Wife Apparent
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Founder | Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer) |
| Products | Fiction novel |
Wife Apparent is a 1956 novel authored by the English writer Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer), marking his final literary contribution. Initially named Lady-in-Waiting, the title was altered at the last moment to avoid confusion with another book released at the same time bearing that name.
Introductory note
This work is divided into two sections: the first is narrated in the first person, while the second adopts a third-person perspective, spanning a two-year timeframe set in 1956.
Plot summary
Major Coridon Gore, aged 42, is a celebrated novelist residing quietly near the fictional Hampshire village of Halliard. He experiences intermittent memory lapses due to a head injury sustained during wartime. His only confidante is an ancient elm tree located on his estate.
Unknown to Gore, his godfather bequeathed him £10,000, contingent upon Gore being "up and dressed" by 9:30 when the executors arrive. Discovering him in shirtsleeves, they attempt to withhold the inheritance but are ultimately outmaneuvered by Gore’s friend and legal advisor, Pompey Colbourne.
Gore encounters Niobe Coke, a 26-year-old visitor staying nearby; they quickly develop a romantic relationship. Two days before their wedding, a storm topples the elm tree, endangering Gore’s delicate mental state. Before his family can inform him of this loss, Gore suffers amnesia on Bond Street and cannot recall who he is. Identified through a label in his suit, his sister Cleopatra is alerted.
After consulting Dr Berserk, the family learns that Gore requires a peaceful environment for six months accompanied by someone of his social standing. Niobe moves in under the pretense that they are married. Gore accepts her as his wife and gradually falls in love with her again, unaware of the elm’s destruction; this fact is withheld from him to prevent distress.
After several months, the truth about their unmarried status is revealed; though shocked, Gore remains deeply in love and consents to marry her immediately. Niobe begins selling her artwork commercially with Pompey acting as her agent.
One year after their initial meeting, during an Ascot event, Gore’s memories suddenly return. Despite concerns about how he might react to losing the elm tree, he accepts it with composure and regards Niobe as his new Privy Counsellor.
Critical reception
Upon release, John Metcalf of The Sunday Times commented that “Mr Dornford Yates’s fantasy life is rich enough to make millionaires superfluous,” portraying the middle-aged author-protagonist as "a very parfait gentil survivor from the world of Berry & Co." and extending his good wishes.
AJ Smithers, Yates’s biographer in 1982, observed signs of diminishing creativity in the author, noting recurring elements such as wood-related mysticism, an amnesiac officer, and a woman feigning marriage.
In 2015, Kate Macdonald lauded the novel as "a triumphant return to [Yates'] playful and witty style of the 1920s," emphasizing its emotional resonance and comedic narrative centered on recovery within an English Arcadian setting.