Hearing Secret Harmonies by Anthony Powell

Book #12 in the 12-novel Dance to the Music of Time series. FINISHED! The series is included in the Modern Library Top 100 and the Times Top 100. My reviews of the previous 11 books were done in November, January, March, and April, should any readers be interested.

Powell'a narrator Jenkins is in his 60s in this book, and it is a rather sad book as his friends and many acquaintances all seem to be dead, dying, ill, or going mad. The theme seems to be that Time has caught up with them, but the Dance goes on, with new dancers coming together in new patterns.

The novel begins in 1968, and the new characters are part of the youthful rebellion going on at the time--members of a mystical cult led by a young Mage, who keeps his disciples through a combination of magnetism and will. One of those drawn into this circle is an older man who gives up his post as a university chancellor to be a part of the commune. Surprise! It is Widmerpool, who has been a recurrent character from the first of the story.

At first this plot development seemed to me to be unbelievable and illogical. After all, Widmerpool has been a successful businessman and a respected Member of Parliament. He has been made a Lord, and has taken his place in the House of Lords. After being suspected as a spy, but cleared, he has succeeded in the education profession. And then he drops out to become a mystic?

On reflection, perhaps this is not too far-fetched. Widmerpool had been something of an object of ridicule during his school days, and perhaps in his old age he allowed himself to try once again to become a leader in a group of young people. Who knows what any of us will do when we become a little dotty?

This novel series as a whole has been most interesting as it chronicled the English upper class and the intellectual class from the 1920s through the early 1970s. It would actually be almost impossible to understand the later novels in the series without reading the first ones, I believe. For that reason, a reader should commit to reading from #1 on through. For those with the time, it is worthwhile endeavor.