Fabulous Fiction Firsts #240

Thu, 02/10/2011 - 10:24am by muffy

Mr. Chartwell : a novel * is a tragicomic fantasy set in July 1964 when an elderly and retired Winston Churchill summoned Esther Hammerhans, a library clerk at the House of Parliament, to Chartwell, his home in Kent to act as his temporary secretary. Tagging along is Mr. Chartwell, aka Black Pat, "a colossal hound, odoriferous, walking, talking physical mess of an animal, who inexplicably exudes a most charming, seductive manner".

It is not a secret that Churchill struggled with depression - his bête noire as he called it, the "black dog" that accompanied him throughout his life. When widowed Esther decides to rent a room in her London flat to Mr. Chartwell, she has no idea what she's allowing into her solitary life.

One reviewer pleads that we: "Please, willingly suspend disbelief and allow debut author Rebecca Hunt's vivid imagination to take you on this exuberant funhouse ride through a week in the lives of Esther, Winston, two matchmakers, the easygoing love interest, and the buttoned-up library director at the House of Commons".

"Rococo both in its imagination and phrasing", it cleverly combines historical detail, a marvelously subtle sense of humor,and a quirky assortment of characters.

A witty, intelligent curiosity of a novel, longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award.

* = Starred reviews