The picaresque novel has a long tradition in English literature from Daniel Defoe to John Buchan, and on to its present active exponent, Geoffrey Household. He has written almost a dozen such books of suspense or adventure, among which Rogue Male (1939) achieved the greatest distinction.

As in many of his other novels of action, The Lives and Times of Bernardo Brown is thick with incident, thin on characterization….

Household re-creates his familiar world in this novel. One is aware of his intimate knowledge of geography: the British west countryside, the Mediterranean, Hungary and Roumania. His reiterated themes of courage, loyalty, personal honor and endurance ring with customary geniality. As in other novels … the beset protagonist measures his skills against unknown adversaries and accusations with sometimes unexpected, but always unfailing, expertise. Nor does he falter as an upholder of traditional virtues even though his travails may temporarily involve him...