The Optimist

Summary

Once said to be one of Delafield’s oddest books yet also said to be her most thought-provoking novel. The story is largely dominated by Canon Morchard, an 'utterly impossible clergyman' whose children and lives are dominated by his wishes and manipulation. The story is largely seen through Owen’s eyes – a man who fought on the Western front for two years and returns to England to the home of his old tutor, Canon, whose life becomes based on illusions as his children protect him from anything that might upset him. Owen learns his own life lessons after Canon’s death and reverses certain judgments he previously made.

This story follows one man's interactions with the family of an English Canon following World War I and the way the children in the family negotiate their relationships with their father, with his strong personality and religious beliefs.