The Servant by Robin Maugham (Harcourt Brace & Co., 1949)
An unpleasant and undernourished novella, The Servant might have seemed daring and original in its day, but has not withstood the test of time.
It’s the story of two recently de-mobbed bachelors in London, both of whom seem to be gay and probable lovers, but of course they’re not. It helps that the girl (she’s 16) at the center of this menage is a certified frothing-at-the-mouth nymphomaniac. The titular character, Barrett, is a man servant who completely eclipses and control’s his master’s house and life. In Harold Pinter’s hands this might have seemed credible and chilling, but the young Maugham isn’t astute or adroit enough to make any of this nonsense believable or even engaging.
I remember the film version of this book, starring Dirk Bogard, written by Pinter, and directed by Joseph Losey, as being a subtler and more interesting treatment of this material. I wonder how it withstands the test of time.
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