The Steadfast
Schweitzer’s first novel attempts to place the reader in Edwardian England, with side trips to Dutch South Africa, in a wide-ranging tale of murder, intrigue, and love. Morris Moneypenny is an up-and-coming architect hired by the king of bat guano, George Aimlinson. All is not as it seems with Aimlinson, in both his business and personal lives. Moneypenny is drawn into the explosive international mystery behind Aimlinson and his associates, falling in love with the alluring Mrs. Aimlinson along the way. Unfortunately, the text is riddled with errors typographical, grammatical, and anachronistic. Instead of rich Dickensian feeling, the novel wallows in overdescription and overuse of synonyms, resulting in reader confusion and textual contradictions. This is a tough read, recommended only for diehard mystery fans.
