Literature serves a core purpose of manifesting what takes place in the society, criticizing evil and encouraging virtue, describing the present and predicting the future as well as manifesting various positions taken up or represented by various members of the society, including identification of characters with their specific gender, race, position and power in the society. Additionally, literature portrays the relationship and interplay among various aspects of the society including geography, economy, culture and politics among other aspects that are pertinent to the society. This paper is based on a broad review of the work of literature (fictional book) entitled: “The Night Visitor” by Lucy Atkins and its significance, relationship and influence to the various aspects of the society, history of its setting, human practices, demographic factors, culture and sustainability as well as the insight that the book gives to the reader.
The Night Visitor is a book written by Lucy Atkins who lives in Oxford, a city based in the south eastern region of England. The book is therefore set in England and portrays the academic nature of the region that has remained historical, owing to the presence of Oxford University in the city. The population of Oxford city is approximately 168,270, ranking it as the 52 nd position in the United Kingdom, yet one of the fastest growing and ethnically diverse ( Higham et, al. 2017) .
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The book is authored by an award-winning British writer with a background in journalism and a keen understanding of the society in which she lives and its background. Apart from authoring books, Atkins is a critic of the UK newspapers and magazines that address various aspects of life in diversity.
The Night Visitor was written and published in 2017 by Quercus publishers. The book was produced on 4 th May 2014. Since then, it was quickly acclaimed as one of her bestsellers. This has been as a result of its strong message as well as the manner in which it clearly depicts its setting.
The gist of The Night Visitor is found in the question raised by the author: “How far would you go to save your reputation?” Other parts of the book manifest exploration of ambition, morality and deception of the major characters (Atkins, 2007). In the beginning, Professor Olivia Sweetman has eventually accomplished her life purpose as a TV presenter and historian. What adds up to her joy is the fact that she has 3 children and a talented husband. But she barely pretends to smile when she stands before a huge crowd at the launching of her new bestseller, having spiralled her life into deceit. She fears that if the secret (which remains untold) comes out, she will end up losing everything, including her reputation that has taken long to build. The 60-year Vivian Tester who is a socially awkward housekeeper is the only one who found the Victorian diary which contains details on the Olivia’s book. She has now become unofficial research assistant to Olivia and Vivian has her own secrets. The two women’s relationship broadens as the events in the book move between London, Sussex and the idyllic South of France, then a bizarre act of violence happens and things shall never be the same (Atkins, 2007).
The Night Visitor portrays the academic reputation of the region in which it is set. Oxford is known for many great accomplishments in research and academics, including producing the greatest authors of the world. It is one of the world’s cities that holds a reputation of giving birth to a great university; Oxford University. The main conflict in the book arises when Professor Olivia Sweetman stands before a huge crowd for recognition of what she has done. The professor is also happy about her family and life in general. However, only the thought of her secret being revealed will mess up everything. This implies that even if we have the best we desired in life, the fear of violating our own moral principles threatens to dissipate all that we have. This conflict is manifestly evident in the city of Oxford that is known for quality and credibility of academic achievements. It is an institution which seeks to protect the reputation it has set for a long time. The conflict is meant to make individuals with aspirations to use incredible and unjustifiable means to achieve academic reputation experience self condemnation. The overall message of the book expresses the futility of such means in achieving academic or professional success. It is also true that following the writer’s relationship drawn between cities of London, Sussex and idyllic France, external influence to the city might have substantially threatened to dissipate the record of achievement that exists in Oxford.
In relation to the culture of the city of Oxford, men have been continuously achieving success in professional and academic matters, especially research and writing. On contrary, The Night Visitor is written by an ambitious lady who has also made a number of achievements in Journalism and in the general area of writing, yet the content of her message contradicts the right manner in which academic reputation is achieved. At this particular instance, many questions arise in mind: Is it possible for women to achieve their life purposes in the rightful manner? Is it possible for women to build their families and achieve their ambitions? The answer to these questions is definitely “yes”. This is because the author herself has done so, even though the Professor Olivia has failed to do it. Men are nowhere close to the great, yet controversial work of Professor Olivia. Women have no reason to blame men for their own misgivings. Following the author’s example, all women can achieve their goals and ambitions in life, including the 60-year Vivian Tester who is a socially awkward housekeeper and has just made it to become unofficial research assistant to Olivia. Having all the details of Olivia’s book, how does Vivian perceive Olivia, a lady she initially thought to have all it takes to achieve the best? Therefore, women have a role to play in changing their own position in the society. Men would welcome success achieved by women. Professor Olivia’s husband is talented and would be grateful to see his wife succeed. He does not compromise her success. Whether it is credible or not, it will one day come to light.
The title of the book “The Night Visitor” is controversial. While it talks of a visitor who is regarded a blessing under ordinary circumstances, the aspect of “The Night” makes the intentions of the visitor both malicious and ill. Oxford is a sacred place which is distinguished in matters of academics and is recognized in the entire European region. The fact that the author uses a visitor in a book that talks of the pursuit for excellence and recognition through ill intentioned means demonstrates that there is at least foreign influence in the city, which seeks to damage its reputation.
Looking at the population and demographic details of Oxford region, it is seen that Oxford is a rapidly growing city and in the recent past, it has attracted many people from other regions. Therefore, it is true to conclude that the manner in which Olivia’s book was written is attributed to the foreign influence. It is an emerging issue that in the today’s world that is undergoing rapid globalization, people, including scholars are doing whatever there is to achieve success. This involves over-utilization of information and technology which has become increasingly rampant in attempts to meet the varied and considerable challenges of the present-day life. It is now true that no one, however important they appear, can be trusted to be good. People do whatever they can do to build names and achieve popularity. People have varied ambitions but if they do not pursue them in the rightful manner, they should expect consistent repercussions.
The Night Visitor has been reviewed and scrutinized by various scholars, most of whom assert its effectiveness in managing the challenges that have confronted the academic world in the recent past and still confronts it today. According to Stromquist (2007 ), problems that are facing the modern world result from globalization and it is only through the control of information and technology that they can be solved completely. The problem addressed by Lucy Atkins is one of such problems. In order to reclaim the original system and nature of research and education, there is need to revisit the manner in which information and technology is utilized in academic sector.
In a nutshell, “The Night Visitor” by Lucy Atkins is an interplay between human environment and the world of academics and professionalism. To understand the Oxford environment in which it is set, there is need to examine the interrelationship in various aspects of physical, social and historical components of the society in which the book is set. Its message is relevant to the society since it gives a new insight to the reader and helps to understand the virtues of reliable academic and other forms of writing. The main lesson revealed in this book is that much as someone may try their best to achieve ambitions, integrity is core in every step taken.
References
Atkins L. (2017). The Night Visitor ; First Edition. Quercus, ISBN : 9781786482181
Higham, D. J., Batty, M., Bettencourt, L. M., Greetham, D. V., & Grindrod, P. (2017). An overview of city analytics.
Stromquist, N. P. (2007). Internationalization as a response to globalization: Radical shifts in university environments. Higher Education , 53 (1), 81-105.
