Many people will have heard of Kate Atkinson recently with the screening of the miniseries based an earlier novel of hers, Life After Life, which starred young New Zealand actor Thomasina Harcourt. If you haven’t watched it, then it’s highly recommended.
Shrines Of Gaiety is another story which is set in England. It’s post World War One London, 1926. After witnessing the horrors on the battlefield and beyond, people are in need of some light relief to help to move on. Society has become almost obsessed with having a good time.
Everything is done to excess – partying, dancing, drinking, taking drugs, and also committing crime.
Nellie Coker, the matriarch of her family of six adult children, owns a collection of nightclubs, all with exotic names like the Crystal Cup, the Amethyst and the Sphinx. We first meet Nellie as she is released from serving time in Holloway Prison. She is treated as a celebrity by the press. She needs to retake control of her empire, which her son Ramsay has been in charge of in her absence. Unfortunately there are threats both externally and within the family which she must deal with. A shrew business woman, Nellie is also troubled by the ghost of Maude, a former employee who drowned.
Detective Chief Inspector Frobisher is investigating the mysterious deaths of girls in London. He suspects they are disappearing in the clubs of Soho. He is also suspicious of corruption within the police force itself. Gwendoline Kelling has travelled to London to look for two missing girls from her home city of York, who have run away to London to dance on the stage and become famous. Gwendoline spent time as a combat nurse during the war, then returned home to be a librarian. Working with Frobisher, Gwendoline infiltrates one of the clubs and becomes involved with the Coker family.
There are dirty dealings going on everywhere in this glitzy society. Nobody can be trusted, it would seem. Kate Atkinson is a master at creating a large cast of characters whose stories intertwine. Her portrayal of London between the two World Wars captures a city that is ruthless, corrupt and at the same time, full of excitement, where starlets, gangsters and the rich and famous all get swept up in the gaiety.
This is a great read. The dialogue is witty and pacy and the story is full of twists and turns. Highly recommended.
Reviewer: Rachel White
Penguin Random House