Mammon and Co

Mammon and Co by E.F. Benson (1902)

E.F. Benson's Mammon and Co. opens on the social sparring of Kit, Lady Conybeare, with her friend Alice Haslemere in a London drawing room, establishing Kit's philosophy that "you can't be too charming" and introducing her husband Jack, Lord Conybeare, a financially embarrassed but socially adept peer who conceals real cleverness and cynicism beneath studied charm. Jack and Kit, married seven years and childless, live in fashionable poverty, maintaining appearances through unpaid bills and mutual, tolerant honesty about each other's private affairs. Learning of opportunities in West Australian gold mining, they cultivate Frank Alington, a wealthy, outwardly staid and pious financier planning to float new mining companies. At a City dinner Kit dazzles Alington in a spectacular gown, and soon after, at their riverside house, Alington persuades Jack to become chairman of his new Carmel group of mines for a salary and allotted shares, also asking Jack to recruit Lord Abbotsworthy (Tom), Alice's brother, as a fellow director. Back in London, Kit and Jack entertain lavishly, including a card party where Kit and Alice both suspect Alington of cheating at baccarat. Kit persuades Jack to say nothing officially and enlists Alice in secretly watching Alington again, hoping to gain leverage over him, though she privately conceals from Alice that Jack already knows. At a later baccarat evening, Kit herself unintentionally pushes a counter over the line after winning, effectively cheating, and says nothing in the moment out of pride and self-interest. Alington, who witnessed this, later corners Kit and reveals he knows what she did, while calmly proving that his own earlier "cheating" was innocent (confirmed by Tom, who saw him swap counters) and forcing Kit to apologize and abandon her scheme against him, leaving her thoroughly unsettled and newly wary of his composure and power. Meanwhile, Kit maneuvers to match Jack's amiable, unpretentious younger brother Toby (Lord Evelyn) with Lily Murchison, a wealthy, reserved American heiress newly out in society, daughter of the socially ambitious but good-hearted Mrs. Murchison, who is desperate to break into London's "smart set." Kit engineers dinners and introductions, and during a country weekend at the Conybeares' riverside house, Toby and Lily grow close on a punting excursion after Mrs. Murchison's rambling encouragement, resulting in their engagement, news of which reaches Kit and Jack with satisfaction, since Lily's fortune promises to benefit the family. Alington, meanwhile, is shown as a curious mixture of shrewd financial operator and genuinely devout, cultured private man, poring over mining reports and playing Bach with real religious feeling. As the mining venture advances toward its public launch, the narrative shifts to Toby at his mother's seaside house, beginning a fresh scene by the sea after his swim.

By E.F. Benson · First published 1902 · Genre: Satire, Social Commentary, Humor · 25 chapters · 120,801 words

First lines

"Egotism is certainly the first," said Lady Conybeare with admirable firmness; "and your inclination towards your neighbour is the second."

Now, this was the sort of thing which Alice Haslemere liked; and she stopped abruptly in the middle of her rather languishing conversation with nobody in particular to ask for explanations. It sounded promising.

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satire · society · wealth · greed · class · humor · British literature · early 20th century · social commentary · character study · relationships · materialism

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