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Our Noble Selves
The #1 international bestselling author of Life After Life returns with a thrilling tale of post-World War II London, a city eager to put the dark days of the war behind it, but where the peace proves as tricky to navigate as the past.
When foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn returns to Britain in 1949 from Singapore, held for years as a POW, he takes a quiet office job with The Festival of Britain, a nostalgic government-funded endeavor to celebrate British creativity, grit, and ingenuity. There, he joins an oddball team of misfits, ne'er-do-wells, and downright chancers helping to ready the Festival of Britain for launch.
But when one of Flynn’s dates, a surly Frenchwoman, goes missing, everything is upended. The last person to see her prior to her disappearance, Flynn is thrust into the center of the investigation. At first, he finds the suspicions preposterous. But it’s true he has no memory of the hours following the Frenchwoman’s departure, and there’s the fact of the nasty black eye he had upon waking. As evidence mounts, Flynn begins to wonder, could he have killed her? And, importantly, are any of his new friends actually foes?
With her unique portraiture of place, Atkinson now turns her light on a nation rebuilding and the lengths some might go to determine its future. Charming, brilliantly plotted, and gripping as ever, Our Noble Selves cements Atkinson’s place as one of the greatest chroniclers of our times.
When foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn returns to Britain in 1949 from Singapore, held for years as a POW, he takes a quiet office job with The Festival of Britain, a nostalgic government-funded endeavor to celebrate British creativity, grit, and ingenuity. There, he joins an oddball team of misfits, ne'er-do-wells, and downright chancers helping to ready the Festival of Britain for launch.
But when one of Flynn’s dates, a surly Frenchwoman, goes missing, everything is upended. The last person to see her prior to her disappearance, Flynn is thrust into the center of the investigation. At first, he finds the suspicions preposterous. But it’s true he has no memory of the hours following the Frenchwoman’s departure, and there’s the fact of the nasty black eye he had upon waking. As evidence mounts, Flynn begins to wonder, could he have killed her? And, importantly, are any of his new friends actually foes?
With her unique portraiture of place, Atkinson now turns her light on a nation rebuilding and the lengths some might go to determine its future. Charming, brilliantly plotted, and gripping as ever, Our Noble Selves cements Atkinson’s place as one of the greatest chroniclers of our times.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2026
About the author
Kate Atkinson
71 books12.6k followersKate Atkinson was born in York and now lives in Edinburgh. Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and she has been a critically acclaimed international bestselling author ever since.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.
Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.
When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.
She is the author of a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World, and of the critically acclaimed novels Human Croquet, Emotionally Weird, Case Histories, and One Good Turn.
Case Histories introduced her readers to Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, and won the Saltire Book of the Year Award and the Prix Westminster.
When Will There Be Good News? was voted Richard & Judy Book Best Read of the Year. After Case Histories and One Good Turn, it was her third novel to feature the former private detective Jackson Brodie, who makes a welcome return in Started Early, Took My Dog.
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September 14, 2026Readers of Osman's mysteries would likely find this cozy installment from Atkinson an easy on ramp into historical fiction.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“Idiosyncrasy, apparently, was what the British did best.” It’s also what Kate Atkinson does best. The weird, the droll, the driest of humor.
Our Noble Selves is trademark Atkinson. The plot goes like this. In 1951, the government of Britain decides to have a festival, “a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity.” Harry Flynn, along with a whole group of misfits who never really recovered from the war, are the poor sods tasked with getting the exhibits outfitted and ready to open on time. It’s insane in the best sense of the word. But Harry has other problems. He had one date with Delphine Dubois. But she’s gone missing and it’s assumed he was the last person to see her. And then, his estranged wife decides to deposit his step-daughter on his door, along with their dog Mrs. Betty. Harry is a sort of bumbler. He gets himself in one spot of bother after another. I loved that it fell to all the women in his life, even his 13 year old stepdaughter, to bail him out. The noble selves in this story are all feminine.
I adore Atkinson’s humor. I found myself highlighting passages, not because they had any bearing on the plot, but just because I loved her turns of phrase. “For a long time, he was seen as the coming man, but he never quite arrived.”
This isn’t a fast paced book. It meanders and isn’t afraid to take a divergence or two. But those willing to enjoy the company of the characters, the humor and the writing will be richly rewarded. There is a murder mystery which gets solved but it’s not the real focus of the book.
Make sure to read the Author’s Notes to find that truth really is stranger than fiction, at least when it came to the Festival.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this book.
Our Noble Selves is trademark Atkinson. The plot goes like this. In 1951, the government of Britain decides to have a festival, “a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity.” Harry Flynn, along with a whole group of misfits who never really recovered from the war, are the poor sods tasked with getting the exhibits outfitted and ready to open on time. It’s insane in the best sense of the word. But Harry has other problems. He had one date with Delphine Dubois. But she’s gone missing and it’s assumed he was the last person to see her. And then, his estranged wife decides to deposit his step-daughter on his door, along with their dog Mrs. Betty. Harry is a sort of bumbler. He gets himself in one spot of bother after another. I loved that it fell to all the women in his life, even his 13 year old stepdaughter, to bail him out. The noble selves in this story are all feminine.
I adore Atkinson’s humor. I found myself highlighting passages, not because they had any bearing on the plot, but just because I loved her turns of phrase. “For a long time, he was seen as the coming man, but he never quite arrived.”
This isn’t a fast paced book. It meanders and isn’t afraid to take a divergence or two. But those willing to enjoy the company of the characters, the humor and the writing will be richly rewarded. There is a murder mystery which gets solved but it’s not the real focus of the book.
Make sure to read the Author’s Notes to find that truth really is stranger than fiction, at least when it came to the Festival.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
" 'Now, now, no shop talk. I shall bring in the canapés, 'she said rather grandly, as if about to introduce new guests."
For 30 years Kate Atkinson has been a favourite author- stretching back to Behind The Scenes at the Museum through to historical novels and the brilliant Jackson Brodie series. Every novel is written with a wry observant humour and wisdom on the human condition.
Our Noble Selves continues this pathway of originality with a novel set around the 1951 Festival of Britain- the celebration of British life, history and the future to come -post WWII- on the South bank of London. Not being alive then I was aware of the event through family anecdotes as a child of the sixties and seventies.
The story is part thriller and part comedic/informative exploration of a team of people who are involved in the organisation of the event. Comedic in the sense that the camaraderie, observations of life at the Festival and the inter-play of dialogue is superb and pitch perfect capturing of the words and phrases of the period. ( echoes of grandparents and great aunts and uncles at family gatherings). Any book that can parody a Fanny Craddock-style cook has to be special .
The principal character is the brilliantly conceived Harry Flynn; serving after the war and a victim of imprisonment and slavery in Burma and one of the backroom team navigating their way through arrangements for the opening day of the Festival. Accompanied by Evans, Badger, Maud and The Boy, this ensemble is a magical creation - just the verbal interactions and observations from the group is worthy of a read. But as with Kate Atkinson books, there is a plot that runs deeper and in this instance it is the disappearance of a young woman from the Festival who Flynn meets one evening.
The attention to detail of the period and the description of events surrounding the celebrations are based on true events and just show truth is certainly stranger than fiction- or at least as surreal or bizarre.
This is a wonderful read - yes, there is a nostalgia to those old enough to have been on the tail end of the post war changes - but if you want an intelligently observed and cleverly plotted novel of intrigue, human connections and wonderful dialogue then Our Noble Selves is a winner
Highly recommended. and it would be rgreat to see the return of Harry Flynn and Veronica
Thank you to Doubleday publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy and an honest review.
Quotes:
" Long on obedience and short on enjoyment, it was meagre, empty kind of household, where the examined life was not encouraged and where love and affection were in short supply."
" Unlike Evans, Flynn found the Boy's ignorance refreshing. Knowledge was for the most parts a burden."
" The House of Commons would be a perfect home for his kind of sound and fury. It signified nothing."
" The lives and society of our Commonwealth brethren are represented by a 'steel-pan band" Wonderful though that is, it is hardly representative. Should there not be more recognition of the Empire's contribution to our prosperity?"
Wonderfully rich vocabulary featured in the novel:
Gallimaufry / Chicanery / Bailiwick / Waggery / Cauterized / Metonymical / Tumbril / Verbiage / Trinitarian inventory / Defenestrated
For 30 years Kate Atkinson has been a favourite author- stretching back to Behind The Scenes at the Museum through to historical novels and the brilliant Jackson Brodie series. Every novel is written with a wry observant humour and wisdom on the human condition.
Our Noble Selves continues this pathway of originality with a novel set around the 1951 Festival of Britain- the celebration of British life, history and the future to come -post WWII- on the South bank of London. Not being alive then I was aware of the event through family anecdotes as a child of the sixties and seventies.
The story is part thriller and part comedic/informative exploration of a team of people who are involved in the organisation of the event. Comedic in the sense that the camaraderie, observations of life at the Festival and the inter-play of dialogue is superb and pitch perfect capturing of the words and phrases of the period. ( echoes of grandparents and great aunts and uncles at family gatherings). Any book that can parody a Fanny Craddock-style cook has to be special .
The principal character is the brilliantly conceived Harry Flynn; serving after the war and a victim of imprisonment and slavery in Burma and one of the backroom team navigating their way through arrangements for the opening day of the Festival. Accompanied by Evans, Badger, Maud and The Boy, this ensemble is a magical creation - just the verbal interactions and observations from the group is worthy of a read. But as with Kate Atkinson books, there is a plot that runs deeper and in this instance it is the disappearance of a young woman from the Festival who Flynn meets one evening.
The attention to detail of the period and the description of events surrounding the celebrations are based on true events and just show truth is certainly stranger than fiction- or at least as surreal or bizarre.
This is a wonderful read - yes, there is a nostalgia to those old enough to have been on the tail end of the post war changes - but if you want an intelligently observed and cleverly plotted novel of intrigue, human connections and wonderful dialogue then Our Noble Selves is a winner
Highly recommended. and it would be rgreat to see the return of Harry Flynn and Veronica
Thank you to Doubleday publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy and an honest review.
Quotes:
" Long on obedience and short on enjoyment, it was meagre, empty kind of household, where the examined life was not encouraged and where love and affection were in short supply."
" Unlike Evans, Flynn found the Boy's ignorance refreshing. Knowledge was for the most parts a burden."
" The House of Commons would be a perfect home for his kind of sound and fury. It signified nothing."
" The lives and society of our Commonwealth brethren are represented by a 'steel-pan band" Wonderful though that is, it is hardly representative. Should there not be more recognition of the Empire's contribution to our prosperity?"
Wonderfully rich vocabulary featured in the novel:
Gallimaufry / Chicanery / Bailiwick / Waggery / Cauterized / Metonymical / Tumbril / Verbiage / Trinitarian inventory / Defenestrated
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
EXCERPT: Walking in the cold night air sobered him up a little. Archie had been right - there were no taxis on the streets. It was deathly quiet, as if everyone had gone to bed early.
He encountered no one. No drunk rolling home, no coffee stall open for business - either early or late - no nightclub revellers staggering out after a night on the tiles. With every disoriented step his nerves grew more jangled. He began to develop the unnerving sense of a sinister presence. Something - or someone - malign. His hackles rose. A dog with another dog on his heels. Several times he thought he heard soft footsteps behind him, but when he turned to look there was only an old newspaper blowing around on a night breeze or an aloof cat picking its way along a wall. He headed onwards, following a compass in his head, his ghostly companion still trailing after him.
ABOUT 'OUR NOBLE SELVES': It’s the summer of 1951 and everyone is looking to put the dark days of the war behind them. The government’s solution: The Festival of Britain, a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity.
For foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn, it might offer the chance of redemption after a bad war in the Far East and a peace that is proving no easier to negotiate. Having failed to resume his journalistic career, he reluctantly joins an oddball team of misfits, ne’er-do-wells and downright chancers helping to ready the Festival of Britain for launch.
Flynn’s attempts to resume some semblance of a romantic life also founder when one of his dates goes missing and he is deemed to be the last person to have seen her alive. Could he have been in some way responsible for her disappearance?
Little does he realize that the answer to some of his mounting problems may lie in the hands of a precocious, straight-talking thirteen-year-old called Veronica and a rather scruffy terrier who goes by the name of Mrs Betty…
MY THOUGHTS: I have read everything Kate Atkinson has ever written, but Our Noble Selves is probably my least favorite, and it still warrants 4 stars!
I adored Transcription and was expecting more of the same, perhaps even some of the same characters to make an appearance but, alas, I was disappointed. Oh, how I would have loved to encounter Juliet Armstrong again!
The plot combines an actual historical event with a murder mystery/thriller. There are, as always with Atkinson's books, rather a lot of characters. Harry is a kind man but one with his own demons. Demons which would be recognised as PTSD in today's climate. The outstanding characters for me were the precocious Veronica and her dog, Mrs Betty. Other characters of note are Terence - known as 'The Boy' - and the rather awful Mitzi Blinkhorn whom, we find out from the author's notes at the end is rather loosely based on Fanny Craddock. 'The Boy' is a constant source of delight and even more so when he and Veronica get together..
The murder is not a given - I found myself wondering at times if there even was a murder, or perhaps there were many. If anything went wrong, it seems Harry was to get the blame. It's complex but compelling, if not a little confusing at times.
⭐⭐⭐.5
#OurNobleSelves #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: KATE ATKINSON was born in York, the setting for several of her books. She was an only child and often had to finds ways to amuse herself. She describes herself as an anxious child, something she believes had to do with being illegitimate. Her parents lived together but were not married, because her mother could not divorce her first husband. At the time, that was considered scandalous.
Atkinson was in her thirties when she began writing short stories. One of her stories won a prize in a Woman's Own writing contest in 1986, which encouraged her to continue writing, and she published stories in several magazines and newspapers. She has said that writing short stories was a good learning experience because she was forced to tell her story as efficiently as possible. She published her first novel in 1995.
In Kate Atkinson's novels and stories, much is not what it seems at first glance. She combines the conventional forms of the historical novel, detective novel and family novel with postmodern or magical realist elements. Atkinson is fascinated by the role of chance in life, and this is a recurring theme in her stories. Her books present a succession of (unexpected) events and extraordinary characters. Main characters sometimes face periods of mental confusion or amnesia. Atkinson also plays with the chronology of events, both within one book and between different books. Some characters return as older or younger versions of themselves. Problems experienced in the present are often caused by painful past events, that sometimes have been concealed for generations.[1]
Atkinson herself has said that it is not possible to write a novel about happy people, who are just busy being happy. In her work, especially in the Brodie cycle, she also refers to current events. The theme of justice plays an important role in her stories.
She currently lives in Edinburgh. (Source: Wikipedia - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, via NetGalley for providing a Digital Review Copy. This review reflects my reading experience and all opinions expressed are my own personal opinions.
He encountered no one. No drunk rolling home, no coffee stall open for business - either early or late - no nightclub revellers staggering out after a night on the tiles. With every disoriented step his nerves grew more jangled. He began to develop the unnerving sense of a sinister presence. Something - or someone - malign. His hackles rose. A dog with another dog on his heels. Several times he thought he heard soft footsteps behind him, but when he turned to look there was only an old newspaper blowing around on a night breeze or an aloof cat picking its way along a wall. He headed onwards, following a compass in his head, his ghostly companion still trailing after him.
ABOUT 'OUR NOBLE SELVES': It’s the summer of 1951 and everyone is looking to put the dark days of the war behind them. The government’s solution: The Festival of Britain, a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity.
For foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn, it might offer the chance of redemption after a bad war in the Far East and a peace that is proving no easier to negotiate. Having failed to resume his journalistic career, he reluctantly joins an oddball team of misfits, ne’er-do-wells and downright chancers helping to ready the Festival of Britain for launch.
Flynn’s attempts to resume some semblance of a romantic life also founder when one of his dates goes missing and he is deemed to be the last person to have seen her alive. Could he have been in some way responsible for her disappearance?
Little does he realize that the answer to some of his mounting problems may lie in the hands of a precocious, straight-talking thirteen-year-old called Veronica and a rather scruffy terrier who goes by the name of Mrs Betty…
MY THOUGHTS: I have read everything Kate Atkinson has ever written, but Our Noble Selves is probably my least favorite, and it still warrants 4 stars!
I adored Transcription and was expecting more of the same, perhaps even some of the same characters to make an appearance but, alas, I was disappointed. Oh, how I would have loved to encounter Juliet Armstrong again!
The plot combines an actual historical event with a murder mystery/thriller. There are, as always with Atkinson's books, rather a lot of characters. Harry is a kind man but one with his own demons. Demons which would be recognised as PTSD in today's climate. The outstanding characters for me were the precocious Veronica and her dog, Mrs Betty. Other characters of note are Terence - known as 'The Boy' - and the rather awful Mitzi Blinkhorn whom, we find out from the author's notes at the end is rather loosely based on Fanny Craddock. 'The Boy' is a constant source of delight and even more so when he and Veronica get together..
The murder is not a given - I found myself wondering at times if there even was a murder, or perhaps there were many. If anything went wrong, it seems Harry was to get the blame. It's complex but compelling, if not a little confusing at times.
⭐⭐⭐.5
#OurNobleSelves #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: KATE ATKINSON was born in York, the setting for several of her books. She was an only child and often had to finds ways to amuse herself. She describes herself as an anxious child, something she believes had to do with being illegitimate. Her parents lived together but were not married, because her mother could not divorce her first husband. At the time, that was considered scandalous.
Atkinson was in her thirties when she began writing short stories. One of her stories won a prize in a Woman's Own writing contest in 1986, which encouraged her to continue writing, and she published stories in several magazines and newspapers. She has said that writing short stories was a good learning experience because she was forced to tell her story as efficiently as possible. She published her first novel in 1995.
In Kate Atkinson's novels and stories, much is not what it seems at first glance. She combines the conventional forms of the historical novel, detective novel and family novel with postmodern or magical realist elements. Atkinson is fascinated by the role of chance in life, and this is a recurring theme in her stories. Her books present a succession of (unexpected) events and extraordinary characters. Main characters sometimes face periods of mental confusion or amnesia. Atkinson also plays with the chronology of events, both within one book and between different books. Some characters return as older or younger versions of themselves. Problems experienced in the present are often caused by painful past events, that sometimes have been concealed for generations.[1]
Atkinson herself has said that it is not possible to write a novel about happy people, who are just busy being happy. In her work, especially in the Brodie cycle, she also refers to current events. The theme of justice plays an important role in her stories.
She currently lives in Edinburgh. (Source: Wikipedia - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, via NetGalley for providing a Digital Review Copy. This review reflects my reading experience and all opinions expressed are my own personal opinions.
September 13, 2026
‘His war had been one of captivity and duress. Of endurance.’
Set in post-war Britain, Our Noble Selves follows Harry Flynn, a former journalist whose years as a prisoner of war in Singapore have left him traumatised, untethered and struggling to find purpose in a country attempting to rebuild itself. When he is unexpectedly recruited to help organise the 1951 Festival of Britain, what begins as just another job gradually becomes something much more.
‘We hope the whole thing will be a beacon for change, a sort of tonic for the nation...’
Although Harry finds himself surrounded by an eccentric cast of colleagues, the workplace slowly becomes a family of sorts - people carrying their own scars from the war while trying to embrace the promise of a brighter future. Yet when a colleague disappears after an evening in Harry's company, the novel takes on the quiet intrigue of a mystery, suggesting that although the war has ended, its secrets and shadows have not.
Kate Atkinson captures the uncertainty, humour, and resilience of post-war Britain. Rich in quirky characters and sharp observations, the novel reminded me at times of Barbara Comyns' Mr Fox and Alexander Baron's The Lowlife, blending warmth, melancholy, and understated wit.
More than a mystery, however, Our Noble Selves is about rediscovering purpose after trauma – a rebuilding. Harry's unexpected relationship with his teenage stepdaughter and the friendships he forms along the way gradually remind him that surviving and truly living are not the same thing.
Thoughtful, compassionate, and hopeful, this is a wonderfully observed novel about found family, healing, and discovering that even after the darkest of times, life can still offer unexpected reasons to begin again.
‘The facsimile of history that was the pageant had itself become history’.
Set in post-war Britain, Our Noble Selves follows Harry Flynn, a former journalist whose years as a prisoner of war in Singapore have left him traumatised, untethered and struggling to find purpose in a country attempting to rebuild itself. When he is unexpectedly recruited to help organise the 1951 Festival of Britain, what begins as just another job gradually becomes something much more.
‘We hope the whole thing will be a beacon for change, a sort of tonic for the nation...’
Although Harry finds himself surrounded by an eccentric cast of colleagues, the workplace slowly becomes a family of sorts - people carrying their own scars from the war while trying to embrace the promise of a brighter future. Yet when a colleague disappears after an evening in Harry's company, the novel takes on the quiet intrigue of a mystery, suggesting that although the war has ended, its secrets and shadows have not.
Kate Atkinson captures the uncertainty, humour, and resilience of post-war Britain. Rich in quirky characters and sharp observations, the novel reminded me at times of Barbara Comyns' Mr Fox and Alexander Baron's The Lowlife, blending warmth, melancholy, and understated wit.
More than a mystery, however, Our Noble Selves is about rediscovering purpose after trauma – a rebuilding. Harry's unexpected relationship with his teenage stepdaughter and the friendships he forms along the way gradually remind him that surviving and truly living are not the same thing.
Thoughtful, compassionate, and hopeful, this is a wonderfully observed novel about found family, healing, and discovering that even after the darkest of times, life can still offer unexpected reasons to begin again.
‘The facsimile of history that was the pageant had itself become history’.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fascinating and complex novel about the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the disappearance of a woman tied to Flynn, a former soldier working on putting the Festival together.
I have long been a fan of Kate Atkinson's books. They are smart, intriguing, witty, twisty, and this one is no exception.
Harry Flynn has recently returned from the War. He used to be a journalist, but years of being a POW took its toll. He's hired to help get exhibits together to get the Festival of Britain ready to go. Flynn works in an office with a bunch of people in similar situations. When a woman he went on a date with disappears, he becomes a target of the investigation and sets out to do a bit of digging to find out what might have happened to her. To make matters more complicated, his estranged wife shows up and deposits his 13-year-old stepdaughter on his doorstep.
This is a beautifully rendered tale, with exquisite turns of phrase and thoughtful words. There's humor sprinkled throughout, and so many characters to root for and champion. The setting is fascinating and it's obvious from the writing and the author's note at the end that the author did a large amount of research to make these characters' experiences as authentic as possible within the context of her story.
This isn't a fast paced read. The language is intricate and sophisticated, each word seems to be deliberately chosen. The book itself is a journey and I will not soon forget it. What a delightful experience.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
I have long been a fan of Kate Atkinson's books. They are smart, intriguing, witty, twisty, and this one is no exception.
Harry Flynn has recently returned from the War. He used to be a journalist, but years of being a POW took its toll. He's hired to help get exhibits together to get the Festival of Britain ready to go. Flynn works in an office with a bunch of people in similar situations. When a woman he went on a date with disappears, he becomes a target of the investigation and sets out to do a bit of digging to find out what might have happened to her. To make matters more complicated, his estranged wife shows up and deposits his 13-year-old stepdaughter on his doorstep.
This is a beautifully rendered tale, with exquisite turns of phrase and thoughtful words. There's humor sprinkled throughout, and so many characters to root for and champion. The setting is fascinating and it's obvious from the writing and the author's note at the end that the author did a large amount of research to make these characters' experiences as authentic as possible within the context of her story.
This isn't a fast paced read. The language is intricate and sophisticated, each word seems to be deliberately chosen. The book itself is a journey and I will not soon forget it. What a delightful experience.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
September 20, 2026
I’m a huge Kate Atkinson fan, and Our Noble Selves definitely didn’t disappoint. I loved the writing — the wordplay, sharp observations and wry humour had me smiling throughout. Add a cast of quirky, interesting characters and a setting full of wonderful historical detail, and this became one of those books I just really enjoyed spending time in.
There’s a mystery at the centre of the novel, but for me it’s really about how life, in all its absurdity, carries on after war, while the scars of what happened are still sitting just beneath the surface.
I adored these characters and was genuinely sad to leave them behind.
Hopefully Kate Atkinson feels the same.
There’s a mystery at the centre of the novel, but for me it’s really about how life, in all its absurdity, carries on after war, while the scars of what happened are still sitting just beneath the surface.
I adored these characters and was genuinely sad to leave them behind.
Hopefully Kate Atkinson feels the same.
May 20, 2026
There’s no future for us, so they’re making one up out of the past…
Kate Atkinson’s Our Noble Selves fictionalises the planning of the 1951 Festival of Britain, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2026. At a time when phrases like “Britain is broken” are frequently bandied about, the novel feels particularly resonant. It brings to mind Twenty Twelve, the mockumentary about Olympic planning, in its satirical take on a national project designed to showcase “this sceptered isle.”
The story follows a cast of quirky characters tasked with creating a grand pageant on the South Bank. Atkinson blends humour with meticulous historical detail: the narrative is enriched with real events and even maps of the exhibition layout. From a modern perspective, some of the displays—focused on industry, agriculture, and empire—might seem underwhelming. Yet the novel captures a post-war moment when such exhibitions offered a much-needed sense of optimism and collective purpose.
Atkinson is in her element here, with her wry and sharply observant style to the fore. A central theme is the tension between pageantry and truth: can carefully curated nostalgia truly evoke national pride, or does it merely gloss over more uncomfortable histories? The book suggests that these grand celebrations often sidestep the darker aspects of Britain’s past, even as they attempt to construct a unifying narrative.
Running alongside the Festival preparations is a lightly sketched murder mystery and espionage subplot. While competently handled, this strand feels somewhat incidental. Notably, Atkinson has said she originally intended to explore Flynn’s wartime experiences in Singapore and Japanese POW camps in greater depth, but ultimately omitted this material to preserve the novel’s tone—a decision that is understandable.
Fans of Atkinson will love this book, as will anyone interested in British history and culture.
Overall, Our Noble Selves is an engaging and intelligent novel that balances humour with thoughtful reflection on how nations remember—and reinvent—themselves.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC
Kate Atkinson’s Our Noble Selves fictionalises the planning of the 1951 Festival of Britain, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2026. At a time when phrases like “Britain is broken” are frequently bandied about, the novel feels particularly resonant. It brings to mind Twenty Twelve, the mockumentary about Olympic planning, in its satirical take on a national project designed to showcase “this sceptered isle.”
The story follows a cast of quirky characters tasked with creating a grand pageant on the South Bank. Atkinson blends humour with meticulous historical detail: the narrative is enriched with real events and even maps of the exhibition layout. From a modern perspective, some of the displays—focused on industry, agriculture, and empire—might seem underwhelming. Yet the novel captures a post-war moment when such exhibitions offered a much-needed sense of optimism and collective purpose.
Atkinson is in her element here, with her wry and sharply observant style to the fore. A central theme is the tension between pageantry and truth: can carefully curated nostalgia truly evoke national pride, or does it merely gloss over more uncomfortable histories? The book suggests that these grand celebrations often sidestep the darker aspects of Britain’s past, even as they attempt to construct a unifying narrative.
Running alongside the Festival preparations is a lightly sketched murder mystery and espionage subplot. While competently handled, this strand feels somewhat incidental. Notably, Atkinson has said she originally intended to explore Flynn’s wartime experiences in Singapore and Japanese POW camps in greater depth, but ultimately omitted this material to preserve the novel’s tone—a decision that is understandable.
Fans of Atkinson will love this book, as will anyone interested in British history and culture.
Overall, Our Noble Selves is an engaging and intelligent novel that balances humour with thoughtful reflection on how nations remember—and reinvent—themselves.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC
Read
August 15, 2026Was redemption possible? That was the question, wasn’t it? For any of them. from Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson
Wit and humor, dread and suspense, and a nation recovering from a devastating war—all wrapped up in one book!
War correspondent Flynn survived the horrors of a WWII Burma prisoner of war camp. His parents have died and his brother’s plane went down. His ‘ossified’ heart is unwilling to ever again suffer love with its concomitant grief.
Flynn takes a government job for the Festival of Britain, a celebration planned for 1951 to raise morale. It would feature the latest technologies and inventions, inspiring hope and belief in a better future.
He works with a colorful cast of characters. The woman who asks to meet him for a drink, then rushes off only to disappear. The man who blackmails him into theft. The mysterious, upper crust woman who takes him to bed. An ignorant but engaging ‘Boy’ gofer.
Flynn is an everyman who get caught a web of lies and spies and secrets and murder, on the way to being collateral damage. Meantime, his ex has left him with her daughter, who he raised, a spunky teen who bends rules.
We have the false impression that after war life suddenly returns to normal. We learn of the office boy’s poverty during the war. How Flynn aids his widowed neighbor with coins for the gas or a bottle of milk left on the doorstep. How what happened in the war doesn’t go away in peacetime, but leaves its legacy.
We tell ourselves stories to make ourselves fell better. The past absolves itself with this kind of fiction. from Our Noble Selves
In the end, Flynn discovers what was worth surviving for, worth living for.
I loved it.
Thanks to Doubleday for a free book through NetGalley.
Wit and humor, dread and suspense, and a nation recovering from a devastating war—all wrapped up in one book!
War correspondent Flynn survived the horrors of a WWII Burma prisoner of war camp. His parents have died and his brother’s plane went down. His ‘ossified’ heart is unwilling to ever again suffer love with its concomitant grief.
Flynn takes a government job for the Festival of Britain, a celebration planned for 1951 to raise morale. It would feature the latest technologies and inventions, inspiring hope and belief in a better future.
He works with a colorful cast of characters. The woman who asks to meet him for a drink, then rushes off only to disappear. The man who blackmails him into theft. The mysterious, upper crust woman who takes him to bed. An ignorant but engaging ‘Boy’ gofer.
Flynn is an everyman who get caught a web of lies and spies and secrets and murder, on the way to being collateral damage. Meantime, his ex has left him with her daughter, who he raised, a spunky teen who bends rules.
We have the false impression that after war life suddenly returns to normal. We learn of the office boy’s poverty during the war. How Flynn aids his widowed neighbor with coins for the gas or a bottle of milk left on the doorstep. How what happened in the war doesn’t go away in peacetime, but leaves its legacy.
We tell ourselves stories to make ourselves fell better. The past absolves itself with this kind of fiction. from Our Noble Selves
In the end, Flynn discovers what was worth surviving for, worth living for.
I loved it.
Thanks to Doubleday for a free book through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
3.5 A light-hearted mystery set during England's Festival of Britain in 1951. The country was still suffering from the effects of war. The economy was a wreck, food was rationed, the Empire lost, so many lives lost. Needless to say, the general mood was sad. The festival was conceived as a way to raise peoples' spirits and remind them of the glories of "Merrie Olde England and all that". It also is a destination for people to send random possessions ("Eccentricities... such as a 'collapsible rubber bus' ") and badly written poems, not to mention a dangerously inedible Festival Cake). Enter former crime reporter Harry Flynn. He's a bit lost (but so is almost everybody) and deeply scarred by his own war experiences. He was sent to Singapore as a war correspondent but soon after his arrival he was detained by the Japanese army. Along with military POWs, Harry suffered through years of privation, starvation, disease, and physical abuse. Shortly after his return to England he met a "smartly dressed war widow" in a bar. They impetuously marry and are both miserable. ("He would have been better off being shriven by a priest rather than a wife.") One day, Harry just up and left.
"Our Noble Selves" has Harry and an odd bunch of men and women engaged in the preparations for the festival. It's mostly unexceptional work. Harry goes about this life without incident... until he wakes up one morning with a terrible headache and no memory of what happened the night before. What happened was, the woman he was seen having drinks with in a tavern has gone missing and the police think he might have killed her. (This occurs quite early in the book. No spoiler alert is needed. For some reason, though, GR prefaces my review with one that I can't get rid of.)
The mystery is less mysterious than it is a vehicle for Atkinson to resurrect the Britain of the time and the Festival (though it is enough to keep the reader guessing). It's funny stuff peopled by amusing and eccentric characters -- some of whom seem to have had mysterious pasts and done secret, dark things during the war. Then there's The Boy who seems to have leapt off the pages of a Dickens parody. The Boy can't read, has never tasted milk or bananas, constantly needs to have words explained for him ("What does that mean -- fallick?", which is to say "phallic," in the context of maypoles), never had a cold drink ("except when the milk freezes" -- not that his family had milk delivered: his mother just sent him to steal a bottle from a neighbor's doorstep) and who eagerly does the bidding of Harry's colleagues. As the Festival limps its way toward Opening Day (with a special appearance by the Royal Family, of course) the police become more and more convinced of Harry's guilt. It all looks dire. Then, complicating matters even more, Harry's ex-wife reappears and asks him to watch her daughter (Harry's stepdaughter, whom he really didn't like at all) while she and her new beau get away.
I imagine there will be a lot of people who will enjoy "Our Noble Selves" immensely, and rightly so. It was very clear that Atkinson had a ball writing it.* Honestly, I had a lot of fun reading it and found myself grinning a lot and even laughing aloud.** The mystery is filled with twists and turns, characters opine (sometimes cynically, sometimes fatuously) on this and that, recall the wartime British fascist, Oswald Mosley, and engage in hilarious wordplay. To my mind, Kate Atkinson is incapable of writing a mediocre book. I went back and forth about whether to give it a 4 and decided (for no reason I can discern) it wasn't quite there.
PS: I find myself thinking now that Atkinson might have drawn Atkinson to the Festival and the effort to remind Britons of what they once were, what England once was, is the mood in the country now. The country is once again wrestling with a tough economy and a profound sense of loss.
My thanks to Doubleday and Edelweis for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
* In the Author's Note at the end of the book she writes about why she included a particular incident in the book: "I think I was planning to do something clever with it and then forgot what that was."
** About, for example, Flynn going out for drinks with Joan, a woman from the Typographic Panel, who rhapsodizes about fonts, leading him to wonder if "letterforms might be how typographists courted"
Or the manager who tells a subordinate, "I thought you would be the perfect people to pilot the provinces through the process of pageant production" before he finally becomes able to pull "himself out of the mire of alliteration."
"Our Noble Selves" has Harry and an odd bunch of men and women engaged in the preparations for the festival. It's mostly unexceptional work. Harry goes about this life without incident... until he wakes up one morning with a terrible headache and no memory of what happened the night before. What happened was, the woman he was seen having drinks with in a tavern has gone missing and the police think he might have killed her. (This occurs quite early in the book. No spoiler alert is needed. For some reason, though, GR prefaces my review with one that I can't get rid of.)
The mystery is less mysterious than it is a vehicle for Atkinson to resurrect the Britain of the time and the Festival (though it is enough to keep the reader guessing). It's funny stuff peopled by amusing and eccentric characters -- some of whom seem to have had mysterious pasts and done secret, dark things during the war. Then there's The Boy who seems to have leapt off the pages of a Dickens parody. The Boy can't read, has never tasted milk or bananas, constantly needs to have words explained for him ("What does that mean -- fallick?", which is to say "phallic," in the context of maypoles), never had a cold drink ("except when the milk freezes" -- not that his family had milk delivered: his mother just sent him to steal a bottle from a neighbor's doorstep) and who eagerly does the bidding of Harry's colleagues. As the Festival limps its way toward Opening Day (with a special appearance by the Royal Family, of course) the police become more and more convinced of Harry's guilt. It all looks dire. Then, complicating matters even more, Harry's ex-wife reappears and asks him to watch her daughter (Harry's stepdaughter, whom he really didn't like at all) while she and her new beau get away.
I imagine there will be a lot of people who will enjoy "Our Noble Selves" immensely, and rightly so. It was very clear that Atkinson had a ball writing it.* Honestly, I had a lot of fun reading it and found myself grinning a lot and even laughing aloud.** The mystery is filled with twists and turns, characters opine (sometimes cynically, sometimes fatuously) on this and that, recall the wartime British fascist, Oswald Mosley, and engage in hilarious wordplay. To my mind, Kate Atkinson is incapable of writing a mediocre book. I went back and forth about whether to give it a 4 and decided (for no reason I can discern) it wasn't quite there.
PS: I find myself thinking now that Atkinson might have drawn Atkinson to the Festival and the effort to remind Britons of what they once were, what England once was, is the mood in the country now. The country is once again wrestling with a tough economy and a profound sense of loss.
My thanks to Doubleday and Edelweis for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
* In the Author's Note at the end of the book she writes about why she included a particular incident in the book: "I think I was planning to do something clever with it and then forgot what that was."
** About, for example, Flynn going out for drinks with Joan, a woman from the Typographic Panel, who rhapsodizes about fonts, leading him to wonder if "letterforms might be how typographists courted"
Or the manager who tells a subordinate, "I thought you would be the perfect people to pilot the provinces through the process of pageant production" before he finally becomes able to pull "himself out of the mire of alliteration."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2026
Any new release from Kate Atkinson is a treat, and Our Noble Selves is no exception. Clever, funny and with a particular kind of charm, I loved immersing myself in Harry Flynn's world for a few days.
It's 1951 and Flynn is working on rebuilding his life in London after being in the wrong place, at the wrong time (namely Singapore) during the war. A former journalist turned war reporter, he's been working at a small printing press when he runs into an old colleague who invites him to join the team developing the Festival of Britain. He's to work on the Festival's poetry competition, shortlisting entries to go in front of the judging panel. At least to start with. They don't really know what the festival is going to be yet, so Harry's role will change as and when.
He takes the job and joins a ragtag team occupying the basement of the Festival's South Bank premises. Everyone gets on, although the new boss, Dangerfield, is a bit of an @rse. They all seem to know their own small job, but tend to be clueless about everyone else's. Honestly, despite the era and different technology, it sounds like any public sector workplace.
One evening Harry agrees to join a new employee, Delphine Dubois, for an after work drink. It's an unsettling evening for Harry, as they don't really get on that well, he can't work out why she invited him, and after her hurried departure to meet another man, he has something of a blackout. The next day at work only gets worse. Harry has acquired suspicious bruising on his face, everyone knows about his 'date' with Delphine, and now she hasn't turned up to work.
So begins a mystery that is going to turn Harry's world upside down.
Atkinson is in her element with this book; the characters, the plot, the world-building. She has such an eye for detail, and it's the details I love. Learning about the Festival and reading how these colourful characters were pulling it all together, was like having a good old rummage in an enormous charity shop or reclamation yard. As for the mystery - I didn't work it out until I was told.
Recommended reading.
With thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for an eARC to read and review.
It's 1951 and Flynn is working on rebuilding his life in London after being in the wrong place, at the wrong time (namely Singapore) during the war. A former journalist turned war reporter, he's been working at a small printing press when he runs into an old colleague who invites him to join the team developing the Festival of Britain. He's to work on the Festival's poetry competition, shortlisting entries to go in front of the judging panel. At least to start with. They don't really know what the festival is going to be yet, so Harry's role will change as and when.
He takes the job and joins a ragtag team occupying the basement of the Festival's South Bank premises. Everyone gets on, although the new boss, Dangerfield, is a bit of an @rse. They all seem to know their own small job, but tend to be clueless about everyone else's. Honestly, despite the era and different technology, it sounds like any public sector workplace.
One evening Harry agrees to join a new employee, Delphine Dubois, for an after work drink. It's an unsettling evening for Harry, as they don't really get on that well, he can't work out why she invited him, and after her hurried departure to meet another man, he has something of a blackout. The next day at work only gets worse. Harry has acquired suspicious bruising on his face, everyone knows about his 'date' with Delphine, and now she hasn't turned up to work.
So begins a mystery that is going to turn Harry's world upside down.
Atkinson is in her element with this book; the characters, the plot, the world-building. She has such an eye for detail, and it's the details I love. Learning about the Festival and reading how these colourful characters were pulling it all together, was like having a good old rummage in an enormous charity shop or reclamation yard. As for the mystery - I didn't work it out until I was told.
Recommended reading.
With thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for an eARC to read and review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Our Noble Selves, the newest novel by Kate Atkinson is terrific. I am a big fan Atkinson, her writing is consistently outstanding. I like both her stand-alone works as well as her Jackson Brodie detective series. The quality of her writing (and my general love of the mystery genre) were the reasons I requested the book. I was not drawn to the subject matter--post-World War II England--as I have read a great deal about it as well as fiction with that setting. However, I felt confident that Atkinson would bring something new.
It is the summer of 1951 and England is still attempting to recover from the catastrophic effect that the war has had on the country--economically, structurally, and for every person there. The government decides to lift the spirits of the country with a huge party: the Festival of Britain (this even actually took place). The department in which Harry works is the coordinator of the Festival. Harry Flynn works in the department responsible for putting on the festival. The people do their work with little confidence in the Festival or its ability to lighten the mood of the country (or as is given as an object to create a future which brings hope).
The characters seem sketches of people -- appropriate for the tone of the novel which is somewhat light-hearted, often even comedic-- offsetting the darkness of the time and place and connections with the war (many of the characters were actively involved in surveillance and intelligence activities during the war). Harry, however, felt the most "real"--perhaps because he is, at least in the beginning, hollowed out by his wartime trauma. Even years after the war has ended, he continues to struggle to connect and function in the "real" world, hoping one day to return to his pre-war career as a journalist. The witty banter, the comedic comments the characters make, the larger than life depictions of some, offset the dark historical background that continues to live in the people of that time and cast its shadow over all the events of the present.
I personally hope that Atkinson writes another novel with Harry and the sidekick he picks up along the course of the novel (I can't reveal anything about this person other than that I would like to see more of them as well as their relationship with Harry). I am very much wishing for a series.
I strongly recommend this novel for any reader who enjoys well-written historical fiction with interesting and engaging characters, particularly readers who interested in post-World War II England. There was also a background of PTSD in reference to the Pacific theater that has led me to explore those events described. The reading list in the author's notes was helpful with this. In fact, I very much recommend that the reader not skip these notes as they are fascinating.
Our Noble Selves will be released on September 10, 2026. Pub Date Sep 10 2026 | Archive Date Sep 7 2026
I am grateful to NetGalley, the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday, and the author for providing me with a free copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
It is the summer of 1951 and England is still attempting to recover from the catastrophic effect that the war has had on the country--economically, structurally, and for every person there. The government decides to lift the spirits of the country with a huge party: the Festival of Britain (this even actually took place). The department in which Harry works is the coordinator of the Festival. Harry Flynn works in the department responsible for putting on the festival. The people do their work with little confidence in the Festival or its ability to lighten the mood of the country (or as is given as an object to create a future which brings hope).
The characters seem sketches of people -- appropriate for the tone of the novel which is somewhat light-hearted, often even comedic-- offsetting the darkness of the time and place and connections with the war (many of the characters were actively involved in surveillance and intelligence activities during the war). Harry, however, felt the most "real"--perhaps because he is, at least in the beginning, hollowed out by his wartime trauma. Even years after the war has ended, he continues to struggle to connect and function in the "real" world, hoping one day to return to his pre-war career as a journalist. The witty banter, the comedic comments the characters make, the larger than life depictions of some, offset the dark historical background that continues to live in the people of that time and cast its shadow over all the events of the present.
I personally hope that Atkinson writes another novel with Harry and the sidekick he picks up along the course of the novel (I can't reveal anything about this person other than that I would like to see more of them as well as their relationship with Harry). I am very much wishing for a series.
I strongly recommend this novel for any reader who enjoys well-written historical fiction with interesting and engaging characters, particularly readers who interested in post-World War II England. There was also a background of PTSD in reference to the Pacific theater that has led me to explore those events described. The reading list in the author's notes was helpful with this. In fact, I very much recommend that the reader not skip these notes as they are fascinating.
Our Noble Selves will be released on September 10, 2026. Pub Date Sep 10 2026 | Archive Date Sep 7 2026
I am grateful to NetGalley, the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday, and the author for providing me with a free copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
September 23, 2026
2.5*
Neither funny nor mysterious enough, though it was obviously trying for both. @Trin gave an excellent review that I entirely agree with. After this, Atkinson is no longer an autobuy for me.
Neither funny nor mysterious enough, though it was obviously trying for both. @Trin gave an excellent review that I entirely agree with. After this, Atkinson is no longer an autobuy for me.
July 2, 2026
I have awaited this new story of Kate Atkinson’s with much anticipation, ever since I heard it was on its way, and what a masterpiece it is! It encompasses my favourite genres - historical fiction and literary fiction, with the plot including a murder mystery too.
It’s set around the Festival of Britain which took place in 1951: to provide a tonic for a nation hard-hit by war. It’s told in the third person with the most marvellous and endearing main character - Harry Flynn. He’s invited to help organise elements of the festival, two years prior to its opening, and the narrative follows his and his quirky colleagues’ endeavours to bring the festival to life.
Flynn finds himself bowled along into some rather awkward situations, forever seeming to be at the whim of others, until he finds himself framed for murder and steadily begins to unravel the truth - together with his 13-year-old, ‘daughter’, Veronica.
To me, this book is a modern day classic. It’s a book written in the inimitable style of Atkinson, sparkling with sardonic humour, and peppered with the sharp, witty prose of hers which I find exquisite. It’s a book you read to enjoy the sheer pleasure of the written word. It’s not a style which will suit everyone but, to me, it’s literary genius.
The narrative moves seamlessly from the present to reflections of the past, as characters reminisce about their childhood or their time during the war. Flynn, a journalist by trade, was captured and forced to work on the Burmese railway, while a colleague of his was involved in the D-Day landings.
Atkinson has perfectly captured the brash righteousness of the upper classes, and the resourcefulness of those who had little. ‘Boy’ was such a brilliant character, and his anecdotes had me chuckling away.
I was completely fascinated by the scale of the exhibition; it’s a cornucopia of 1951, and such an intriguing setting for this novel. I loved that it transported me back to fond memories of my childhood too, as many things mentioned were still around in the mid-1960s.
I savoured and adored this book!
I was sent a proof copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
It’s set around the Festival of Britain which took place in 1951: to provide a tonic for a nation hard-hit by war. It’s told in the third person with the most marvellous and endearing main character - Harry Flynn. He’s invited to help organise elements of the festival, two years prior to its opening, and the narrative follows his and his quirky colleagues’ endeavours to bring the festival to life.
Flynn finds himself bowled along into some rather awkward situations, forever seeming to be at the whim of others, until he finds himself framed for murder and steadily begins to unravel the truth - together with his 13-year-old, ‘daughter’, Veronica.
To me, this book is a modern day classic. It’s a book written in the inimitable style of Atkinson, sparkling with sardonic humour, and peppered with the sharp, witty prose of hers which I find exquisite. It’s a book you read to enjoy the sheer pleasure of the written word. It’s not a style which will suit everyone but, to me, it’s literary genius.
The narrative moves seamlessly from the present to reflections of the past, as characters reminisce about their childhood or their time during the war. Flynn, a journalist by trade, was captured and forced to work on the Burmese railway, while a colleague of his was involved in the D-Day landings.
Atkinson has perfectly captured the brash righteousness of the upper classes, and the resourcefulness of those who had little. ‘Boy’ was such a brilliant character, and his anecdotes had me chuckling away.
I was completely fascinated by the scale of the exhibition; it’s a cornucopia of 1951, and such an intriguing setting for this novel. I loved that it transported me back to fond memories of my childhood too, as many things mentioned were still around in the mid-1960s.
I savoured and adored this book!
I was sent a proof copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
May 29, 2026
Kate Atkinson is one of favourite authors so I was really pleased to get an advance copy of this book. I raced through this and really enjoyed it, a welcome return to form for Ms Atkinson after Shrines of Gaeity which I found quite hard going. The story is all about post WW2 Britain, in particular the Festival of Britain. Running along in the background is also a murder mystery / political conspiracy. I hadn’t known about the Festival before so it was super interesting to read all about how it was set up and the different exhibitions. Her observations are witty and on point as usual - in particular it was fascinating reading about the different characters’ war experiences. I also learnt something new about the POW Railway in Asia too.
Definitely recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Definitely recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Harry Flynn went out for one awkward drink with a French woman he barely liked and somehow woke up with a black eye, no memory of the evening, and half of London quietly deciding he'd probably murdered her. That is an all-time terrible first date. I don't even think they ordered dessert.
Harry is one of those men who keeps insisting he's painfully ordinary while every woman within a five-mile radius seems determined to complicate his life. Meanwhile, he's just trying to survive post-war Britain, hold down a job helping organize the Festival of Britain, and maybe drink enough whisky to keep his memories from getting too loud. This man is carrying enough emotional baggage to qualify for excess luggage fees, but he somehow still manages to stumble into chaos with the energy of someone apologizing for being in everyone else's way.
The office crew absolutely cracked me up. Nobody in this workplace feels like they were hired through a normal interview process. It felt like someone walked around post-war London collecting the strangest survivors they could find and sat them all in the same room with a stack of paperwork. Every time I thought I'd figured someone out, they'd casually reveal another bizarre talent or deeply suspicious habit.
But Veronica...can we talk about Veronica?
This kid absolutely steals the book. She's clever in that terrifying thirteen-year-old way where adults think they're the smartest person in the room until she quietly points out the thing they've all missed. Every time she wandered onto the page I got excited because I knew somebody was about to get verbally humbled. Honestly, half the grown-ups should've just clocked out and let her run the investigation.
The mystery sneaks up on you because everyone is so busy trying to build this bright, optimistic future for Britain that you almost forget someone has disappeared. Then suddenly Harry's the prime suspect, spies seem to be lurking around every corner, everybody's keeping secrets for reasons that range from understandable to deeply concerning, and I started side-eyeing every pleasant conversation. The Festival of Britain is trying to convince the country everything is looking up while half the cast is wandering around with enough unresolved issues to sink the Thames.
One thing I really loved was how the book never lets the war become background wallpaper. You can feel it sitting in every room even when nobody's talking about it. Harry and so many of the people around him are trying so hard to build lives after surviving things that never really leave them. Sometimes they joke. Sometimes they keep working. Sometimes they just carry on because that's the only option they've got. That landed harder than I expected.
I will admit there were moments early on where I happily let Kate Atkinson take me on little scenic detours because everyone was so entertaining. I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. I was perfectly content hanging out with these gloriously eccentric people until somebody remembered, "Oh yes...there's also a missing woman and possible murder."
By the end I was completely charmed. The mystery kept me guessing, the humor kept sneaking up on me, and I already miss this odd little collection of damaged, funny, resilient people. Also, Veronica deserves her own series immediately. This was a 4-star read for me, and now I'm tempted to go down a Festival of Britain history rabbit hole because apparently Kate Atkinson has tricked me into learning things again.
Whodunity Award: For Assembling the Most Delightfully Suspicious Collection of Office Coworkers Since...Well...Any Office Ever
Huge thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the ARC. You lured me in with a missing Frenchwoman and a murder mystery, then somehow convinced me to become emotionally attached to a government office, a scrappy teenager, and Britain's most chaotic civic improvement project. I wasn't expecting that, but I'm certainly not complaining.
Harry is one of those men who keeps insisting he's painfully ordinary while every woman within a five-mile radius seems determined to complicate his life. Meanwhile, he's just trying to survive post-war Britain, hold down a job helping organize the Festival of Britain, and maybe drink enough whisky to keep his memories from getting too loud. This man is carrying enough emotional baggage to qualify for excess luggage fees, but he somehow still manages to stumble into chaos with the energy of someone apologizing for being in everyone else's way.
The office crew absolutely cracked me up. Nobody in this workplace feels like they were hired through a normal interview process. It felt like someone walked around post-war London collecting the strangest survivors they could find and sat them all in the same room with a stack of paperwork. Every time I thought I'd figured someone out, they'd casually reveal another bizarre talent or deeply suspicious habit.
But Veronica...can we talk about Veronica?
This kid absolutely steals the book. She's clever in that terrifying thirteen-year-old way where adults think they're the smartest person in the room until she quietly points out the thing they've all missed. Every time she wandered onto the page I got excited because I knew somebody was about to get verbally humbled. Honestly, half the grown-ups should've just clocked out and let her run the investigation.
The mystery sneaks up on you because everyone is so busy trying to build this bright, optimistic future for Britain that you almost forget someone has disappeared. Then suddenly Harry's the prime suspect, spies seem to be lurking around every corner, everybody's keeping secrets for reasons that range from understandable to deeply concerning, and I started side-eyeing every pleasant conversation. The Festival of Britain is trying to convince the country everything is looking up while half the cast is wandering around with enough unresolved issues to sink the Thames.
One thing I really loved was how the book never lets the war become background wallpaper. You can feel it sitting in every room even when nobody's talking about it. Harry and so many of the people around him are trying so hard to build lives after surviving things that never really leave them. Sometimes they joke. Sometimes they keep working. Sometimes they just carry on because that's the only option they've got. That landed harder than I expected.
I will admit there were moments early on where I happily let Kate Atkinson take me on little scenic detours because everyone was so entertaining. I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. I was perfectly content hanging out with these gloriously eccentric people until somebody remembered, "Oh yes...there's also a missing woman and possible murder."
By the end I was completely charmed. The mystery kept me guessing, the humor kept sneaking up on me, and I already miss this odd little collection of damaged, funny, resilient people. Also, Veronica deserves her own series immediately. This was a 4-star read for me, and now I'm tempted to go down a Festival of Britain history rabbit hole because apparently Kate Atkinson has tricked me into learning things again.
Whodunity Award: For Assembling the Most Delightfully Suspicious Collection of Office Coworkers Since...Well...Any Office Ever
Huge thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the ARC. You lured me in with a missing Frenchwoman and a murder mystery, then somehow convinced me to become emotionally attached to a government office, a scrappy teenager, and Britain's most chaotic civic improvement project. I wasn't expecting that, but I'm certainly not complaining.
August 17, 2026
You REALLY need to care about the administrative inner workings of the 1951 Festival of Britain in order to enjoy this novel because the first 175 pages are dedicated almost exclusively to this event. My gawddddddd I was bored.
I thought she wrote thrillers?!!!
I thought she wrote thrillers?!!!
September 23, 2026
I love her work. This standalone is further example of her deep dive into post-WWII England, in this case, the ill-conceived Festival of Britain which fell short of displaying Britain's grit and ingenuity. Entwined with a Atkinson-like crime and her trademark humor, it kept me both sentimental and amused at the same time.
Did Not Finish
September 20, 2026DNF @ 90 pages in. Nothing has happened except a cake competition.
Possibly the most English book ever written.
Would an English person like this or is it for an export market?
Possibly the most English book ever written.
Would an English person like this or is it for an export market?
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is not my usual kind of read, admittedly. But I was determined to give it a go, and hopefully find a historical character-based story that I liked. I was quite hopeful that this book would give me some details of the Festival of Britain in 1951, an event I’ve always had an interest in. Although before my time, I have always thought that the event represented a determination to make things better for Britain after WW2, a positivity that I have found charming and uplifting.
Sadly, this wasn’t. Instead, we got what was possibly more realistic, a depressing depiction of how grimy, sleazy and squalid the world of post-war Britain really was – rationing still in force, employment high, many men and women feeling lost and unfulfilled after service in the war. It’s all rather miserable, the title being notably ironic.
Atkinson manages to give some idea of what the rationed 1950’s were probably like, but I couldn’t help feeling that it was all seen through the lens of a sneery 2026, something the writer even admits to in her Afterword that she may have been unfair on the Festival by populating the novel with many characters who seem less than enthusiastic about it.
The mystery element – that of the French lady who disappears after one date with Harry -attempts to create suspense, but really didn’t. I did feel some sympathy for Harry after his wartime experiences mentioned in flashback, but unfortunately the two things that impressed me most in the book was how many dates miserable old Harry managed to go on, and how much he drank. Much of the first half of the book involves him doing just that, whilst scornful at the Festival of Britain and his colleagues.
To counter this, at times Atkinson tries to inject a certain degree of light humour, a sort-of Ealing Comedy ‘jolly hockey sticks’ kind of derring-do, around his co-workers at the Festival of Britain. The characters that I think I was meant to laugh at, I could only feel pity for. Some early reviews have referred to it as witty, I was less enamoured; I felt that it was always disdainful, and felt both forced and flat to me, if not wrong-footed. Events at the end bordered on farce, which did little to impress me.
Comments on class and wealth throughout the book showed how much they are still part of the English/British establishment in the 1950’s, although they felt unsubtle to me.
Generally, the book felt unbalanced. The first part of the book is slow, the first hundred pages having little to do but have Harry be miserable. Things gain a little more pace when he is suspected of murder, and then it all takes an odd left turn with the sudden arrival of a character briefly mentioned at the beginning who then takes over the book.
Would I recommend this book? Hmmm. That depends - was I meant to admire the situation? If so, I didn’t. Was I meant to find it humorous? If so, no. If nothing else, it did make me realise that looking at historical events from the present does tend to emphasise that we are only seeing one view of events, and often through rose-coloured glasses. Things were really not as nice as I imagined they were.
Add to that the uneven pacing, the unlikely coincidences and cliches that destroyed my sense of disbelief and most of all the horrendous winding-up-the-plot information dump at the end in that “Oh, Freddy you mean this, then this, then this?” kind of way that even the most basic crime novel avoids, I have to say that this was not for me, much as I wanted to like it.
Other readers may like it.
Sadly, this wasn’t. Instead, we got what was possibly more realistic, a depressing depiction of how grimy, sleazy and squalid the world of post-war Britain really was – rationing still in force, employment high, many men and women feeling lost and unfulfilled after service in the war. It’s all rather miserable, the title being notably ironic.
Atkinson manages to give some idea of what the rationed 1950’s were probably like, but I couldn’t help feeling that it was all seen through the lens of a sneery 2026, something the writer even admits to in her Afterword that she may have been unfair on the Festival by populating the novel with many characters who seem less than enthusiastic about it.
The mystery element – that of the French lady who disappears after one date with Harry -attempts to create suspense, but really didn’t. I did feel some sympathy for Harry after his wartime experiences mentioned in flashback, but unfortunately the two things that impressed me most in the book was how many dates miserable old Harry managed to go on, and how much he drank. Much of the first half of the book involves him doing just that, whilst scornful at the Festival of Britain and his colleagues.
To counter this, at times Atkinson tries to inject a certain degree of light humour, a sort-of Ealing Comedy ‘jolly hockey sticks’ kind of derring-do, around his co-workers at the Festival of Britain. The characters that I think I was meant to laugh at, I could only feel pity for. Some early reviews have referred to it as witty, I was less enamoured; I felt that it was always disdainful, and felt both forced and flat to me, if not wrong-footed. Events at the end bordered on farce, which did little to impress me.
Comments on class and wealth throughout the book showed how much they are still part of the English/British establishment in the 1950’s, although they felt unsubtle to me.
Generally, the book felt unbalanced. The first part of the book is slow, the first hundred pages having little to do but have Harry be miserable. Things gain a little more pace when he is suspected of murder, and then it all takes an odd left turn with the sudden arrival of a character briefly mentioned at the beginning who then takes over the book.
Would I recommend this book? Hmmm. That depends - was I meant to admire the situation? If so, I didn’t. Was I meant to find it humorous? If so, no. If nothing else, it did make me realise that looking at historical events from the present does tend to emphasise that we are only seeing one view of events, and often through rose-coloured glasses. Things were really not as nice as I imagined they were.
Add to that the uneven pacing, the unlikely coincidences and cliches that destroyed my sense of disbelief and most of all the horrendous winding-up-the-plot information dump at the end in that “Oh, Freddy you mean this, then this, then this?” kind of way that even the most basic crime novel avoids, I have to say that this was not for me, much as I wanted to like it.
Other readers may like it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an advance copy for review from NetGalley. That makes it even harder for me to say I could not finish this book. I’ve read a lot by Kate Atkinson and found her Jackson Brodie series most to my liking. I knew this would be different. I really tried to get into it but just couldn’t. It takes place in post WWII England where they are preparing the Festival of Britain, a celebration of Britain’s past with a goal of inciting enthusiasm for its creativity in building for the future. Working on the festival is an eclectic group including Harry Flynn, a former war correspondent, formerly a crime reporter, who returned from Singapore in 1945. It is clear the book is well-researched. For me it really bogged down in the detailed preparations for the festival. The focus on Harry’s relationships was not that interesting. There is supposed to be a mystery but I didn’t get far enough for that to occur. I may be in the minority on this but it was just not to my liking and there are too many books on my ‘to read’ list to spend any more time on it.
Did Not Finish
September 12, 2026DNF after 2 hours bored af.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Indubitably a glorious and outlandish collation
Kate Atkinson has always been a joyous, lip-smacking ingester of language, as though words were the tastiest and most sustaining of morsels. And so it is here, in this dizzying, twisty-turny extravaganza of many things, set around and within the post-war horrors of PTSD experienced by surviving military veterans of the second world war, and the preparations for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
A group of these damaged ones, managing as best as they can, are colleagues in the organisation overseeing the Festival, design to lift the spirits of a population still feeling the effects of war on the home front. Central is Harry Flynn, ex journalist, and survivor of the conflict in the Far East, and its camps. Flynn, as he is known to all is a tender soul, deeply despairing, strangely attractive to women, possibly because he is, despite everything, without malice or harmful intent, even though he did walk out of a bad marriage, undertaken after the war was over, with Ivy, a forceful woman with her own agenda for making a marriage which was never going to benefit either of them. Flynn left behind not only Ivy, but his stepdaughter teenage Veronica, who appeared to disapprove of Flynn as much as her mother did, and her scruffy dog, Mrs Betty, the only one Flynn really regrets leaving.
The first half of the book is a slow weaving of a huge cast of eccentric characters involved in the Festival. And is wonderfully detailed, absorbing and sparkling with Atkinson’s delectable, seemingly effortless and precise humour. However…………..what, once the scene is properly set, ratchets up the page-turn is that the random disappearance of a stroppy and unpleasant Frenchwoman, Delphine Dubois, leads to a suspicion that she has been murdered, and the Flynn is the murderer, as he appears to be the last person to have seen her alive, and various other pieces of evidence, whether witnesses or material, point to him. The reader knows from the off that Flynn is not the culprit.
Veronica and Mrs Betty re-appear, and in their own, ridiculous and wonderfully Atkinsonesque way, turn out to be a marvellous and quirky solver of crimes. Both Veronica, and an equally wonderful, intelligent but linguistically challenged office boy ‘Boy’ become the clever and seamless way in which Atkinson’s playfulness with language can take wings and fly.
I have, hopefully, whetted some appetites here, whilst avoiding all spoilers. Having read, fairly recently, several books by writers who reminded me (to their detriment) of Atkinson, because they appeared, in their cases, effortfully to be trying to do what she does as if it were as simple as breathing, I ended up reading those authors with a sense of deeply missing Atkinson. Being offered this book by her, I have fallen on it like a woman fed a diet of porridge, who had been dreaming of a cornucopia of fresh and tasty fare, put together by a chef who understands flavours, piquancy, and how food should delight as well as nourish.
These gustatory overloads of this review are not out of place. Much is made, within this story, of the making of a cake, and also, as at the time this book is set, rationing was still in force, there is an understandable yearning for lashings of all things rich and tasty!
My only sorrow (boo!) is that the book had to end. Hint to readers, there are line drawings at the start of each chapter which show the way to walk round the exhibition’s various themes and rooms. Don’t ignore them, their subject matter and their relationship to chapter titles!
Kate Atkinson has always been a joyous, lip-smacking ingester of language, as though words were the tastiest and most sustaining of morsels. And so it is here, in this dizzying, twisty-turny extravaganza of many things, set around and within the post-war horrors of PTSD experienced by surviving military veterans of the second world war, and the preparations for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
A group of these damaged ones, managing as best as they can, are colleagues in the organisation overseeing the Festival, design to lift the spirits of a population still feeling the effects of war on the home front. Central is Harry Flynn, ex journalist, and survivor of the conflict in the Far East, and its camps. Flynn, as he is known to all is a tender soul, deeply despairing, strangely attractive to women, possibly because he is, despite everything, without malice or harmful intent, even though he did walk out of a bad marriage, undertaken after the war was over, with Ivy, a forceful woman with her own agenda for making a marriage which was never going to benefit either of them. Flynn left behind not only Ivy, but his stepdaughter teenage Veronica, who appeared to disapprove of Flynn as much as her mother did, and her scruffy dog, Mrs Betty, the only one Flynn really regrets leaving.
The first half of the book is a slow weaving of a huge cast of eccentric characters involved in the Festival. And is wonderfully detailed, absorbing and sparkling with Atkinson’s delectable, seemingly effortless and precise humour. However…………..what, once the scene is properly set, ratchets up the page-turn is that the random disappearance of a stroppy and unpleasant Frenchwoman, Delphine Dubois, leads to a suspicion that she has been murdered, and the Flynn is the murderer, as he appears to be the last person to have seen her alive, and various other pieces of evidence, whether witnesses or material, point to him. The reader knows from the off that Flynn is not the culprit.
Veronica and Mrs Betty re-appear, and in their own, ridiculous and wonderfully Atkinsonesque way, turn out to be a marvellous and quirky solver of crimes. Both Veronica, and an equally wonderful, intelligent but linguistically challenged office boy ‘Boy’ become the clever and seamless way in which Atkinson’s playfulness with language can take wings and fly.
I have, hopefully, whetted some appetites here, whilst avoiding all spoilers. Having read, fairly recently, several books by writers who reminded me (to their detriment) of Atkinson, because they appeared, in their cases, effortfully to be trying to do what she does as if it were as simple as breathing, I ended up reading those authors with a sense of deeply missing Atkinson. Being offered this book by her, I have fallen on it like a woman fed a diet of porridge, who had been dreaming of a cornucopia of fresh and tasty fare, put together by a chef who understands flavours, piquancy, and how food should delight as well as nourish.
These gustatory overloads of this review are not out of place. Much is made, within this story, of the making of a cake, and also, as at the time this book is set, rationing was still in force, there is an understandable yearning for lashings of all things rich and tasty!
My only sorrow (boo!) is that the book had to end. Hint to readers, there are line drawings at the start of each chapter which show the way to walk round the exhibition’s various themes and rooms. Don’t ignore them, their subject matter and their relationship to chapter titles!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Half a historical workplace comedy about the 1951 Festival of Britain, half a post-war spy novel and murder mystery. The two parts sadly do not come together very well. This takes a long, long time to get going, and the pacing overall feels off, meaning that aspects that had the potential to be standouts (such as Flynn's relationship with Veronica) don't fully work. I feel like Atkinson is almost doing something subversive with Flynn: he's such a passive character, who for the most part serves as the flighty ingenue or damsel in distress for various more competent women. But this never actually amounts to anything.
And the spy plot is silly. Really convoluted and silly.
Partway through, I realized that what this book reminded me of more than anything was a not terribly successful Connie Willis novel: a large cast of colleagues running to and fro, comically just missing each other. There's an irony here because Willis and Atkinson are both novelists I once loved, who I fear now have their best work behind them.
And the spy plot is silly. Really convoluted and silly.
Partway through, I realized that what this book reminded me of more than anything was a not terribly successful Connie Willis novel: a large cast of colleagues running to and fro, comically just missing each other. There's an irony here because Willis and Atkinson are both novelists I once loved, who I fear now have their best work behind them.
May 12, 2026
3.75 stars rounded down. I was so excited to be approved for this new Atkinson book, and the blurb sounded great. Perhaps it’s just me, but the book I read didn’t really match the mystery implied in the blurb. It was great to read about the Festival, and it’s clear there was a lot of research done. But it felt like it was the main topic of the book with the mystery a very small sub plot… someone goes missing early on, but then there’s an awful lot of Festival stuff with only occasional mentions of the disappearance. And then all the action happens fairly quickly at the end.
A lot of others seem to have really loved this, which is good - and a few who felt similarly to me. Give it a chance, and decide for yourself, as it’s a pleasant enough read if you approach it more as a historical slice of life novel, rather than a mystery.
I received a free ARC copy of this in return for an unbiased review.
A lot of others seem to have really loved this, which is good - and a few who felt similarly to me. Give it a chance, and decide for yourself, as it’s a pleasant enough read if you approach it more as a historical slice of life novel, rather than a mystery.
I received a free ARC copy of this in return for an unbiased review.
September 18, 2026
There is nothing like a Kate Atkinson novel for transporting you out of the present and into another time, another world. This time it's to the Festival of Britain and the lingering after effects of the WW2.
Harry Flynn is the charismatic, damaged casualty of the infamous Changi railway and through him we meet a cast of delicious worthies, characters and grotesque all embroiled in dark dealings with the secret services whilst bringing optimism and joy back to England (Britain)...
The author's note at the end is very moving.
Harry Flynn is the charismatic, damaged casualty of the infamous Changi railway and through him we meet a cast of delicious worthies, characters and grotesque all embroiled in dark dealings with the secret services whilst bringing optimism and joy back to England (Britain)...
The author's note at the end is very moving.
September 18, 2026
I actually found this one to be trite and unoriginal. I want to think it’s because I am not familiar with English humor, culture, or history, but I have read many historical fiction books taking place in that era and setting and they provided a much more immersive experience. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Very fascinating book, this. Kate Atkinson's Our Noble Lives is set against the backdrop of the 1951 Festival of Britain, a real event that I initially assumed was one of her inventions. Instead, it proves to be the novel's perfect metaphor. The Festival was Britain's attempt to present itself as a modern, optimistic nation after the devastation of the Second World War. Britain was trying to reinvent itself after the war had left it scarred. Harry Flynn, the novel's protagonist, is engaged in much the same project on a personal level.
Harry is trying to rebuild his life after working as a war correspondent. Like Britain itself, he has been irrevocably transformed by the war. Throughout the novel, Atkinson turns Harry into a mirror of post-war Britain: both carry visible and invisible scars, both struggle to move forward, and both discover that rebuilding does not mean returning to what once was. It means inventing a new identity while learning to live with loss.
What impressed me most was Atkinson's understated style. Harry's grief is rarely expressed in dramatic scenes. Instead, it floats in and out in seemingly insignificant observations. His dead brother remains present not through grand declarations of sorrow, but through the thought that he would never have wanted a stuffed rabbit in his room, a prop Harry is using for the Festival. Those tiny details reveal more about love and absence than pages of explicit introspection ever could.
The Festival itself is brought to life with the same understated precision. I loved the authentic touches: suppliers' names for historical props, exhibition plans, diagrams and maps that capture the post-war faith in science, technology and progress. As someone who regularly visits London, I particularly enjoyed seeing familiar places through new eyes. The South Bank, where I've attended concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, suddenly became more than a cultural venue—it emerged as one of the lasting legacies of the Festival of Britain and a monument to post-war optimism.
Although the novel is fundamentally historical fiction, Atkinson has great fun borrowing from detective fiction. A missing woman, a bloodstained scarf, suspicious behaviour, MI5 agents, former SOE operatives, hidden pasts and shifting identities gradually accumulate into a mystery worthy of Agatha Christie. At one point, Harry's stepdaughter is even reading Christie herself—a delightful wink to the reader that Atkinson knows exactly which genre she's playing with. The eventual solution arrives in classic Christie fashion: the culprit turns out to be someone you never seriously suspected. Yet the mystery never overwhelms the novel's larger concerns. Instead, it reinforces one of Atkinson's central ideas: in post-war Britain, almost everyone is hiding something.
That, ultimately, is what Our Noble Lives is about. The detective plot is not simply a puzzle to solve but another reflection of a society learning to live with secrets, trauma and reinvention. Just as the Festival of Britain offered the nation a carefully curated story about its future, many of the characters are quietly rewriting their own pasts.
As always with Kate Atkinson, relatively little happens on the surface for the greater part of the novel. Much of the novel consists of conversations, walks, memories and apparently trivial observations. Yet beneath that understated style lies a rich exploration of grief, identity and the stories—personal and national—we tell ourselves in order to carry on.
It is a quietly rewarding novel that works as historical fiction, psychological portrait and detective story all at once, while never losing sight of the ordinary lives that history leaves behind. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC! I really really enjoyed it!
Harry is trying to rebuild his life after working as a war correspondent. Like Britain itself, he has been irrevocably transformed by the war. Throughout the novel, Atkinson turns Harry into a mirror of post-war Britain: both carry visible and invisible scars, both struggle to move forward, and both discover that rebuilding does not mean returning to what once was. It means inventing a new identity while learning to live with loss.
What impressed me most was Atkinson's understated style. Harry's grief is rarely expressed in dramatic scenes. Instead, it floats in and out in seemingly insignificant observations. His dead brother remains present not through grand declarations of sorrow, but through the thought that he would never have wanted a stuffed rabbit in his room, a prop Harry is using for the Festival. Those tiny details reveal more about love and absence than pages of explicit introspection ever could.
The Festival itself is brought to life with the same understated precision. I loved the authentic touches: suppliers' names for historical props, exhibition plans, diagrams and maps that capture the post-war faith in science, technology and progress. As someone who regularly visits London, I particularly enjoyed seeing familiar places through new eyes. The South Bank, where I've attended concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, suddenly became more than a cultural venue—it emerged as one of the lasting legacies of the Festival of Britain and a monument to post-war optimism.
Although the novel is fundamentally historical fiction, Atkinson has great fun borrowing from detective fiction. A missing woman, a bloodstained scarf, suspicious behaviour, MI5 agents, former SOE operatives, hidden pasts and shifting identities gradually accumulate into a mystery worthy of Agatha Christie. At one point, Harry's stepdaughter is even reading Christie herself—a delightful wink to the reader that Atkinson knows exactly which genre she's playing with. The eventual solution arrives in classic Christie fashion: the culprit turns out to be someone you never seriously suspected. Yet the mystery never overwhelms the novel's larger concerns. Instead, it reinforces one of Atkinson's central ideas: in post-war Britain, almost everyone is hiding something.
That, ultimately, is what Our Noble Lives is about. The detective plot is not simply a puzzle to solve but another reflection of a society learning to live with secrets, trauma and reinvention. Just as the Festival of Britain offered the nation a carefully curated story about its future, many of the characters are quietly rewriting their own pasts.
As always with Kate Atkinson, relatively little happens on the surface for the greater part of the novel. Much of the novel consists of conversations, walks, memories and apparently trivial observations. Yet beneath that understated style lies a rich exploration of grief, identity and the stories—personal and national—we tell ourselves in order to carry on.
It is a quietly rewarding novel that works as historical fiction, psychological portrait and detective story all at once, while never losing sight of the ordinary lives that history leaves behind. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC! I really really enjoyed it!
September 10, 2026
Humor and mystery make the perfect combination in this book. Harry Flynn is flawed but sympathetic, a main character easy to root for despite his mess of a personal life.
The Festival of Britain setting, post-war 1951, felt genuinely vivid. It never read as just a backdrop for the mystery. The people working alongside Flynn to prepare for the festival were the most compelling part of the book, and often the funniest, especially with everything they dreamed up for the competitions. The whole oddball team felt well-rounded and relatable, pulled from all walks of life.
Veronica added both comic relief and something Flynn genuinely needed, a bit of connection in his otherwise lonely life. The darker undercurrents throughout, a post-war world, the king on his deathbed, the looming Cold War, were balanced well against the humor running through the team, and through Flynn's relationship with his daughter.
The mystery itself was twisty, like collecting puzzle pieces one by one to see the full picture. The ending was satisfying, a little dark, but it wrapped everything up well, especially for Flynn and his daughter.
I listened to the audiobook too, narrated by Rupert Penry-Jones, who sounded exactly of the era. He's a one-man show here, and every voice matched each character, all distinct from one another. A genuinely fun listen.
Thank you, Doubleday and Penguin Random House Audio, for my gifted review copy. All opinions are my own.
The Festival of Britain setting, post-war 1951, felt genuinely vivid. It never read as just a backdrop for the mystery. The people working alongside Flynn to prepare for the festival were the most compelling part of the book, and often the funniest, especially with everything they dreamed up for the competitions. The whole oddball team felt well-rounded and relatable, pulled from all walks of life.
Veronica added both comic relief and something Flynn genuinely needed, a bit of connection in his otherwise lonely life. The darker undercurrents throughout, a post-war world, the king on his deathbed, the looming Cold War, were balanced well against the humor running through the team, and through Flynn's relationship with his daughter.
The mystery itself was twisty, like collecting puzzle pieces one by one to see the full picture. The ending was satisfying, a little dark, but it wrapped everything up well, especially for Flynn and his daughter.
I listened to the audiobook too, narrated by Rupert Penry-Jones, who sounded exactly of the era. He's a one-man show here, and every voice matched each character, all distinct from one another. A genuinely fun listen.
Thank you, Doubleday and Penguin Random House Audio, for my gifted review copy. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to the publisher for my early uncorrected proof.
Our Noble Selves is set in post WWII Britain during the recovery and a period of low morale. The government's answer to that? Create a Festival of Britain: a huge undertaking that is meant to improve the morale, if not confidence, of its people.
Wrapped around this historic undertaking, is a group of unlikely survivors of the war, now co-workers in an office dedicated to bringing about the Festival's construction. These characters are the heart of the story. Three of them are quite damaged by their personal experiences. A fourth, an older woman, has secrets of her own. Then there is The Boy. The innocently naive, comic relief within the office filled with hope and enthusiasm for the Festival. He becomes a reader's favorite and the office mascot, of sorts.
Office worker, Harry Flynn, ex-journalist, living with PTSD (before we had a name for it), is finding his encouragement in the bottle. So, when a woman he's been seen with disappears, he can't remember what happened. This is when things pick up from office banter and talk of the pavillions to be displayed at the fair to a more plot driven narrative.
Our Noble Selves starts at a leisurely pace that picks up urgency with the addition of a missing woman and ancillary characters of questionable behaviors. The back third was highly entertaining. This one is for the reader who is willing to wait for the reward.
Our Noble Selves is set in post WWII Britain during the recovery and a period of low morale. The government's answer to that? Create a Festival of Britain: a huge undertaking that is meant to improve the morale, if not confidence, of its people.
Wrapped around this historic undertaking, is a group of unlikely survivors of the war, now co-workers in an office dedicated to bringing about the Festival's construction. These characters are the heart of the story. Three of them are quite damaged by their personal experiences. A fourth, an older woman, has secrets of her own. Then there is The Boy. The innocently naive, comic relief within the office filled with hope and enthusiasm for the Festival. He becomes a reader's favorite and the office mascot, of sorts.
Office worker, Harry Flynn, ex-journalist, living with PTSD (before we had a name for it), is finding his encouragement in the bottle. So, when a woman he's been seen with disappears, he can't remember what happened. This is when things pick up from office banter and talk of the pavillions to be displayed at the fair to a more plot driven narrative.
Our Noble Selves starts at a leisurely pace that picks up urgency with the addition of a missing woman and ancillary characters of questionable behaviors. The back third was highly entertaining. This one is for the reader who is willing to wait for the reward.
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