# Respectability and Hypocrisy in The Borough Treasurer

> Theme guide for The Borough Treasurer by J. S. Fletcher.

Mallalieu and Cotherstone are outwardly prosperous, respected civic leaders (Mayor, Borough Treasurer), yet they are criminals living a lie, demonstrating the gap between public reputation and private corruption.

## Where it surfaces

- [I: Blackmail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/chapters/i-blackmail): Mallalieu and Cotherstone are outwardly respected figures—Mayor and Borough Treasurer—but hide a past conviction for fraud.
- [II: Crime—and Success](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/chapters/ii-crime-and-success): The contrast between the men's current respected public roles and their criminal past is a key theme.
- [VII: Night Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/chapters/vii-night-work): Mallalieu, as Mayor, uses his position to direct police and suppress truth, prioritizing reputation and self-interest over morality.
- [XII: Parental Anxiety](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/chapters/xii-parental-anxiety): Cotherstone's primary concern is to protect Lettie's marriage prospects by hiding his past, showing the priority of outward respectability over truth.
- [XXX: Cotherstone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/chapters/xxx-cotherstone): Cotherstone, a former treasurer of the town's club, is shunned by his fellow members and townspeople after his arrest, highlighting the fragile nature of social respectability and the hypocrisy of a community quick to judge.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/themes/respectability_and_hypocrisy
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_borough_treasurer_se/themes