Small Bomb at Dimperley, by Lissa Evans - Colin
Small Bomb At Dimperley is a wonderful feel-good novel. It’s set in 1945 and is pitch-perfect in capturing the era. All over the country, manor houses that had been requisitioned for Government departments; for troops; for schools; for hospitals, were in such poor repair that it would have been kindest to bulldoze them and put the houses – and the owners – out of their misery. There were many minor aristocrats who were asset-rich but cash-poor. And I’m sure many of them were dismayed to find out, as Valentine Vere-Thissett finds in this book, the National Trust wouldn’t accept a property unless there was cash to accompany it.
Although I’ve said it’s a feel-good book, there is poignancy: Lady Irene Vere-Thissett had three sons: Felix, who inherited the baronetcy, was killed in the war; Ceddy got brain-fever as a child and has a mental age of about three; and Valentine is dyslexic and has lost the fingertips of his right hand through a post-war mishap in the army. The house has belonged to Vere-Thissetts for over 500 years but, after troops were stationed there during the war, is in appalling condition. There is only one servant left and she, poor woman, tries to do everything – because, if she doesn’t, she’ll have to leave and get another job – and a roof over her head.
Lissa Evans does a brilliant job of giving an elegiac view of the old world, exemplified by Dowager Lady Irene, clinging on to a world in which there were servants to do her bidding and deference paid to her status; the modern world with Zena Baxter, an unmarried mother, who is energetic, intelligent and keen to run things; and Sir Valentine Vere-Thisset, a baronet who was a corporal (not an officer) in the army, who is very happy indeed with this modern world, where all men and women are equal. Surprisingly, Zena loves Dimperley, including the mismatched architecture and the centuries-old paperwork, although she no longer lives there and doesn’t have to bathe in tepid water. What will she do when her husband returns from his posting in Malta?
I loved the characters and enjoyed watching the chemistry between Valentine and Zena. However, Valentine really needs to marry a rich heiress in order to save the house. I though Lissa Evans handled this aspect brilliantly. It would have been easy to introduce a hideous shrew as the Wife Presumptive, but Yvonne is intelligent, pretty, humorous and has a lovely personality – we (and Valentine) cannot dislike her. As Valentine recognises, she would be exactly the right wife for him. The resolution of that plot-line is delicately and movingly done: we can sympathise with all parties.
Sadly, the plot doesn’t allow for a sequel, but I’m about to look for other books by Lissa Evans – if they’re half as good as Small Bomb At Dimperley, I’m in for a treat…
Colin (via NetGalley)
