The borough of Surrey is bursting with writing talent. Here’s our pick of the best for some Christmas reading.
Himself
If you like your fiction dark, lyrical and with a sprinkling of magic, then Himself, the debut of Richmond author Jess Kidd, is for you. The novel, which opens with a murder, attracted high praise before its October publication: The Guardian flagged it a must-read and actor Andy Serkis snapped up the film and TV rights. Louis de Bernières, best-selling author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, wrote: “I love this book. It’s a magic realist murder mystery set in rural Ireland, in which the dead are as important as the living. It’s a book that has you smiling as you read.” And he is absolutely right.
Kidd’s book is set in Mulderrig, a fictional town on the west coast, where the handsome 26-year-old protagonist, Mahoney arrives to find the truth about what happened to the mother who abandoned him as a baby. When locals refuse to speak of the past, he and an eccentric elderly actress named Mrs Cauley turn detective and concoct a plan to loosen their tongues.
Himself is a beautifully crafted, satisfying whodunit with plenty of twists and some very funny moments. But it’s also a genre mash-up as, into her crime story, Kidd shoehorns fantasy folklore and characters from beyond the grave, thereby adding a hefty dose of darkness worthy of Hilary Mantel’s masterpiece of magic realism, Beyond Black.
Jess has two more novels in the pipeline: her second, Hoarder, is a contemporary crime novel set in Petersham; her third is set in Victorian London with an extravagant cast of characters to rival Dickens. She has also started a collection of short stories and wants to write a play. If Himself is anything to go by, there are many more literary treats to come from this clever Kidd.
Rosanna Greenstreet
You can check out our November interview with Jess Kidd by clicking here
- £12.99, Canongate; £10.99, e-book
Churchill’s Legacy
So many Churchills. The defiant bulldog of 1940, teeth barred against the Nazi invader, is familiar enough. But there was also the Edwardian champion of free trade and welfare reform; the unrepentant imperialist, clinging to India by his fingertips; the fearless, impetuous adventurer; the man of letters and paint.
And then, like an ageing lion letting out a last exultant roar, came Churchill the postwar prophet: the man who rose from his electoral sickbed to sound the bugle against Stalin, call for healing among the nations and turn the tide of the emerging Cold War.
It’s this incarnation that is the subject of Churchill’s Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World, by Alan Watson, Baron Watson of Richmond. This engaging, masterfully concise volume shows how Churchill, alarmed at Soviet incursions into Eastern Europe and frustrated by US reluctance to acknowledge the threat, shrugged off a devastating defeat at the polls to rally the free world.
Key to this were two incisive speeches of 1946, the first in the ultimate backwater of Fulton, Missouri. Here Churchill, applauded by US President Truman, warned of Stalin’s aggression and called for American commitment – military and economic – to Europe. This was his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ address.
American help, however, would require self-help first: a bitter and broken Europe, Churchill knew, would not inspire US support. Thus his second speech, at Zurich six months later, in which the man who had masterminded the destruction of Germany now called for its salvation. “We must re-create the European family in a…United States of Europe,” he told an astonished world; France and Germany must be reconciled.
Vindication was swift. Within 18 months the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were in place, and when Stalin launched a year-long blockade of West Berlin, he was repulsed – and lost the initiative in Europe for good.
In historical terms alone, all this is momentous enough. But the genius of Watson’s book is the light it shines on the towering, contradictory nature of Churchill himself: egoistic yet prophetic; a man steeped in the ways and means of war, yet driven to pursue the paths of peace.
On the eve of World
War I, Churchill had written to his wife: “Everything tends towards catastrophe. I am interested, geared up and happy. Is it not horrible to be made like this?” Now, three decades later, this same figure would inspire ancient enemies to beat their swords into ploughshares. Can anything fully explain such a man?
Richard Nye
- £16.99, Bloomsbury
The Business of Excellence
I’m not sure whether it’s a failure of moral character or just sheer laziness on my part, but the idea of being a Bransonesque go-getter making millions before the age of 30 has always seemed dreadfully wearing to me. Thus I have never really found much that is appealing about the concept of business books, preferring instead to while away my hours with Dickensian tales of fictional characters and the occasional dragon-slaying video game.
It was with some trepidation and stoic resolve, therefore, that I began this summary from Justin Hughes on The Business of Excellence – and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.
Justin is a Surrey resident who spent several years in the RAF before joining the Red Arrows. After this spell in the famous display team he set up his own consulting company, Mission Excellence, and has since had great success applying his knowledge of what makes a great team – whether in the Air Force or big business.
What sets this book apart is the focus on practicality and its reference to real-life situations. Concepts are justified with an example from Justin’s time as a consultant or pilot.
“My approach is empirical, not theoretical, drawing on observation, experience and deep thought.”
Parallels between chairing a meeting and flying a jet at several hundred miles per hour 50 metres above the ground were always going to be interesting.
Throw in the author’s ability to write clearly and concisely without annoying self-congratulatory sales-speak, and this book made for an enjoyable read that taught me more about the operation of business than I would have thought possible.
A must-have for aspiring Dragons, The Business of Excellence is the only book on business that I am ever likely to finish!
William Gadsby Peet
- £21.99, Bloomsbury
Valentina
We all have a vision of our perfect life, and S E Lynes’s protagonist Shona thinks she has found hers when she, partner Mikey and their baby move into their dream cottage in the woods outside Aberdeen.
Sadly for Shona, this vision does not last long. After a slightly jarring start – a clunky domestic drama involving a fire alarm, though its relevance becomes obvious later on – Teddington resident Susie Lynes plunges Shona into the cold, unpredictable waters of living in a new area without friends, family or a job. Slowly, slowly she ratchets up Shona’s uncertainty and self-doubt alongside a growing tension within the story. As with all good thrillers – and tales set in the deep, dark woods – Lynes sprinkles subtle hints like gingerbread crumbs throughout the pages.
Is Shona’s new friend Valentina all that she seems? What is she hiding, if anything at all? Why does Mikey behave so strangely around her? Is Shona going gradually and slightly bonkers out there in the lonely countryside? And just when you think you know what’s going on, Lynes flips the story to be narrated by Valentina herself.
Lynes has drawn on her own experience in journalism and life in Aberdeen married to an oil man to give Valentina a truly authentic flavour. But it is her skill at keeping the reader guessing, and guessing again, right to the very last line that makes her debut published novel a real treat. Whether you savour it, devour it or both is really up to you.
Fiona Adams
- £10.99, blackbird-books.com
The Woman Behind the Waterfall
Teddington-based Leonora Meriel’s debut novel is set in a village in western Ukraine, and on every page the seasons come to life in vivid detail, from the fragrant lilacs of spring to the granite snow storms of winter. The language is lyrical and poetic and, in places, begs to be read repeatedly for the sheer joy of it.
Having said that, the story, which focuses on three female members of the same family – seven-year-old Angela, her mother Lyuda and grandmother Zoryana – is occasionally difficult to follow, thanks to the magic realism and the flitting between characters and the first and third person.
But the core tale, that of Angela trying to raise her young mother – the eponymous woman behind the waterfall – out of a vodka-soaked depression to happiness again is a literary work of art.
Fiona Adams
- £8.99, Granite Cloud
You may also be interested in...
Tudor Hugger-Mugger
A mystery romance set against a Tudor backdrop by long-time Richmond resident Mela Ells.
- £5.99, Willow Pond Press
The Adventures of Captain Antonio
The first in a children’s fantastical trilogy, by Hampton resident Angie Allanby, about a sailor who loses everything in a storm.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes Centenary Book
A lovely hardback book commemorating 100 years of the Homes. Limited number available through donation.
- Visit: starandgarter.org/centenary/centenary-book or tel: (020) 8481 7674
And one for the kids...
That Cat is the Laziest Cat in the World
Kew writers and artist/illustrators J-F Burford and Ian Heath have created a book for children aged three and above, inspired by family cat, Casper.
- £7.99, The Lacy Cat Company
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on all the latest local stories
