‘Grimly funny and superbly written, with a twist on every page,’ reads the front cover blurb by Hilary Mantel, who knows a thing or two about grim humour and superb writing. Hilary’s word is good enough for me so I ordered it and, lo and behold, she was right. This is a fascinating, funny book.
I confess I hesitated at first. A whole book about this guy’s aunt? Why should I invest more than three seconds in learning about some long-dead woman who didn’t seem to do much of anything?
Oh, but she did things, all right. Lots and lots of wild lifestyle choices involving multiple name changes, an illegitimate child, secret adoptions and bigamy, just to scratch the surface. Mount spends years digging for the truth – there is a LOT of digging to do – and skillfully places his aunt’s escapades within both her geography and the social environment of the time.
I laughed and I gasped and I learned – my three keys to a really good reading experience. Highly recommended.