lee - Rebecca's husband
Amos Hocknell - Rebecca's father
Thomas Puddicombe - the owner of an inn that the travellers stay at
Dorcas Hellyer - the seventeen year old maid of Puddicombe
Mr. Sampson Beckford - a deeply religious clerk of Wadham College
Hannah Claiborne - The keeper of St. James House on German Street, described by Ayscough as a "whore-monger"

Publisher's summary[]

The mysterious events surrounding a journey undertaken by five unrelated but nonetheless interconnected individuals are the foundation of John Fowles's mesmerizing novel of the eighteenth century. When one traveller is found hanging from a tree and another vanishes into thin air, an inquiry is undertaken. A Maggot is the story of what arises out of that inquiry, of different versions of truth and lies, of doubt and disbelief, the conflict of reason and superstition; and of the birth of a new faith.

Part detective story, part science fiction, part gothic horror tale, part history of dissent, A Maggot is a contemporary novel, yet also in its way a true tale of Defoe's time. Fowles's departure from the tradition he has followed is in the license allowed by the passage of tie. As in the now famous French Lieutenant's Woman, parts of the story are told by a modern narrator, one who appreciates the meanings of events shaping the characters' lives better than they. The technique is not obtrusive. Rather, it sets up the context of a story - "a maggot" in the archaic sense of an obsession - no writer of the eighteenth century would have imagined, much less been able fully to tell.

Plot[]

April 1737[]

In the "late and last afternoon of an April long ago", four travelers ride through the Devonshire countryside on horseback. These travelers include "a man in his late twenties, in a dark bistre greatcoat", an "older man" reading a book as he rides through the countryside, and "a bareheaded man" and a young woman. They are joined by a man dressed in a "faded scarlet riding-coat" on horseback. The five on horseback encounter two poor shepherd children before riding into a town (more of a small village) whose name begins with c. Watched by the villagers, the travelers take lodgings at the inn of a man named Puddicombe.

While in the inn, the leader of the travelers (Mr. Bartholomew) speaks with his "uncle", Lacy. It soon becomes clear by their talks that Lacy is an actor hired by the leader to play the part of his uncle. Their conversation also reveals that Lacy and his "nephew" plan on splitting up the next day and reuniting in London. Meanwhile, a member of the party named Dick watches a "maid" undress and bathe before exposing himself to her. Though the maid is not disturbed or perturbed by this, she has Dick leave the room. That morning, the soldier (one Sergeant Farthing) reveals the travelers' cover-story (that they are "riding to pay court to a lady who was respectively an aunt and a sister") and discusses Dick. It is revealed that Dick is Bartholomew's deaf and mute servant, with whom he communicates through sign language. Sergeant Farthing also reveals that Dick is prone to fits of madness and is extremely lecherous.

That night, Bartholomew and Lacy further discuss their voyage and the "maid" briefly. After Lacy leaves the room, Dick enters into the room and burns every book in Lacy's case with the help of Bartholomew. While in the company of Bartholomew, Dick seems more like a close friend than a servant. Bartholomew summons forth the "maid" - whom is revealed to be a prostitute hired by Bartholomew named Fanny. At first, Bartholomew berates Fanny over her "sin" as a prostitute but then the two talk of Fanny's origins - raised in a Quaker family, she was kicked out after an affair with the "son of the house where [she] was maid" and forced into prostitution due to poverty. Bartholomew reveals to Fanny that the travelers are meeting with peoples from a foreign land with no knowledge of English (with Bartholomew planning to communicate with them using sign language). Due to this, he asks Fanny to dress and act modestly in their company.

Several weeks later, the body of Dick is found hanging from a tree while no trace is found of his fellow travelers.

Examination and Deposition of Thomas Puddicombe, Dorcas Hellyer, and Mr. Sampson Beckford[]

Seemingly due to the mysterious circumstances of the death of Dick and the disappearance of his fellow travelers, one Henry Ayscough begins interviewing people who encountered the travelers. He starts by questioning the owner of the inn which the travelers stayed at. At first, this interview reveals little that was already stated in the preceding section (though it does state that Farthing was Welsh) but near the end, Puddicombe reveals that a "violet man" appeared shortly before the travelers met and that an empty chest was found near Dick's hung corpse.

Ayscough next interviews Puddicombe's maid Dorcas. She reveals that Bartholomew wrote strange papers with mathematical symbols and circles on them (though as Dorcas is illiterate, she is unable to state what the symbols meant). She also reveals that the chest (which Puddicombe assumed was previously filled with gold) was the chest of books whose contents were burned by Dick and Bartholomew.

Finally, Ayscough interviews one Sampson Beckford. The two bond over shared Tory sensibilities, though Beckford is able to reveal little as he did not meet Mr. Bartholomew - though he does shine a light into the character of "Uncle Brown". It is also revealed that Ayscough is specifically looking for Mr. Bartholomew. On the Fourth of August - shortly after his interview with Beckford - Ayscough writes to whomever hired him revealing that he has found little.

Examination and Deposition of Francis Lacy[]

After leaving the town seen at the beginning, Ayscough (along with his clerk, who writes Ayscough's interrogations down to send them to Ayscough's employer) visits the actor Francis Lacy. Ayscough accuses Lacy of being hired by Mr. Bartholomew to play the part of his uncle. Lacy initially denies this but is eventually convinced by Ayscough to confess and give a statement.

According to Lacy's examination and disposition, Lacy was approached by Mr. Bartholomew to join him on a voyage using a story (which Ayscough describes as "cock-and-bull") about a forbidden romance. Along with Lacy, a fellow actor named David Jones (a Welshman who is frequently drunk and only barely able to act) joined into the expedition. Before visiting the village whose name begins with C, the voyagers travelled to various English cities - including Amesbury, a town near the "heathen temple" of Stonehenge. While at the Stonehenge, Mr. Bartholomew gave a lengthy speech on mathematics and the nature of free will. That night, Dick along with his master and "the maid" rode on horseback just outside where Lacy and Jones (who witnessed this mysterious ride) throughout the night. Lacy suggests that this odd sight was an "elopement post facto".

This is where Lacy's examination and disposition ends, though Ayscough promises to speak with Lacy again.

Examination and Deposition of Hannah Claiborne and the Further Examination and Disposition of Mr. Francis Lacy[]

Ayscough visits one Hannah Claiborne, a "whoremonger" that Fanny was owned by. Though Hannah reveals little, she does reveal that she does show an extreme disdain for Fanny and that one Lord B------ hired her several times before the voyage. On leaving, Ayscough tells Hannah to "take [her] putrid painted cheeks out of [his] sight."

Next, Ayscough returns to Lacy. First, he asks him about the relationship between Dick and Mr. Bartholomew. He reveals that they were very close - with Mr. Bartholomew claiming that the two of them were childhood friends due to Dick's mother being his nursemaid when asked by Lacy. Lacy also reveals that Dick and Fanny were seemingly in love (though Lacy is seemingly unaware about Fanny being a prostitute) and that Jones left the voyage to return to his homeland to visit his family. Mr. Bartholomew was alarmed "less than [Lacy] feared" on learning of Jones' disappearance and had Lacy leave for London while he, Dick, and Fanny continued onwards on their voyage.

After speaking with Lacy, Ayscough sends a letter to the person who hired him. This letter reveals that Mr. Bartholomew knew Lord B------. Another letter reveals that Ayscough's associates have tracked David Jones down and that, though he tried to avoid them, he has been captured. A third and final letter, not written by Ayscough but sent by him, shows that Mr. Bartholomew was gifted enough at mathematics to be a contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton's.

Examinations and Depositions of David Jones[]

Ayscough visits Jones and begins his interview. At first, Jones claims that he left the party to visit his dying mother in Wales only to find that she (along with his sister) had died years ago. Ayscough believes that this is a lie and after demanding Jones to tell the truth, the Welshman reveals that he encountered the other members of the expedition (sans his friend Lacy) shortly after they left. While spying from them at a distance, Jones watched as the three encountered a mysterious figure (which Jones assumes is a woman) wearing silver clothing and entering into a cave. Several hours later, Dick ran out of the cave (presumably to hang himself) and Fanny walked out in a trance before throwing herself to the ground in a prayer for forgiveness. According to Jones, Mr. Bartholomew never left the cave.

After taking a break to eat, Jones resumes his narrative. While Jones ran through the forest "in great fear", he ran into Fanny - who fainted after seeing him. On recovering, Fanny mentioned a "maggot" before talking of witchcraft and the Devil. While the two ride out of the forest on horseback, Fanny tells her side of the voyage.

Fanny was hired by Mr. Bartholomew to "cure" him of an "unusual ailment" (presumably homosexuality - which would have been extremely stigmatized, if not illegal, during Bartholomew's era) by having sex with Dick while he watched until he could find some mystical waters that he claimed could serve as a "cure". While at Stonehenge, Fanny and Mr. Bartholomew took part in a ritual which led to the Prince of Darkness being briefly summoned. Several days later, the expedition entered the cave after meeting with the woman wearing silver. According to Fanny, Mr. Bartholomew and Dick met with Satan (alongside a couple of witches) and engaged in undescribed "lecherous abominations" after a black wedding was performed. During these "abominations", Fanny was drugged by one of the witches and had a dream of being shown around a gallery of horrible deaths by Satan before being found by Christ and "saved". On waking up, Fanny found that the cave was empty and fled.

Though Ayscough is extremely dismissive of this story, he allows Jones to continue. Jones let Fanny accompany him to Bideford where the two parted ways - with Fanny sailing on a ship named the Elizabeth Ann for Bristol while Jones sailed for Swansea.

An associate of either Ayscough's or his employer named "Richard Pygge" visits the mysterious cave and begins a study of the area. He discovers that the area is home to a group of Egyptian ritualists (which Pygge assumes had a hand in the disappearance of Mr. Bartholomew) and strange burnt and extremely hardened earth. Richard sends a sample of the dirt to a learned colleague who says that it is similar to soil found by Robert Boyle in the Dead Sea. Around the same time, another of Ayscough's lackeys finds Fanny (who has married a blacksmith and fallen pregnant with his child) and uses Jones to identify her.

The Examination and Disposition of Rebecca Lee[]

At first, Ayscough and "Fanny" (or Rebecca) argue over religion before Rebecca starts talking about the events of the expedition. According to her, most of the story she told Jones was a lie. She says that Mr. Bartholomew did hire her as a "cure" (and that she is pregnant with Dick's child) but that she did not meet with Satan at Stonehenge. Instead she (alongside Dick and Mr. Bartholomew) met with two mysterious (and possibly unearthly) carpenters. Before she can reveal what happened in the cave, Ayscough pauses the interview so that Rebecca can eat dinner in private. While eating dinner, she briefly bonds with Ayscough's clerk.

After eating, Rebecca tells of the cave. After meeting with the woman clad in silver, the expedition entered into the cave. Lurking within its bowels was a fantastical machine (which Rebecca describes as the "maggot") - a large vehicle used by a mysterious old woman whom Mr. Bartholomew seemingly knew. After entering into the maggot, the four travelled to a utopian land (which Rebecca describes as Heaven and dubs "June Eternal") and flew over it (during which Rebecca saw the carpenters) before landing. While the rest of the expedition left, Rebecca had a vision of an extremely brutal and unearthly war. After this vision, Rebecca spotted "His Lordship" and the two locked eyes - leading to Rebecca falling asleep. On waking up, she found herself back inside the cave.

After finishing this interview, Ayscough allows Rebecca to meet with her husband, her father, and the leader of her flock (though he refuses to allow them to pray together). Once this short meeting has finished, Ayscough interviews the leader about his faith. The next day, Ayscough continues to interrogate Rebecca. At first he tries to get her to rescind her story but fails. He then tries to ask her about her religion and tie up some loose ends but largely fails. The interrogation is interrupted when Rebecca has a vision of Mr. Bartholomew. Ayscough briefly asks Rebecca about the vision before asking her to sign her statement. While leaving, Ayscough tries to give Rebecca some money but the young woman refuses it.

Shortly after leaving, Ayscough writes a letter to his "Grace" (or Mr. Bartholomew's father, who presumably hired him to find his son) detailing what he believes happened - that Mr. Bartholomew set up an elaborate plot (which possibly created Rebecca's visions) and is most likely dead. He also postulates that Dick hung himself due to the loss of Mr. Bartholomew and horror at the part he had played in his designs. Several months later, Rebecca gives birth to her daughter - whom she names Ann.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

Wikipedia

Title	Author	Release date	Significance
The French Lieutenant's Woman	John Fowles	1969	A novel by the same author with similar themes
The Adventuress of Henrietta Street	Lawrence Miles	2001	A novel with similar themes
Lemprière's Dictionary	Lawrence Norfolk	1990	A novel with similar themes
The Volcano Lover	Susan Sontag	1992	A novel with similar themes