when everyone knew that she was straightforward, when Aunt Fanny told everyone everywhere that she was truthfulness itself. She felt as if Ivy had slandered-not herself but someone to whom she, Stella, owed devotion and loyalty. Stella’s mind went back to Ivy’s dismissal, went further back to that sudden anger that had seized her when she overheard Ivy refer to her as a “sly little piece.” There had been no pique or personal resentment in her anger.

We are fascinated, not least by the suggestion that there are two Stellas: the controlling narcissist who acts to protect her illusion of herself and the deluded illusion. So how does Richmal Crompton do it? The answer is through a brilliant depiction of character. But the tension builds, holding us, and we are appalled each time Stella strikes. The novel unfolds through a series of episodes. This is in part through the cumulative effect of years spent near her, in part through some very dark deeds. Some are suspicious from the start and avoid her if they can others are fortunate to escape lasting damage and a few have their lives destroyed.

Stella’s impact on the people around her is horrific. “Well, it’s a good thing that someone in the family’s going to make a little money, because”-she threw the familiar affectionate smile … across the table-“I don’t think that Daddy ever will.” Saint-like, she never complains, although occasionally she speaks a little indiscreetly, as here at a tea-party with her husband, their children and family friends: Even her own family, for whom she willingly sacrifices herself, lets her down. She has just happily settled down somewhere at last, when someone takes against her for no reason, so she simply has to move on. Much to the bewilderment of her uncritical, lifelong friend Biddy, people are often unfair to Stella or take advantage of her. We see Stella: being educated at home enjoying parties with other young people nursing her aunt getting engaged and married having children and growing older.

Richmal Crompton takes us through Stella’s life, from childhood to late middle age. Fanny was overlooked as a child, and is determined that pretty, charming and loving Stella will never face this. If we know the story, we are at once on our guard with Richmal Crompton’s study of a narcissist called Stella.Īs the novel opens, Stella is a child in an upper middle-class home, an orphan cared for by her devoted Aunt Fanny. Narcissi are often found on river banks, bending over the water and seeming to stare at themselves. He was so enraptured by his reflection in water that he stared at it until he died and was transformed by the gods into the flower which bears his name. In Greek myth, Narcissus was a beautiful but excessively proud youth. Richmal Crompton, by Bassano, vintage print, circa 1930 (National Portrait Gallery)

Richmal crompton