Nykypäivien maantieritari

"Nykypäivien maantieritari" by Berta Ruck is a novel written in the early 20th century. It appears to be a light, romantic comedy of modern manners in which ex-officer Archie Laverock, a good-hearted “knight of the road,” is drawn into the orbit of Lucy Joy, a newly famous beauty-contest winner turned film ingénue. The story plays with chivalry in a motor-age setting and the glare of show-business celebrity, setting a young man’s ideals against fashionable society and the attentions of powerful older admirers. The opening of the novel shows Archie driving through Surrey when he sees a man violently shake a girl in a motorcycle sidecar; he intervenes and spirits her into his car, only to discover the “assault” was a filmed scene. The girl is Lucy Joy, the nation’s newly crowned beauty, and on the drive she and Archie trade teasing revelations—he now delivers cars for a living; she is a rising film star. He visits her lively home, meeting her adoring mother, elegant aunt, cheeky younger brother, and a swarm of pets, while observing how Lucy’s sudden fame attracts high-ranking, well-heeled older men who arrive to whisk her off to dinners and dances. A few days later Frankie invites Archie to a picnic in the pines, where the visiting admiral’s presence makes the gathering stiff and awkward; brief interior glimpses of each character underline the contrast between Lucy’s glittering new world and Archie’s simmering dislike of the privileged older suitor.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.