An inconsistent and flawed novel as compared to Fox in the Attic. Hughes meanders into separate stories. Those stories are weak and ask the reader's effort to hold our interest. The stronger sections too often read like a regurgitation of history. The main character, Augustine, as other reviews have pointed out, becomes tedious in his ne'er-do-well meandering around the globe -- from prohibition America to Morocco back to his mansion in England. This sequel to the Fox novel must be accompanied by a warning and clarification that many sections will try the reader's patience and invite skimming. ( )

This sequel to Hughes' The Fox in the Attic continues the story of Augustine, a young an quite naive English peer in the 1920s, as well as the von Kessen's a Bavarian noble family trying to make sense the turbulent times post-WWI and far from disapproving of the growing nationalism, both in Bavaria and in greater Germany. The novel also follows the rise of the Nazis in close-up range, with Hughes describing the machinations of Hitler as well as his allies and his foes within the party. We also see responsible Germans watching, and generally underestimating Hitler's political skills and staying power. The Fox in the Attic showed us Hitler's first attempt to seize power, the so-called Beer Hall Putsch. The Wooden Shepherdess takes us through the Nazis' rise to power in 1933, culminating in the Night of the Long Knives, the Nazi's brutal internal purge of 1934. Through Augustine's brother-in-law, a member of the British House of Commons, we also get a picture of political developments there, as well. The German sections are interesting, and Hughes claimed to have done exhausting research of letters and memoirs to nail down details. But overall, the book drags in parts, with long side journeys, especially while we're following Augustine. Augustine is young, strong and capable but as he grows into mature adulthood, remains immature in important ways, unable to find himself a worthy pursuit in life. It is frustrating to follow a character so good-hearted and yet so dunderheaded. This is the second book in what Hughes planned as his "The Human Predicament" Trilogy. Sadly, Hughes died before he could finish the third book, although I've read somewhere that there is an edition of The Wooden Shepherdess that includes the 12 chapters of Book 3 that Hughes did write. Given that, it's understandable that this book just sort of stumbles to a close with many of the threads left unresolved. I would say all in all that this book is interesting to read, but not particularly compelling or even, sad to say, satisfying. ( )

Really more like five stars for effort, three for execution, but he never got to write the last volume to the trilogy. The end of The Fox in the Attic and the first couple hundred pages of this one are very, very disjointed. His minor characters, whether historical or fictional, are fascinating, but for some reason his major characters look more like plot devices (Augustine gives him an excuse to write about Germany, America, Morocco, the upper classes of England, Wales...) or ciphers (er, Hitler, who I guess kind of was a cipher). At points everything pulls together, particularly when he deals with financial turmoil and how it moves from location to location for a variety of reasons. It's tough to make enthralling fiction out of finance, but he manages to do it in only a few pages. But even with all that, and the beautiful writing, which hovers somewhere between fairy tale and Jane Austen level irony in style, the lack of conclusion really hurts the Human Predicament as a whole. This one also has more tedious passages than Fox, so unless you really like that and are fascinated by the project, you might want to give this a miss, sad to say. If you do take it on, there are plenty of mind catching scenes (Ree's attempted seduction) and details (wax dropping on a christmas decoration) and characters (Mitzi! Mitzi rules) to make it well worthwhile. ( )

2995 The Wooden Shepherdess: The Human Predicament II, by Richard Hughes (read 20 Jul 1997) This is a sequel to The Fox in the Attic, which I read Nov 17, 1968. August leaves Germany because his love, Mitzi, becomes blind and a Carmelite. He comes to Prohibition America and does dumb things. This segment was not very convincing. I'm not sure an Englishman like Hughes can convey USA in the 1920's He then returns to England and travels to Morocco. The highlight of the book is its account of Hitler's bloodbath of June 30, 1934. I thought the book well worth reading, though Hughes has a spare writing style. ( )