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Authors: Nicholas Searle
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your man, capturing him in the net of your mind and pinning him.’
‘Like a butterfly on a board?’
‘Exactly. That is what we’re attempting to achieve, after all, is it not? Now, what do we have here?’
They pore over the documents together. Stephen is aware that he
has not come as well prepared as he might have. Gerald sighs and
looks at the small pile of images that Stephen has been attempting
to verify.
‘This is from when?’ he asks, extracting one carefully.
‘That one’s verified. He’s in his mid- thirties, nothing more spe-
cific than that,’ replies Stephen. ‘I think it was in Edinburgh.’ He picks up another picture, like the rest a poor- quality reproduction.
‘We have others spanning the period of his twenties to early forties.
They’re mostly verified. As sure as I can be, they’re all of him. Then we have these other five that I’ve yet to confirm. They include possible pictures of him as a boy and a young man.’
Stephen studies the photocopied sheets again. To him the images
look as if they are of the same individual. The face that stares out has the same features that will later in life mark him out as handsome. More strikingly, he can see in the boy the same superiority
and disdain. But he must be cautious, as he knows that it was the
convention of the age to produce pictures that both idealized the
subject and emphasized his arrogant seriousness. Innocent smiles
48
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05/05/15 5:32 PM
would not have been customary, even for a child. He looks at the
eyes, pixelated crudely, and can derive no meaning.
‘Now, what are your largest gaps?’ asks Gerald.
‘Predictably, his mid- to late twenties. He spent some time in the Low Countries and also in France, with the army. Things are sketchy during this period and it’s difficult to keep track.’
‘All right. I do think you need to bring more structure to this. I’d like you to take each decade, as represented by these piles, and draw together a series of narratives, each with a summary and of course
referenced footnotes. Leave out commentary, emphases and con-
clusions for the moment. And don’t worry about style. Once you’ve
assembled your facts you’ll see your whole individual and have to
rely less on hunches.’
Stephen accepts the rebuke, delivered drily and with neither sym-
pathy nor annoyance. He knows what Gerald says is true: academic
research is about methodical plodding and not intellectual bril-
liance. Until perhaps, like Gerald, you have served your time and
reached the exalted heights from which you can instruct others to
deliver the facts, leaving you to add the instinct and the inspiration.
2
Later the same day Stephen sits at Betty’s kitchen table.
‘Just how can you stand him?’ he asks her.
‘It’s not at all as you imagine,’ she replies calmly. ‘It’s turned out pretty much as I envisaged.’
‘But he’s repulsive. How can you bear being so close to him?’
‘I’ve experienced worse things. You may not like him. I can under-
stand that. But I make my own choices, thank you very much. I
don’t require your permission or blessing. You may wish to consider respecting my views.’
She speaks these words not as a reprimand but evenly and firmly
as everyday observations.
‘I’m sorry. But he’s big and he’s shambolic and he smells.’
‘He smells slightly because he’s old. He smells because of his age, 49
1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 49
05/05/15 5:32 PM
seeping from his bones. We die of old age from the inside out, rot-
ting gradually as we get older. It’s not something he can necessarily help.’
‘You don’t smell.’
‘I suppose I’m to take that as a compliment. I’m a woman. And
perhaps women are different from men in some regards, however
much I dislike generalizations. Do I detect a touch of jealousy here?’
Stephen is aware that his face is ablaze. He finds it difficult
your man, capturing him in the net of your mind and pinning him.’
‘Like a butterfly on a board?’
‘Exactly. That is what we’re attempting to achieve, after all, is it not? Now, what do we have here?’
They pore over the documents together. Stephen is aware that he
has not come as well prepared as he might have. Gerald sighs and
looks at the small pile of images that Stephen has been attempting
to verify.
‘This is from when?’ he asks, extracting one carefully.
‘That one’s verified. He’s in his mid- thirties, nothing more spe-
cific than that,’ replies Stephen. ‘I think it was in Edinburgh.’ He picks up another picture, like the rest a poor- quality reproduction.
‘We have others spanning the period of his twenties to early forties.
They’re mostly verified. As sure as I can be, they’re all of him. Then we have these other five that I’ve yet to confirm. They include possible pictures of him as a boy and a young man.’
Stephen studies the photocopied sheets again. To him the images
look as if they are of the same individual. The face that stares out has the same features that will later in life mark him out as handsome. More strikingly, he can see in the boy the same superiority
and disdain. But he must be cautious, as he knows that it was the
convention of the age to produce pictures that both idealized the
subject and emphasized his arrogant seriousness. Innocent smiles
48
1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 48
05/05/15 5:32 PM
would not have been customary, even for a child. He looks at the
eyes, pixelated crudely, and can derive no meaning.
‘Now, what are your largest gaps?’ asks Gerald.
‘Predictably, his mid- to late twenties. He spent some time in the Low Countries and also in France, with the army. Things are sketchy during this period and it’s difficult to keep track.’
‘All right. I do think you need to bring more structure to this. I’d like you to take each decade, as represented by these piles, and draw together a series of narratives, each with a summary and of course
referenced footnotes. Leave out commentary, emphases and con-
clusions for the moment. And don’t worry about style. Once you’ve
assembled your facts you’ll see your whole individual and have to
rely less on hunches.’
Stephen accepts the rebuke, delivered drily and with neither sym-
pathy nor annoyance. He knows what Gerald says is true: academic
research is about methodical plodding and not intellectual bril-
liance. Until perhaps, like Gerald, you have served your time and
reached the exalted heights from which you can instruct others to
deliver the facts, leaving you to add the instinct and the inspiration.
2
Later the same day Stephen sits at Betty’s kitchen table.
‘Just how can you stand him?’ he asks her.
‘It’s not at all as you imagine,’ she replies calmly. ‘It’s turned out pretty much as I envisaged.’
‘But he’s repulsive. How can you bear being so close to him?’
‘I’ve experienced worse things. You may not like him. I can under-
stand that. But I make my own choices, thank you very much. I
don’t require your permission or blessing. You may wish to consider respecting my views.’
She speaks these words not as a reprimand but evenly and firmly
as everyday observations.
‘I’m sorry. But he’s big and he’s shambolic and he smells.’
‘He smells slightly because he’s old. He smells because of his age, 49
1ST_9780241206935_TheGoodLiar.indd 49
05/05/15 5:32 PM
seeping from his bones. We die of old age from the inside out, rot-
ting gradually as we get older. It’s not something he can necessarily help.’
‘You don’t smell.’
‘I suppose I’m to take that as a compliment. I’m a woman. And
perhaps women are different from men in some regards, however
much I dislike generalizations. Do I detect a touch of jealousy here?’
Stephen is aware that his face is ablaze. He finds it difficult
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