Summary

The Good Fortune of Frank Rees is a short story set in a place (possibly fictitious) called The Cross or Griffith's Cross in Glamorgan, Wales where Naish was born. The protagonists are an unnamed narrato, a talented artist now working as a car washer and former school friend of Frank Rees, a commercial artist; Julie Reed, Frank's wife but former girlfriend of Tom Harris, school boy and talented artist. The story shifts between the first and third person. As a 14-year old girl Julie recognized Tom's talent and encouraged him to enter a design competition in the local eisteddfod. He had little art equipment and no conviction of his own talent. Just as he realizes he has in fact come up with a design that could win the Eisteddfod Design he is struck by a car and dies minutes later. The fatal accident, witnessed by Frank Rees becomes the latter's good fortune. Though it's not stated explicitly we understand that Frank won the Eisteddfod Design competition with Tom's design ("one fellow's loss is another's gain, I reckon"), and in time the heart of Tom's girlfriend. Like so much of Naish's writing this story is a commentary on human duplicity, the artist's doubt of his own talents, and the failure to fulfil talent.