Overlooked

A blind narrator, guided by his long‑time friend Doctor Kennaway, arrives at the fashionable spa town of Haréville for a restorative stay. There he encounters the eccentric novelist James Rudd, a man whose life revolves around his own stories and who has been sent to the resort to pause his writing. Their unlikely friendship sparks an unexpected project: Rudd, longing for material, asks his new companion to help him devise a tale about the people they meet.

He proposes to base the story on three intriguing locals—a wise French princess, a vivacious socialite with her niece, and a mysterious young woman—each offering a different shade of intrigue. The narrator, though blind to their faces, becomes the chronicler of their conversations, recording every nuance as Rudd shapes his unpublished holiday novel. As the days pass, the resort’s genteel chatter and hidden dramas provide a fertile backdrop for a narrative that may never see the light of day, but promises plenty of lively observation for listeners.