Wade Thompson
Dr. Hunter Hayes
November 2, 2009
A Musing On Gash’s Lovejoy
I have to say, first off, that I have never been a fan of mysteries. In fact I don’t remember the last time that I ever read one. Perhaps it was the images of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes on television that turned me off, or that infernal Agatha Christie’s Murder She Wrote which was always playing on television whenever I was a kid. The only mysteries that I can remember tolerating were Perry Mason and occasional Matlock that my parents used to enjoy and thus was forced to watch. But at the moment I cannot precisely say whether or not I have ever actually read a mystery either. Perhaps it is my ignorance which is showing at this point, and I will admit to that. I am ignorant on several subjects, and usually if I am I choose to be because of some association with said item creates a distaste in my person for such things. So this semester when I learned that we had to do group presentations in English 597 over a subject in the crime noir area, my group picked Jonathan Gash’s Lovejoy series. At the time I didn’t mind because, like the other items on the list that we had to choose from, I didn’t know anything about it, thus making it equal to everything else. However, when I soon found in my possession several books from the series, saw the cheap paperback covers, the art, and found out from my professor that it was a mystery series, I soon became worried. Lovejoy is a mystery series, for crying out loud! I thought to myself. How was I going to handle this assignment with something that I had a distaste for? How?!
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But I had agreed, along with my group mates, to do the project so I decided to look at Lovejoy with a grain of salt. Think of it as a personal challenge if you will, but I was determined to see it through. So, with a little bit of hesitation, I plunged into the series by looking at Gash’s eleventh book in the series, Moonspender. I decided that by reading one of the middle books I could get an accurate representation and feel for them, the results of which will be found the further along into this essay.
One of the first things I noticed about the series is the sense of humor that the main character, Lovejoy, has. Though he may be a confidence man in the antique industry, which I was told, Lovejoy shows the intricate world in which he lives and works. For instance, on the first page of Moonspender Lovejoy tells the reader, “The story begins where I am making love to an ancient Chinese vase, on gangster’s orders, watched by eleven point two million viewers” (Gash 1). There are two things that need to be taken into consideration when reading this line. One, the obvious deprecating
sense of humor that is seen throughout his novels, and two, the seedy associations and social network in which Lovejoy operates within. As I look at these books to figure out what benefits they may have to the reader even I, someone who has no interest in mysteries, can see the value they have.
Now, let’s talk about those values.
Going back to Moonspender we see the character Lovejoy in the utter preposterousness that is his existence as an antiques dealer, in which a large chunk of the humor in Gash’s novels is centered upon. In the beginning of the novel Lovejoy is
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selling handkerchiefs outside that are supposed to be of Irish linen (Gash 1). The disparity of the situation in which Lovejoy puts himself in portrays the humor that is inherent in his character. I say this because the very act of selling perceived “antique” handkerchiefs on the street seems all to ludicrous and the fact that he is desperate enough to attempt such an act gives it a feeling that the author is lampooning the very antique dealing industry.
This lampooning of the antique industry is one of the central values of the series, as I was told to observe by a professor, as the series, and even in this novel, tends to depict a seedier social network when it comes to antiques. For instance, as one of the main devices in the novel, Lovejoy is fixed into being a judge for an antiques show by a gangster and his thugs who are high criminals in antiques dealing (Gash 13). This leads us back to where Lovjoy begins, about judging an ancient Chinese vase (22-3). After showing his ability in judging antiques Lovejoy is brought into a scheme with the antiques hoodlum and his thugs. But it is this humor which I believe draws people to the Lovejoy series, his cockney sense of style which permeates his ever being. One of the best instances of this in the novel is when he deals with Sir John, a person whom he owes money and services (Gash 62). Though it appears at first that the lord has the upper hand in using Lovejoy for his own services, the scandalous antiques dealer informs Sir John that he has acquisitioned a fake antique. However, much to Sir John’s dismay, he won’t tell him which one is the fake, thus risking the lord’s reputation when it comes to grandiose displays of his wealth (63). It is moments like these that show off Lovejoy’s
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surliness, his ability to poke fun at those who believe themselves above him in status or station. That is why I think this novel, along with the series, does justice to the genre in that there is always a series of beats, little conflicts, that keep the story moving along at an extraordinary rate, almost as fast as any film or television show. The world of antique dealing in which Lovejoy operates, a world of scheming, conniving, conning, and even sometimes violence, is represented throughout the novel, showing a side which most people have never known. And it is through such representation that I believe Gash’s Lovejoy series gives the mystery genre a steady, comforting feeling that can always be counted on by the reader. Though it is not the type of book that I will ever read, it is, nevertheless, a series that is worthwhile, at least for a momentary sense of enjoyment. Thank you.
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