Kate Atkinson's new novel, Our Noble Selves, offers an "exceptional, empathetic storytelling process" combined with clever plotting and an endearing cast of characters. The book is set in 1951, focusing on the British government's efforts to lift the nation's spirits through the Festival of Britain.
At the core of Atkinson's twisty narrative is Harry Flynn, a damaged foreign correspondent and former POW in Burma. Reluctantly involved in the push to open the festival to the public, Flynn navigates an endeavor ripe for light-hearted mishaps and spectacular failures. The story also features spies, a rebellious teenager, villainous characters, and a "lovable dog."
In addition to Atkinson's novel, Eithne Farry's review highlights two other books: Rose Tremain's The Housekeeper and Fiona Goggin's The Silver Bones of Frances Winter.
The Housekeeper reimagines the role of Mrs. Danvers from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Tremain's protagonist, Mrs. Danowski, is a lonely Polish Jewish housekeeper at Manderville Hall, whose life is dramatically altered by a secret love affair with du Maurier. The relationship is described as charged, with Danni recalling becoming "a wild creature of the deep sea" and Daphne "the amorous coral." The stakes are high for both women, as Daphne must protect her literary reputation and marital status, while Danni risks her heart and her job amid the schemes of an avaricious niece.
Tremain's novel is characterized as melancholy, moving, and cinematic, with a film adaptation directed by Richard Eyre in the works.
Fiona Goggin's debut novel, The Silver Bones of Frances Winter, follows the titular character, a 16-year-old who experiences prodigious growth, adding inches to her height monthly. The novel is described as "wonderfully Gothic," featuring a morally upright father with secret vices, a dubious showman offering Frances a path to freedom, and elements such as psychics and Pre-Raphaelite artists. Goggin's work incorporates classic Gothic tropes while resonating with contemporary themes of body image and self-perception, as Frances views her large frame as "unwieldy and unlovable."
Our Noble Selves is published by Doubleday, The Housekeeper by Chatto & Windus, and The Silver Bones of Frances Winter by Everything With Words.