About book The Madonna Of The Sleeping Cars (2012)
It was curiosity more than anything else that made me buy this book. Curiosity as to what it was that made this book so immensely popular in the mid 20s (this is a reprint of that work as translated by the French(real name Maurice Tessier) author’s American friend Neil Wainwright (so expect American punctuation and spellings!) to whom the book is dedicated. At worst, I thought it might simply be a frivolous pastime, but it was curiosity that was foremost in my mind.There are four main characters: the aristocratic Westerners Lady Diana Wynham and her secretary Prince Gerard Séliman (who is the “author” of the book — and so it represents his take on the characters and their attitudes) and the Russian Communists Leonid Varichkine and his partner Irina Mouravieff. The writing and dialogue is florid (even “awful” by modern standards) and stylistically quirky, but it is not difficult to become used to it. Somehow it also seems “appropriate” as the type of writing one would expect the character Séliman might use; but of course, it is Dekobra’s style, and it represents a fascinating mix (aka dekobrisme at the time) of the author’s first-hand experience of the places and events described, and the fictional elements of the narrative. On a certain level there is a certain spying quality that propels the narrative; but the more intriguing aspect is the complex interplay between the four main characters. The setting (in the mid-1920s) provides the political background (the Capitalist Aristocracy and their overwhelming fear of the consequences of the Communist Russian Revolution). Dekobra’s style allows him to present unflinching descriptions of both political sides: Wyndham and Séliman provide prescient condemnations of the Communists and Communism, while Varichnike and Mouravieff provide the equally incisive biting criticisms of the Aristocratic, Capitalistic melieu. Given the immense popularity of the book, one cannot help but wonder how much its pro-Western sentiments might have contributed in shaping the West’s virulent anti-Communist phobias prevalent both during World War II (especially among our political and religious leaders) and particularly throughout the Cold War period.At the end of the book there is an Afterword written in 2012 by René Steinke. Among other things, it interprets the book from the point of view of its depiction of the New 20th century Woman as typified by the two central women in the book, the outrageous Lady Diana Wynham (the ‘Madonna of the Sleeping Cars’) and the terrifying Irina Mouravieff (the ‘Marquise de Sade of Red Russia’).Indeed, the characters of the two women are perhaps the most potent aspect of this novel: both represent a kind of freed or emancipated woman; and both are presented as both wonderful and terrifying in their own ways. Both are ruthless, cruel, heartless and fearless — and while Séliman’s overwhelming preference is for Lady Diana, one can also detect a sneaking admiration for Irina. The men are presented almost as peripheral actors, to be used by the women for their particular ends and purposes, and with not too many other redeeming qualities. As to which of the two women protagonists is the most monstrous, I will leave that to the individual reader to determine…Overall, a most enjoyable read.
I had a bit of trouble deciding how to rate this; there were things I liked a lot about it, and things that very much annoyed me. The style is florid, sometimes to the point of seeming like parody, and while reviews have commented on the way that Dekobra keeps the tone light, even in the more harrowing scenes, I found that juxtaposition jarring rather than charming. I also found the character of Lady Diana annoying much of the time. All that said, at bottom it is quite a good spy-ish (not actually about espionage, per se) adventure story, and very firmly rooted in the inter-war period at the birth of the Soviet Union. That setting is compelling, and it is rendered well here, with only a touch (it seems to me) of exaggeration.
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Such fun to read. Published in 1927 and out of print for 50 years it's spy novel set after the Russian Revolution. The main character is beautiful and independent Lady Diana Wynham. Learning she is facing financial ruin she asks her secretary Prince Gerard Seliman to go deal with the Soviets to gain control of the oil wells confiscated by the new regime. In his attempt to save her wealth Gerard crosses a very sadistic representative of the new secret police, lovely lady spies and possible redemption of his past. The writing is absolutely wonderful and we are reminded of how different the social mores and especially the manners were in another time.
—Jane
'Charming' seems to be a word often used in reviews of The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars, and I can only concur. It went down easily, like something smooth, milky and sweet but not too sweet. There were some pointed barbs aimed at both English upper-class society and the Russian communist regime, but still I felt like I was skating across the surface, admiring the pretty bubbles and not being drawn in. This may have had something to do with my expectations (after all the blurb on my copy does describe it as a 'delightful romp'), as well as the unflappableness of the narrator and the elegant prose.
—Nicole
It was a fairly light read, depending on how much you wanted to get into it. I went into it with the false expectation that it was going to be a simple action thriller, being a Spy novel. It turned out to be constructed more like a pastry than in inverted spyglass; sweet and flexible in interpretation. I got about as much of it as I put in, only to realise with sadness at the end that the things that made it more than worthwhile - the political historical references, the women's liberation themes, and the close-up examination of 20s high society, were ignored by me for most of the time, which was a crying shame because the novel focussed on these. The narrator is a bit of a bumbling character with too much naivety for any real confrontation, and it's due to him that the character gains its light flavour. With Prince Seliman around, nothing too bad can happen; it'd be beyond his comprehension. The author seems to make a point of contrasting him with the women he encounters, more mighty, knowledgeable and daring than him, although I felt the real finale was achieved by another man, one assumed incompetent up till that point, by shooting the icy Irina Mouravieff dead, the only real action we get. Of course, it ends with the Madonna setting forth to find a new life, but only to find a husband in six months. I personally felt let down by the novel's ending, which was meant to be mysterious and free-will-y, but only turned out to be another wealth/man-seeking expedition. Then again, this novel wasn't perfect but enjoyable; I'd have liked to give it 3.5 stars for what it aspired to.
—Sofiya
