The Go-Between: Chapter 1  Summary & Analysis

It is 1900, fifty-odd years before the prologue. Young Leo is invited to spend the summer at Brandham Hall in Norfolk, where his schoolmate Marcus Maudsley lives. The thought of going there gives Leo “bouts of stomach-turning trepidation,” but he’s also excited by the prospect. Brandham Hall is a great deal more opulent and upper class than he is used to. Leo knows Marcus by his surname, as that’s more common amongst schoolchildren.

Leo thinks that part of the reason for his invite might be that, when the boys had discussed their respective home addresses, Marcus had taken Leo’s “Court Place” to be a wealthier environment than it is (in fact it’s just a fancy name for an ordinary house).

Leo reflects on his parents. His father, who is no longer alive, was a reserved man preoccupied with his principal hobbies of book-collecting and gardening. He worked as a bank manager and would have liked Leo to be home schooled, though Leo’s mother had refused. Leo’s father’s collection of books sold for a surprisingly high sum many years later, granting Leo “immunity from the more pressing cares of life.”

Leo’s mother is “attracted by the things of the world” and is a much more social creature than her husband was. Leo says she likes “to mix with well-dressed people on some smooth lawn…to greet and be greeted by them…all this gave her a tremulous pleasure.”

Leo talks about his impressions of Marcus, thinking he possess a “savoire-faire that enabled him to be, without appearing to seek it, on the winning side.” Though Marcus had remained neutral during the diary episode (that is, during the curses on Jenkins and Strode), he had secretly rooted for Leo and happily told his family of Leo’s magical victory.

Leo enjoys the weeks at school after his “vanquishing” of Jenkins and Strode. His mother doesn’t understand his improved status, as it’s based on Leo being a “magician.” She’s not sure that Leo should be so prideful when the two boys who bullied him are hurt.

When Leo goes back to school after Easter, his friends and clients—who pay him to learn black magic—ask him to use his powers to make the school term end early. Leo uses all his “psychic force,” and, coincidentally or not, a measles outbreak means the school closes for summer weeks earlier than planned.

Those at the school without measles are delighted at the prospect of such a long holiday. The children pack their belongings and are later picked up from the school gates, bidding goodbye to the schoolmaster and his family. The departing children make a loud uproar as they leave, not thinking about how the sound would affect the patients in the nearby sanatorium.

On the train leaving the school, the children are extremely joyous, intoxicated by “the very breath of freedom.” Leo takes out his dairy, and the others wonder whether a new spell is being cast. Leo himself wonders whether he really was supernaturally responsible for the measles outbreak. Leo feels his dreams for the “year 1900, and for the twentieth century, and for myself” coming true.

The previous year had been a disastrous year: Leo’s father had died and Leo himself had been seriously ill with diphtheria, spending the entire summer in bed. Leo senses this year will be better.

Back at home, Leo and his mother discuss the invitation to Brandham Hall. His mother is hesitant for him to be away for so long, and especially that he will not be at home for his birthday in late July. She makes him promise to let her know if he isn’t happy. There’s also a chance, she thinks, that he or Marcus will get measles.

Leo prepares for his trip. Because June was not a hot month, he doesn’t think the summer is going to be hot either. His mother agrees, and packs only thick clothes for him. She warns him that “getting hot is always a risk” and against doing “anything violent.” She implores him to go to church if he can. Leo feels glad that she’s not coming with him, concerned that she would seem “socially unacceptable.”

As the day of departure grows near, Leo becomes nervous about the trip. He asks his mother to write to Mrs. Maudsley and tell her that Leo has contracted measles and can’t make it. His mother refuses to lie for him. He tries to make a spell to bring about spots on his chest, but to no avail. On the eve of departure, Leo and his mother sit in their “one formal room” in silence; Leo senses she has something “special to say,” but is close to crying and it remains unsaid.