Melodrama

Alan Mason's 1997 novel, described by John Herdman in The Glasgow Herald as 'entertainment of a high order (which) should appeal to those who value ironical humour and linguistic wit and accomplishment... (Mason's) speciality lies in the brilliant parody or pastiche of bygone literary styles, in which he has a facility which could run away with him were it not for his ironic sense of all that distances the contemporary reader from the chosen period. For this is not inert imitation but a comic technique which provides a springboard for narratives of great wit, flair and inventiveness. The novel's plotting is as adroit as the language is accomplished...The reader needs to be constantly alert to pick up on the elements of identity confusion, trans-sexual disguise, time-shifts, flashbacks and comic dream sequences, but this is all part of the fun and stimulus of the exercise. It is the kind of book in danger of being squeezed out in the present climate of commodification of literature and domination of the market by literary fads...'