The Quincunx - Structure

Structure

The novel has a fivefold structure. It is divided into five "Parts", each taking the name of one of the families linked to the inheritance. Each Part is then divided into five "Books" and each Book is divided into five chapters.

At the beginning of each Part a quincunx of quatrefoil roses from the relevant family's arms are displayed. These then reappear as a count of one to five roses at the start of each Book. At the end of the novel all five families' devices are combined in a larger design, a quincunx of quincunxes. The pattern of narration of the 125 chapters - John Huffam, an omniscient narrator and a third person - exactly matches the colour pattern - white, black and red - of the 125 elements of the design. The mixture of first-person and detached narration is similar to the alternation between Esther Summerson's story and a neutral point of view in Bleak House. Palliser also notes that the heart of the book is an account taken from a journal which has a further subdivision into five "Relations" and a central ambiguity made by some missing pages. The information in the journal (as John Huffam suggests obliquely at the end of the book) is a key to reinterpreting all the events.

The design of the five families' devices is also important within the story, when it is the key to the secret hiding place of the second will.

At the end of each Part of 25 chapters, a partially revealed family tree is given, showing the relationships as John so far understands them.

The book also includes extracts from Richard Horwood's 1813 map showing key locations in London. The rural locations are, however, fictional. Although the central settlement is on the York-London road and shares its name with Hougham in Lincolnshire the story contradicts this identification by placing it 159 miles from London.