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{{Short description|1989 novel by Charles Palliser}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = The Quincunx
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#An attempted burglary tempts Mary to show her hand. She possesses a [[Codicil (will)|codicil]] to a [[Will (law)|will]] which is valuable to the Mompesson family, owners of a nearby estate. Meanwhile, John begins to suspect he is descended from the '''Huffam'''s, the original owners of the estate. Mary is put under further pressure by the death of her protector in London, Mr Fortisquince, and by subsequent treacherous advice which persuades her into a loss-making property speculation. She reluctantly visits Sir Perceval Mompesson, who wishes to buy the codicil. At the Hall, John encounters Henrietta Palphramond and her [[governess]], Miss Quilliam. The codicil is not sold, but later an attempt is made to abduct John; it is possible that his death would alter the inheritance of the estate. To escape, John and his mother travel to London.
#With dwindling savings, John and his mother are forced into successively poorer lodgings and are pursued by [[bailiffs]]. They find refuge with the Isbister family, but flee when they discover they are amongst the [[London Burkers|body-snatchers of Bethnal Green]]. They discover Miss Quilliam, who takes them in. Mary decides to sell the codicil to the '''Mompesson'''s, but then fears betrayal and they flee to Fortisquince's widow. The codicil is purchased on condition that John goes to a school in the north. More debts wipe out Mary's gains and force Mary into a [[Fleet Prison|debtors' prison]]. John meets with cruelty and danger at the school and escapes back to London. He finds Mary who has
#John seeks out Henry Bellringer, who is a relation of a school friend. But instead he finds himself among a gang of thieves, living in a part-built mansion. There he reads his mother's journal, which gives tantalisingly incomplete details of his parentage, of the death of his grandfather, and of the legacy. If John dies, others could inherit. Eventually John escapes from the gang and a kindly household takes him in. But their act is not what it seems, for they are part of the '''Clothier''' family, to whom the codicil was unwittingly sold. With John as their [[ward (law)|ward]], they aim to inherit by having him sent to an [[insane asylum]]. It is there John meets Peter Clothier, whom he now knows as his father.
#John escapes from the asylum with the help of the Digweed family, whom he once encountered in the countryside. He starts a new life with them, surviving by scavenging the [[London sewerage system|sewers of London]]. He visits Jeoffrey Escreet, who tells the story of the murder of Mary's father. John resolves to take the name of Huffam. His salvation may lie in a second will, hidden in the
#John again seeks out Henry Bellringer to help him take advantage of the will. But Bellringer betrays him to another potential legatee, Silas Clothier. Clothier burns the will and attempts to murder John, but John escapes and Clothier dies. A '''Maliphant''' claimant comes forward anonymously. But it emerges that the burnt will was only a copy and that Bellringer has the original. With that, it is possible for Bellringer to win the inheritance by marrying Henrietta. During a storm, John interrupts a secret marriage ceremony between them in a derelict chapel at Mompesson hall. Bellringer is killed by David Mompesson, who flees the country. As the book draws to a close John finally comes within reach of the inheritance. As he does so he loses his original heroic character, becoming cynical and dismissive of his past friends. At the last moment it is revealed that the inheritance is still being determined in [[Court of Chancery|Chancery]] and may be worth nothing because of debts. With the outcome unresolved the story ends.
== Style ==
''The Quincunx'' was a surprise bestseller.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19900603&id=lLYrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y-UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6917,678758 "The Quincunx" Twists Its Way To Success] Jessica Baldwin, [[Associated Press]], ''[[Lawrence Journal-World]]'', 3 June 1990</ref> It is notable for its portrayal of 19th century England, covering the breadth of society from the gentry to the poor and from provincial villages to metropolitan [[19th century London|London]], and its dealing with the eccentricities of English land law. In a review citing parallels with ''[[Great Expectations]]'', ''[[Little Dorrit]]'', ''[[Our Mutual Friend]]'', ''[[Martin Chuzzlewit]]'', ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'', ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' and ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]'', [[Michael Malone (author)|Michael Malone]] has written that,
"Mr. Palliser appears to have set out not merely to write a Dickens novel but to write all Dickens novels".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/04/books/the-spirit-of-dickens-present.html The Spirit Of Dickens Present], [[Michael Malone (author)|Michael Malone]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 4 March 1990</ref> But Palliser looked beyond Dickens for his depiction of the social conditions, drawing on Mayhew's ''[[London Labour and the London Poor]]''.<ref name="afterword" />
[[J. Hillis Miller]]<ref>[http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rodopi/pms/2004/00000035/00000001/art00008 Parody as Revisionary Critique: Charles Palliser’s The Quincunx], [[J. Hillis Miller]]</ref> points out that,
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== Structure ==
The novel has a fivefold structure.
At the beginning of each part, a [[quincunx]] of [[quatrefoil]] roses from the relevant family's [[Coat of arms|arms]] are displayed. These then reappear as a count of one to five roses at the start of each Book. At the end of the novel all five families' devices are combined in a larger design, a quincunx of quincunxes. The pattern of narration of the 125 chapters - John Huffam, an omniscient narrator and a third person - exactly matches the colour pattern - white, black and red - of the 125 elements of the design.<ref name="afterword"/><ref>[http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/6199/1/RAEI_06_12.pdf The Symbol Made Text: Charles Palliser's Postmodernist Re-Writing of Dickens in The Quincunx], Susana Onega, University of Zaragoza, ''Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses'' 6 (1993): 131-41</ref>
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[[Category:British mystery novels]]
[[Category:Fiction with unreliable narrators]]
[[Category:Canongate Books books]]
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