Short Fiction · Chapter
A Touch of Realism explained
At a Christmas house party, Lady Blonze introduces a game where each guest must adopt a character.
What happens
At a Christmas house party, Lady Blonze introduces a game where each guest must adopt a character. The game quickly descends into chaos as Bertie van Tahn invades Waldo Plubley's room in search of his 'lost sheep,' and Cyril Skatterly and Vera Durmot abandon the Klammersteins on a remote moor, impersonating Ferdinand and Isabella deporting the Jews. The party becomes a scandalous success, generating much talk and correspondence.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of Egbert…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- The Absurdity of Social Rituals
The Christmas game, intended to be original and amusing, devolves into absurd and cruel behavior, highlighting the ridiculousness of forced social entertainments.
- Hypocrisy and Moral Facade
Lady Blonze desires a talked-about party but ignores the underlying cruelty; guests pretend to be characters while their actions reveal selfishness and malice.
Characters to notice
- Bertie van Tahn
Plays the character of Little Bo-Peep, disrupting Waldo's sleep by searching for his 'lost sheep' in Waldo's room.
- Waldo Plubley
A hypochondriac guest whose rigid sleep routine is shattered by Bertie's antics; later feigns a headache to avoid the game.
- Vera Durmot
The sixteen-year-old flapper who, with Cyril Skatterly, abandons the Klammersteins on Slogberry Moor as part of their character impersonation.
- Cyprian
Mentioned as Cyril Skatterly, who has 'madness on one side of his family and a Hungarian grandmother on the other'; participates in the game by deporting the Klammersteins.
Key passages
“I hope you’ve come full of suggestions for Christmas; the old-fashioned Christmas and the up-to-date Christmas are both so played out. I want to have something really original this year.”
Lady Blonze asks her guest for a novel Christmas idea, finding both traditional and modern celebrations stale.
Sets up the motivation for the disastrous character game.
“If Skatterly took it into his head to represent a Bull of Bashan, well, I’d rather not be here.”
Sir Nicholas fears that Cyril Skatterly's wild imagination could lead to inappropriate biblical impersonations.
Foreshadows the chaos Skatterly will cause.
“We left them on Slogberry Moor; we asked them to get out for a moment, on the pretence that the car had stuck, and then we dashed off full speed and left them there.”
Vera Durmot calmly explains that she and Skatterly abandoned the Klammersteins on a remote moor under false pretenses.
Climactic moment revealing the cruel lengths to which the game is taken.
