Book Notices | The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene

Thomas Christopher Greene, The Headmaster's Wife

Amazon   The book opens with a mystery: Why does the esteemed headmaster of an elite New England boarding school take off his clothes and walk naked through Central Park? Arthur Winthrop's explanation to the police, roughly the first 40 percent of the book, amounts to the story of his life--a walk through the decades of experience that led him to this act--and to a confession. The rest of the book is told from different perspectives and rounds Arthur's story out, so that we arrive at a fuller understanding of the tragedy of this man's fall. It is beautifully written and sad but not crushingly sad and evocative of its setting--crisp leaves crunching underfoot and red brick buildings lining a quadrangle. Really a lovely read.