The Expensive Halo

The Expensive Halo: A Fable without Moral, published in 1931 under the name Gordon Daviot, is Josephine Tey's second novel. It follows the Dorias, a family whose considerable charm has always compensated for their lack of money or common sense. As the children grow up and the family's precarious finances finally collapse, each must find their own way of confronting adult life. A wry, affectionate comedy of manners, the novel showcases Tey's gift for sharp characterization and her unsentimental eye for the gap between how people see themselves and who they actually are.