"It might seem absurd that something as inconsequential as a soufflé should rouse society's passions, let alone that a single soufflé's failure to rise could have repercussions enough to affect the course of people's lives. A soufflé, light and fluffy as a lover's promise, should not have the force to cause waves. The tiniest ripple, perhaps, but not the tidal wave now in the making".
Belle Nash and the Bath Soufflé (The Gay Street Chronicles) by William Keeling is an exuberant and boisterous tale of schemes and machinations, lure and allure, love and loyalty, set in the 1830s Bath.
When Gaia Champion decides to host a birthday dinner for her closest friend "Belle" Nash, nobody could imagine that a culinary disaster will set off a chain of events which will shake the local society.
Focused on the personality of Bellerophon Nash and his circle of friends, the first volume of The Gay Street Chronicles gives an insight in the social and moral issues of the early Victorian days.
Belle is a local councillor, a bachelor and a bon vivant, who lives with his "cousin" Gerhard Kant in an elegant townhouse on Gay Street in Bath. Belle is a witty, intelligent man, loving and loyal.
Gerhard is quite a character. Self-obsessed with his own beauty (he has a habit of gazing at himself dreamily in the mirrors in every room), he is also predisposed "to philosophical speculation". He laughs at his own jokes, and considers himself an intellectual.
When Belle and Gerhard attend Gaia's dinner, the culinary calamity occurs. Gaia's cook, Mme Galette, has "been whisking like crazy until her arm near dropped off but it [soufflé] won't rise". Upon the investigation, it becomes clear that one of the ingredients is at fault. The dinner company decides to take it upon themselves to look into the case further, find the culprit and save the future of the soufflé.
Gaia's friends turn amateur detectives, but they are certainly not as inconspicuous as they think. As their investigation moves forward, there is plenty of comic situations, in which our friends find themselves. Mrs Crust's Pie shop and its second-rate competitor Shirley Haytit's tearoom with its deadly crumpets turn into surveillance points.
The group of friends uncover corruption and abuse of power among the certain circles of the local authorities. Villainous Magistrate Wood is in cahoots with the swindler grocer Porter.
And they would go to any lengths to stop Gaia, Belle & Co from exposing them.
The humour is ranging from mild human comedy to the stinging satire, especially when applied to the political institutions and social mores. The manner of narrative makes you think of Mr Pickwick's characters. The exuberance of writing is definitely inspired by the young Dickens' style.
Apart from the main protagonists, Belle and Gaia, there is a whole set of supporting characters, each with their own personality and eccentricity. There's a formidable Lady Passmore, of Tewksbury Manor, her close friend and confidante Mrs Pomeroy, a shy spinster Miss Prim who is prone to fainting at any given opportunity.
Bring in the amusing cooks, the misfit music teacher Mr Quigley who wears a tea cosy on his head, young Princess Victoria who visits Bath, the handsome young clerk Lucious Lush who is happy to go through the regression therapy under Gerhard's tutelage, and many more unconventional characters, and be entertained.
Gaia's storyline is told from a feminist angle. She believes in advocating women's rights. Her late husband Hercule has encouraged her to use her mind. But "her purpose - her work - had vanished with Hercule's death. With him at her side, she had visualised her future spreading out as a twin progress; withour him, that future had turned in on itself... They were equals in marriage and it was on that basis that their relationship was founded." Without him, Gaia realises how unjust the female role in the society is. She needs to find a new purpose in life.
Gaia's enthusiasm in exposing the unscrupulous grocer and his patron is not a trivial matter. She muses, "His real crime is to have taken advantage of the women of Bath... It is the wives and cooks and housekeepers and kitchen staff who make up Porter's clientèle. There is a lot more than the soufflé now at stake. Porter's is an assault against our entire sex and I for one am not prepared to tolerate such a state of affairs. It is time for women to rise up against injustice, to occupy the roles of authority that have for so long been betrayed by men".
Every chapter comes with informative historical notes which give a deeper insight in the social, political, and philosophical issues of the day. These footnotes are far from being boring, and give an in-depth data supporting the narrative.
If it were a play, it would have been a 2/3 vaudeville, 1/3 drama. It is a light, like a proper souffle, entertaining read, comical, with pantomime villains, until you reach a certain point in the story, and it turns rather poignant.
Belle Nash and the Bath Soufflé is a hugely enjoyable story, deliciously witty and compelling. A cracking read!
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