A Crooked Mile

"A Crooked Mile" by Oliver Onions is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story begins with Lady Tasker, a seventy-year-old woman, who finds herself lost while navigating the London Underground as she attempts to visit acquaintances in Hampstead. As she ventures into an unfamiliar area, her encounter with various characters, including a policeman and the eccentric Cosimo and Amory Pratt, hints at themes of social class, generational differences, and perhaps the absurdities of modern life. The opening of the novel sets a whimsical yet contemplative tone as Lady Tasker grapples with her disorientation and a sense of obligation to visit the Pratts. Her interactions reveal her strong-willed, somewhat prickly personality and her reflections on life as she navigates her way through the city. Upon reaching the Pratts' home, she encounters not only the contrast between her traditional values and the modern artistic community surrounding the Pratts but also an unexpected revelation regarding the presence of seemingly "invisible" individuals, hinting at deeper societal observations. As Lady Tasker’s visit unfolds, the reader is introduced to a world rich with colorful characters and underlying social commentaries. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Oliver Onions, who published under the name Oliver Onions, was an English writer of short stories and novels. He wrote in various genres, but is perhaps best remembered for his ghost stories, notably the collection Widdershins and the widely anthologized novella "The Beckoning Fair One". He was married to the novelist Berta Ruck.