The Favour by Laura Vaughan

Ada Lovelace is a figment of her own imagination. She has no biological connection with the man she calls father, and therefore no share in his aristocratic heritage, but she claims it for her own. Everything she dreams of becoming is embodied in the crumbling country pile where she grew up. When her stepfather dies and her down-to-earth middle-class mother sells Garreg Las, she is determined to recover her lost status. ‘I wasn’t trying to break in, you see. I was trying to get back.’

The method Ada employs to progress in a world dominated by inherited privilege is despicable, but also very clever. Having failed to win a place at Oxford, where she hoped to rub shoulders with the ‘young demigods’, she swiftly locates another water hole frequented by these semi-mythical beasts. Thanks to a generous gift from a godmother who is not really her godmother, she joins a horrendously expensive gap-year Art History trip to Venice. There, she tracks down a herd of beautiful teenagers from unimaginably wealthy families. Having located her prey, she lays a trail of signals that establish her as part of their world: the big house in the country, the inherited pearls, the famous literary forebear.

‘Ada does everything in her power to prove she is one of them. And when a member of the group dies in suspicious circumstances, she seizes the opportunity to permanently bind herself to this gilded set.’

Narrated in first person, the plot of The Favour is skilfully woven and intriguing, but what I found most enjoyable about this novel was the brilliant characterisation. The reader is initially encouraged to sympathise with Ada, whose life falls apart when she is thirteen. Her efforts to fit in with the gilded youth are entertaining, and when she is successful in convincing them she belongs, it is tempting to admire her nerve. As the plot develops, there are moments when it looks as if Ada’s future with her circle of well-connected friends is going to be bright. Only one of her targets, Oliver, does not fall for her grooming technique, hinting at danger to come.

If Ada had been able to leave her adventures in Italy behind and take charge of her own life, The Favour would have had a different and more positive outcome. Unfortunately, she remains dependent on unrealistic values for personal validation. Everything good in her life is in the gift of others; her random jobs in publishing, her social life, her clothes. As for the wealthy people she has trapped in false friendship, over the ten years covered in the novel age brings out their true characters. The golden lads and lasses come to dust, and when they return to the scene of the crime, Venice seems less beautiful and the palazzos are decaying, even before the truth comes out.

Laura Vaughan is an experienced writer with a background in Art History. Her descriptions of Italy are delightful, and many people will enjoy The Favour for that reason alone. I especially liked her accurate observation of the trappings of unearned privilege.