The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels

“Once more, we gather. I, Inheritance Swift, Archivist, having consulted my books, and interpreted the signs, and checked everyone’s availability, hereby call the Swift Family Reunion! We return to the House of our House, to strengthen our bonds, to keep the peace between us, and to search for our lost fortune—as we have done decades prior, and will do decades hence, for as long as our names are spoken.”

Aunt Inheritance’s announcement at the start of the reunion uses a formal tone and ornate diction to convey the Swift family’s fascination with language and tradition. For example, the majestic phrase “as long as our names are spoken” reflects the Swifts’ conviction that their illustrious family name and their unique tradition of naming their members through the family dictionary set them above others. Inheritance has devoted her life to preserving the family’s traditions as the archivist, but the Swifts sometimes take their interest in names too far, leading to the themes of The Struggle for Self-Determination and tradition versus change.

“She pictured the Dictionary—and this part was easier, because she was looking at it—an ancient, leather-bound monster of a book, bursting its bindings with pages of calfskin and parchment and paper, with entries in crisp modern fonts, wonky typewritten letters, and hand-scrawled script with long S’s that looked like F’s.”

Lincoln’s detailed descriptions of the Swift family dictionary provide visual imagery. For example, the range of “crisp modern fonts, wonky typewritten letters, and hand-scrawled script” illustrates that the volume has been compiled over the course of centuries. In addition, the narrator uses metaphorical language when calling the dictionary a “monster of a book,” conveying not only its size but also the formidable influence that it exerts on the family’s lives. The care that Lincoln takes in describing the tome befits its status as a priceless family heirloom and a motif of the theme of tradition versus change.

“‘It does seem rather odd to have a House this size, and only one employee.’ The jar Cook was trying to open cracked in her hands. ‘An employee?’ She glanced around in mock surprise. ‘I didn’t know we’d hired aad nyone.’”

Cook’s dialogue uses verbal irony to push back against Inheritance’s inaccurate and offensive assumption that she is an “employee” rather than a part of the family. Through moments like this, Lincoln employs humor to critique classism. The passage also offers foreshadowing. Just as Inheritance can’t conceive of a lack of social hierarchies among the residents of Swift House, a group of Swifts later accuse Cook of being the murderer because she isn’t a Swift by blood.

“She and Phenomena looked out over a room that spanned the entire length of the House, an endless space where shadows lived and breathed and were swallowed by bigger, hungrier shadows. Their torch was a bare thread of light twisting away into a labyrinth of steel racks, and on these were stacked gravestones like books on a shelf.”

Lincoln personifies the shadows by saying that they “live[] and breathe[] and [a]re swallowed by bigger, hungrier shadows.” The metaphor comparing the cellar’s bewildering layout to a labyrinth further develops the setting’s hair-raising ambience. The simile likening the gravestones to “books on a shelf” creates a connection to the family dictionary. Both contain the Swifts’ names, which are believed to set the course of their lives. The gravestones are a key instance of the motif of names, which develops the theme of the struggle for self-determination.

“An anglerfish is a creature that lives deep underwater, in the parts of the sea the sun has forgotten about. It spends its whole life in darkness, and lures foolish prey by dangling a light from its forehead, right above its waiting jaws. When Shenanigan saw Aunt Inheritance floating along the corridor, a pale figure in an old-fashioned nightgown with a torch strapped to her head, her first thought was of the anglerfish.”

The extended metaphor between Inheritance and the anglerfish that “lures foolish prey by dangling a light from its forehead” enhances the mystery and suspense by evoking a sense of unease around Inheritance’s secretive actions. Lincoln provides visual imagery through detailed descriptions, such as the woman’s “old-fashioned nightgown” to help the readers envision the scene.

“She stood up straight, cracked her knuckles, and flicked coffee grounds off her dress. ‘Once more unto the breach, I suppose.’”

Flora’s line, “Once more unto the breach,” alludes to a famous speech that King Henry delivers in Shakespeare’s Henry V. This speech is meant to inspire his troops in battle, so it gives an idea of Flora’s education, her wry sense of humor, and how little she desires to attend the family reunion.

“Sometimes Shenanigan would fake-murder one of Felicity’s stuffed toys, and together they would be Holmes and Blackbeard (Shenanigan was nobody’s Watson). Felicity hated this game, as did Cook, as it usually involved finding Shenanigan lying in out-of-the-way corners of the house, drenched in ketchup, with her eyes bulging dramatically.”

Shenanigan’s decision to play an infamous historical pirate and her assertion that she is “nobody’s Watson” indicate her defiant spirit that rebels against traditional roles and expectations. In addition, the visual imagery of Shenanigan “drenched in ketchup, with her eyes bulging dramatically” when she plays the part of a murder victim adds some comic relief after the attempt on Aunt Schadenfreude’s life.

“I’d arrived late to the party, but right on time for the action. Blood is thicker than water, as they say, and I had a feeling the old broad would only be the first to spring a leak. Had Aunt Schadenfreude’s sins come home to roost? In this family of Swifts, was there a cuckoo in the nest? I’d found another case, and this one…was a family matter.”

Lincoln uses Gumshoe Swift to parody hard-boiled detectives like Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade. His dialogue abounds with wordplay. For example, the question “In this family of Swifts, was there a cuckoo in the nest?” relies on the fact that swifts are a type of bird. The ellipsis provides a pause before the last quip, further elevating Gumshoe’s melodrama. In addition, the private detective’s dialogue exhibits the dated, blunt, and somewhat irreverent tone that one would expect from hard-boiled crime fiction, as seen in him referring to the family matriarch as “the old broad.” Gumshoe’s habit of narrating his thoughts aloud shows that he is preoccupied with imitating how he thinks a detective ought to look and sound. He possesses little in the way of useful detective skills, illustrating the author’s point that names do not determine one’s identity.

“Without the phone or the cars, they were now totally isolated from the outside world. Suspicion settled upon the House like a fog.”

The simile comparing suspicion to fog creates a suspenseful atmosphere and conveys the Swifts’ distrustful attitudes toward one another. The “totally isolated” setting makes the novel part of the country house murder subgenre of detective fiction. Agatha Christie penned many works in this category, including The Body in the Library, which is referenced in Lincoln’s story.

“Trust is not something you have or do not have. Trust is something you give precisely in small measures, teacups and eggcups at a time […] That morning, Shenanigan had poured a teacup’s worth of trust into Flora, and it was as if Flora had poured it all over the floor.”

The passage takes the abstract concept of trust and describes it as though it is something concrete that can be “poured” out like a liquid. Diction like “precisely” and “small measures” emphasize how cautious people are with their trust, and the extended metaphor conveys why the protagonist feels betrayed by her cousin.

“Gather ye close, and lest we lose our heads / In fumbling for ill fortune ill begot, / We first speak in dishonour of the dead, / Our fortune’s fools, our old Familial rot; / Of violence and vile deeds, and of Vile’s deed, / When he in envy, for a shilling’s lack / Hacked off the branches of our Family tree / And buried the hatchet in his brother’s back.”

This is part of the poem that serves as the prologue to the tragedy that Cantrip Swift wrote about her brothers. Middle grade novels often offer clues in verse, and the references to trees and water in this poem foreshadow the revelation that Vile’s Hoard is hidden in the lake where the siblings’ favorite oak used to stand. The phrase “violence and vile deeds” contains alliteration and a play on Vile Swift’s name. The last two lines use the image of a hatchet to offer a striking, creative combination of the metaphorical and the literal: Vile “[h]acked off the branches of our Family tree / And buried the hatchet in his brother’s back.” In addition, the phrase “fortune’s fools” is a Shakespearean allusion. Romeo famously cries, “O, I am fortune’s fool!” after he kills Tybalt in Act III of Romeo and Juliet. The allusion adds to the poem’s drama and Cantrip’s condemnation of the murder of kinsmen.

“Then there came a scream. It was as if someone had thrown a stone into a pool. For a second, there was silence, a dip as the scream dropped through everyone’s conversation—and then all the voices rushed back into place, crashing over one another as the Swifts scraped back their chairs and ran towards the noise.”

Lincoln uses a simile comparing the scream to a stone tossed into a pool to capture the momentary pause before the scream’s ripple effects stir the Swifts into motion. The author provides auditory imagery with words like “crashing” and “scraped” to add to the chaotic scene, and she draws out the suspenseful moment by not immediately revealing who screamed or why.

“When Shenanigan had first met her, she’d dismissed her as nice. The more she saw of her, however, the more certain she was that Daisy possessed an inner steel she was keeping hidden. She was like a bouquet of flowers with a crowbar in the middle.”

The author uses the simile of “a bouquet of flowers with a crowbar in the middle” to express the contrast between Daisy’s fashionable appearance and pleasant manner with her “inner steel.” The comparison of the woman to a bouquet also nods to her floral name. The striking simile adds intrigue and character development for Daisy, who is Shenanigan’s chief suspect at this point in the story.

“While some rich people like to have life-sized chessboards in their front gardens, the Swifts had always been more fond of word games, and their Scrabble court was the only one of its kind—the size of a tennis court, with squares beautifully picked out in stone and colored glass. ‘Embellished’ is a word that can mean ‘gorgeously detailed and decorated,’ like the tiles, but it can also mean ‘with added, exaggerated details.’ The Swifts had embellished the rules as much as the board itself.”

By incorporating the meaning of “embellished” into the narration, Lincoln reinforces the novel’s overall interest in wordplay and definitions. The word’s double meaning underscores the eccentric nature of the Swift family and highlights the unique setting of Pamplemousse’s unconventional duel.

“The sunlight hit the roof and turned the figure’s eyes into two huge round points of light. She saw the shape of the murderer, and the murderer saw the shape of her.”

The repetition of the words “saw the shape” draws out the suspenseful moment and highlights Shenanigan’s peril. In addition, the description of the sunlight turning the murderer’s eyes into “two huge round points of light” provides visual imagery and a clue that the killer wears glasses. This foreshadows the revelation that the criminal is Candour.

“A crew can bicker and fight among themselves all they like when the wind is calm. But when the pressure drops and the storm comes rolling in, they know to stow it. They trust one another with their lives.”

Uncle Maelstrom’s use of an extended metaphor comparing the sisters to a crew in a storm urges them to show one another loyalty given the danger facing the Swift family. The metaphor’s nautical subject matter suits Maelstrom and his background as a sea captain, and the character demonstrates his emotional intelligence and closeness with the girls by helping the sisters reconcile.

“‘Beware what?’ asked Maelstrom, leaning forward. The machine hummed and clicked. With another cheery ping! It spat out: D E A T H.”

Lincoln uses onomatopoeia, such as “hummed and clicked” and “ping,” to appeal to the readers’ sense of hearing. The juxtaposition of the machine’s “cheery” sound with the grave message that the device dispenses typifies the cheeky, dark sense of humor in the novel.

“A funeral is supposed to be a way to say goodbye. You look inside yourself and find a place to put your grief, not somewhere hidden, not the top shelf or the back of a cupboard, but maybe by a window, where it can catch the light. Shenanigan couldn’t do that. So many things were wrong.”

This passage uses an extended metaphor to compare grief to a physical object that shouldn’t be hidden, underlining the importance of allowing oneself to experience the grieving process. The last two sentences illuminate the protagonist’s emotions at this point in the novel, particularly her ire at the injustice of Schadenfreude’s death and her need for closure. These difficult feelings are rendered clearer by the extended metaphor’s depiction of what a funeral is meant to achieve.

“The sky had still not given up the last of the light, but it was dishonest light, trickster light. It bent the world around Shenanigan into the unfamiliar, reached down with its long fingers to scramble the order of things.”

Lincoln personifies the light by attributing “long fingers” and a “trickster” personality to it. This adds interest to her description of how the waning light plays tricks on Shenanigan’s eyes and accentuates the chapter’s focus on uncertainty and deception.

“He had a nice laugh, the kind you would overhear at a party after someone told a silly joke. It was precisely that niceness that made it so horrible to hear in the dark, attached to a man, attached to an arm, attached to a hand pointing a gun at her head.”

The juxtaposition of Candour’s “nice laugh” that would befit “a party” with the gun he points at Shenanigan’s head enhances the eeriness of the scene. The author stretches out the suspenseful moment by repeating phrases starting with “attached” rather than immediately mentioning the weapon.

“Thump. Thump. Thump. The hair on Shenanigan’s arms prickled. She recognized that noise. She saw from the whites of Felicity’s and Phenomena’s eyes that they did too. Felicity clutched Phenomena’s hand. Thump. Thump. Thump.”

The sensory details in this scene, including the use of onomatopoeia in “Thump. Thump. Thump” and details like the girls’ prickling hair and the whites of their eyes, increase suspense during the novel’s climax as Schadenfreude approaches to exact her vengeance on Candour.

“Have you ever been tickled past the point of endurance? It can be very unpleasant. It isn’t the tickling itself that is so unpleasant, of course, but all the laughing and wriggling, the pains in your sides, the light-headedness, the stars that dance across your vision. It’s a kind of gentle torture if it goes on for too long.”

The narrator doesn’t usually address the audience, so the sudden shift from third person to second person helps to signal the moment’s importance. By directly addressing the audience, the narrator invites the readers to compare their own experiences with tickling to the Swifts’ current predicament, adding to the immersion of the tense scene.

“Candour began to shout. They weren’t even words. They were howls, incoherent screams of rage. He thrashed in his ropes, rocking the desk, until a paperweight fell and hit his broken leg. He shrieked once in pain, and then lay back, panting.”

The passage abounds with auditory imagery due to the words “shout,” “howls,” “screams,” “shrieked,” and “panting.” The cacophony of sound creates a wild, chaotic mood that reflects Candour’s wrath and desperation. Given the importance that the Swifts place on language, Candour’s “incoherent screams of rage” that “[a]ren’t even words” reinforce the separation of the newly disowned villain from his family.