Buried Alive

Description

The Benefits Of Anonymity And The Strange Ways Of Life In Buried Alive

Buried Alive by Arnold Bennett is one of those ingenious satires of life. The author manages to create a charming portrayal of a shy yet wealthy artist who assumes the identity of his dead valet and the strange events that life throw in front of him.

Priam Farll is a wealthy English painter who is also quite skilled at his craft. He is widely recognized in the Edwardian society in the time just before the First World War. However, Priam is extremely shy and he cannot adapt to this way of life. The opportunity comes when his valet, Henry Leek, dies. The doctor mistakenly believes the dead valet to be Priam, and the painter himself doesn’t have the courage to argue otherwise. So the story goes that the valet is to be buried in Westminster Abbey and the artist to assume his role.

At first, Priam believes that he is blessed with anonymity. He no longer has the press attention on him and his shyness isn’t a curse anymore. However, life as an unknown in the society can be tricky. What saves the talented artist who became a valet is the common sense of the medium class society. That and the fact that he manages to marry a rich widow. Eventually the money runs out and he has to find a way to earn his living. He takes up painting again only to have his style recognized by an art connoisseur. However, he is thought to be an imposter and his works are bought only to be sold as genuine in the United States. He is too shy to admit he is the real artist, and so the satire goes on.

Buried Alive is a must-read for anyone wishing to indulge in soft satire of modern society as well as the depiction of a person who is unable to comfort with the ordinary.
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