Madam L'Ourse's Daughter

How far is a mother prepared to go to secure her daughter's future? Madame L'ourse, widow of an eminent chemist, has both the determination and the cunning to bring young Babette's marriage plans to fruition, with dangerous consequences for anyone who dares to stand in her way. But has she met her match in Jack Straw, one-time inmate of Bedlam lunatic asylum? It will take a visit to the morgue to find out who The title of this 1970s novel is a little deceptive. The well-chosen cover picture obviously represents the Lucrecia of the title -- Madame L'ourse, a middle-aged but still fearsomely attractive German widow of a French doctor -- and indeed she is the centre of this excitingly dark narrative. Her daughter Babette does have a part to play in the story, and indeed her desire to get married to a young German businessman is central to the plot, but Babette herself remains a rather shadowy figure around all the dodgy deeds committed by her powerful parent. The story is mostly narrated by a young Englishman, David Glenney, but mainly takes place in Germany, the home of young Fritz Keller, who lives with his father and helps to run his business. Unfortunately for Fritz, Mr Keller disapproves deeply of his son's choice of bride -- not that there's anything wrong with Babette herself, who is a pretty, quiet and virtuous girl. But Madame L'ourse has a bad reputation and we soon discover that it's well-deserved. She has got herself into deep debt by frittering away all her husband's slender earnings, and even worse rumours are circulating of possible dark deeds.