Word: maudsleys
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...friend, Marcus Maudsley, uses him as a plaything--one with macabre attractions, to be sure. Leo, the orphaned son of a shabby-genteel pacifist and book-collector, is notorious at his school only because of his black magic. There is no real affection present in the relationship; a thick oil of politeness surrounds the entire Maudsley family. The Maudsleys test each other aesthetically rather than touch and exchange emotions or ideas...
...direction). Leo's venture with Marion into the city of Norfolk is splendidly observed: the pair enters narrow streets which criss-cross and flow with a sedate citizenry; Leo entertains himself in a spired cathedral whose height lets his feelings soar, unlike the staircase-bounded hall of Maudsley...
Ultimately, Burgess is the only admirable figure of the piece. Marion is revealed as a coquette, unable to resolve her social obligations-and her passionate urges. Leo is caught in the midst of Maudsley cruelty, is used by the matriarch to reveal Marion's 'sin', and is shattered by the experience. He is revealed in the end as a drained man, left forever in a state of adolescent ataxia...