The Wooing of Beppo Tate

The Wooing of Beppo Tate is a novel by Jamaican author C. Everard Palmer, first published by Nelson Thornes Ltd in 1972.

Beppo, a young boy coming from a poor background, is informally adopted by "Old Man" Tate, whose level of wealth is enough to give him a comfortable living. However, upon settling into his new home village of Kendal, Beppo is quick to find out that he's also inherited a feud that's been going on between his newly adopted father and the next-door neighbor Mrs. Belmont; said feud extends to the children, as Mrs. Belmont's daughter Daphne immediately dislikes Beppo simply because of his association with the Old Man.

Nonetheless, Beppo finds Daphne intriguing and sets out to learn all he can about her. Unfortunately, this gets him into trouble with another neighbor named Teppy, a schemer who immediately blackmails Beppo into providing victuals for him in exchange for not telling the Old Man of Beppo's interest in his enemy's daughter.

The novel is used as an English Literature school textbook.

Tropes found in this novel:
"Beppo: (narrating) When (Teppy) saw her he almost collapsed. His eyes went big and wide and he was very uncomfortable."
 * Abusive Parents: Roy Penner indicates that his foster mother is this to him. His birth mother was likely this as well, as in his back-story she intended to abandon him right when Mrs. Jenkins conveniently came along to take him off her hands. Beppo notes that it's very telling that Roy has been with Mrs. Jenkins for some three years and yet he still goes by his birth surname instead of taking the name Jenkins.
 * Alpha Bitch: Daphne.
 * Anti-Hero: Beppo gradually becomes this over the course of the novel.
 * Beware of Vicious Dog: Teppy gives this warning about the Angry Guard Dog he acquires to protect his mango tree.
 * Big Bad: Teppy.
 * Big Eater: Beppo, Teppy, and Roy Penner all qualify.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Daphne.
 * Blackmail: One of the major plotlines of the story; in exchange for not telling the Old Man about Beppo's interest in Daphne, Teppy demands that Beppo bring him a set number of birds and fish every week..
 * Blatant Lies: Teppy, Beppo and Roy are all versed in this.
 * Break the Haughty: Beppo aims to do this with George Kirby and Daphne in the initial chapters.
 * The Bully: George Kirby.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Roy Penner. Beppo later develops into one.
 * Defeat Means Friendship: Subverted, as following his whipping at Beppo's hands, George Kirby doesn't come around until Character Development kicks in much later in the novel.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: The cause of the feud between the Old Man and Mrs. Belmont? Before he died, Mrs. Belmont's husband was planning to sell the family's horse-drawn buggy (this being the era when cars were a luxury item for the wealthy in Jamaica). The Old Man bought the buggy without knowing that Mrs. Belmont often fought with her husband not to sell it...and in the present day, not even Tate's offer to sell it back to her will placate her.
 * Feuding Families: The feud between the Old Man and Mrs. Belmont trickles down to Beppo and Daphne as early as the second chapter. However, Beppo wants nothing to do with the quarrel, as he feels that it should stay between the adults.
 * Food Porn: Food and mealtimes are given detailed description in the narrative, with Beppo's first breakfast with the Old Man (ackee and codfish, calalloo, breadfruit, and hot coffee) being only the first example. Regarding this particular example, it's justified because Beppo has only just come out of a poor home situation where there wasn't enough food for his siblings and himself to eat.
 * Foot Focus: Both Beppo and Daphne go barefoot a few times in the novel.
 * Freudian Excuse: Roy Penner's birth mother intended to abandon him; and since his adoption by Mrs. Jenkins, she has treated him like a slave instead of a son.
 * He-Man Woman Hater: Roy Penner has issues with females in general. His Freudian Excuse explains it all.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Beppo and Roy.
 * Hypocrite: Teppy, so very much..
 * I Ate What?:.
 * Jerkass: Everyone to some degree, but Teppy is the worst of the lot.
 * Kids Are Cruel
 * Last-Name Basis: Everyone in the novel, except Beppo, calls the Old Man by his surname, Tate.
 * Meaningful Name: More like Meaningful Nickname--Beppo calls Tate the "Old Man," not because he's old (he's stated to be in his forties), but simply because his hair is gray.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: George Kirby declares that he's going to do this to Beppo during the break-time period. But Beppo literally stomps him instead.
 * Oh Crap: When Teppy threatens to lie to the Old Man, Daphne charges from behind the bushes mad as hell. Cue this response from Teppy.
 * Oh Crap: When Teppy threatens to lie to the Old Man, Daphne charges from behind the bushes mad as hell. Cue this response from Teppy.

"Beppo: Daphne is George Kirby's girlfriend! Isn't that a funny thing?
 * Smoking Is Cool: Roy Penner believes this, and gets Beppo to join him. Of course, they don't smoke actual cigarettes, just ordinary rolled-up paper, but Daphne is still disgusted when she finds out.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: When George and Daphne attempt to use Beppo and Roy's status as informally adopted children ("give-aways") against them in a taunting rhyme, Beppo comes right back at them with a rhyme of his own.

Daphne: WHAT?!"


 * Stern Teacher: When Miss Clemens promises to hand out beatings, she will deliver.
 * Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Hearing Beppo's name for the first time is enough to cause Teppy, a Big Eater, to stop eating in disbelief. Of course, Beppo observes that Teppy's name isn't all that common either.