"My Novel" — Volume 09

The novel opens with a witty, self‑aware narrator who likens the rush of public affairs to the steam that powers a locomotive, inviting readers to wonder if they have ever given up personal comfort for civic duty. A lively cast—members of the Caxton family, the ambitious Audley Egerton, and a colorful brigade of politicians, scholars, and strangers—bustles through cramped rooms and crowded gatherings, each embodying a different facet of society’s public stage. Through clever analogies and a conversational tone, the book sets up a gentle satire of how private identities can be lost in the heat of collective ambition.

Against this backdrop, the story follows Riccabocca, a reluctant newcomer coaxed by Jackeymo to settle in a house suggested by the enigmatic Randal, while his pride wrestles with past misfortunes. Their interactions reveal the tension between personal honor and a community eager to absorb strangers like distant relatives at a holiday feast. As the narrative unfolds, readers encounter intimate dilemmas that arise when public duties threaten to eclipse the quieter parts of the self.