My Counterfeit Self

by Jane Davis

‘A compelling portrayal of the bohemian life of an activist poet, the men she loves, and the issues she fights for.’ Eleanor Steele

A rose garden. A woman with white hair. An embossed envelope from the palace.
Lucy Forrester, for services to literature, you are nominated for a New Year’s Honour.
Her hands shake. But it’s not excitement. It’s rage.
For five decades, she’s performed angry poems, attacked government policy on everything from Suez to Trident, chained herself to embassy railings, marched, chanted and held placards high.
Lucy knows who she is. Rebel, activist, word-wielder, thorn in the side of the establishment. Not a national bloody treasure.

Whatever this is – a parting gesture, a final act of revenge, or the cruellest of jokes – it can only be the work of one man. Dominic Marchmont, outspoken literary critic and her on/off lover of fifty years, whose funeral begins in under an hour.

Perhaps, suggests husband Ralph, the invitation isn’t the insult it seems? What if Dominic – the man they both loved – has left her an opportunity?

Completely gripping, excellently written and skilfully put together, I can't recommend My Counterfeit Self highly enough ~ Isabel Wolff, author of Ghostwritten

From the award-winning author of Half-truths and White Lies, an emotional story of hidden identities, complicated passions and tangled truths.

Genres: Fiction, Historical, Womens

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2016

About the author

Hailed by The Bookseller as 'One to Watch', Jane Davis writes thought-provoking page-turners, exploring a diverse range of subjects, from pioneering female photographers to relatives seeking justice for the victims of a fictional disaster. Interested in how people behave under pressure, Jane introduces her characters when they're in highly volatile situations and then, in her words, throws them to the lions. Expect complex relationships, meaty moral dilemmas and a scattering of dark family secrets!

Her first novel, 'Half-Truths and White Lies', won a national award established by Transworld with the aim of finding the next Joanne Harris. Further recognition followed in 2016 with 'An Unknown Woman' being named Writing Magazine's Self-Published Book of the Year as well as being shortlisted in the IAN Awards. In 2019 'Smash all the Windows', won the inaugural Selfies Book Award. Her novel, 'At the Stroke of Nine O'Clock' was featured by The Lady Magazine as one of their favourite books set in the 1950s and was a Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice.

Jane lives in Surrey, in what was originally the ticket office for a Victorian pleasure garden, known locally as 'the gingerbread house'. Her house frequently crops up in her fiction. In fact, she burnt it to the ground in the opening chapter of 'An Unknown Woman'. Her latest release, 'Small Eden', is a fictionalized account of why one man chose to open a small-scale pleasure garden at a time when London's great pleasure gardens were facing bankruptcy.

When she isn't writing, you may spot Jane disappearing up the side of a mountain with a camera in hand.

Find out more about Jane at:
Website:jane-davis.co.uk
Get a FREEcopy of her time-slip, photography-themed eBook, I Stopped Time, when you signup to her mailing list at jane-davis.co.uk/newsletter

Reviews

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh god this book was PERFECT. It was so perfect.

And it's hard to even sum it up, because My Counterfeit Self is about SO MANY THINGS: love, illness, poetry, peace protests, nuclear disasters. This book is bigger than life.

It took me back to a time when people still protested against wrongdoing. When they still cared about what governments did to their people, to the world. It's not to say that we don't care now, but there is a certain silent resignation in our generation - as if it doesn't really matter what we do or say, they will still do what they're going to do, so there's no point for us to even speak up.

This book is a great source of nuclear bomb history. There are so many things I didn't know - like the atrocious bomb testing by the UK that was done basically as experiments on their own soldiers, with trials succeeding only in 2009 (2009!!!), and even at that, only partially. So many things I didn't know - things that aren't talked about anymore, although they are still relevant. It's a dark part of history that needs to be witnessed. I cried at the last pages of the book when names of victims were remembered.

But My Counterfeit Self is so much more than that. It's also about growing up unloved, and the way illness can shape a life (the main character suffered polio in her childhood). This was a big part of the book and it was very strong. As was another big storyline - Lucy's love story with her two men, Dom and Ralph. Dom, her romantic love whom she would and could never marry, and Ralph, her soulmate she ends up marrying, even though he is gay (this story is set in the time when being gay has just been decriminalized and it was dangerous to be open about it). It's such an interesting dynamic, the way that a marriage doesn't always have to be built from a romantic love, and how a romantic relationship might not be able to stand the trial of time, but one that's based on a non-romantic love and respect actually works, despite being celibate. And how society bristles at the idea of such a relationship. I'm really not doing this storyline justice because there's so much more there than I can say in this short review, but I absolutely loved how it was explored. I was in love with those characters and their feelings, experiences.

TL;DR: READ THIS BOOK! It's amazing!!

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to an honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter

[Davida Chazan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does poetry have to do with social activism? A whole lot, actually, as you'll find out in Jane Davis's novel "My Counterfeit Self" and through my #bookreview of this historical, contemporary, women's literary fiction novel on my blog now. (I think this has just become my favorite of her books, as it just edged out "Smash All the Windows" by a whisker!)
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/05/1...

[Radhika Swarup · Rating 5 out of 5]

We meet Lucy, poet and activist, on a morning that finds her angry and bereft. It is a few hours to the funeral of Dominic, her critic and sometime lover, and Lucy has just learnt that she is about to be honoured for her services to poetry. She shreds the invitation – from the Palace – to ribbons, destroying with it her beautiful summer garden, and we see in one graceful move Lucy’s grief over her loss and her anti-establishment zeal.

Jane Davis then takes us back in time, to Lucy’s childhood in a dysfunctional family and to her contracting polio. In doing so, Davis allows the reader a glimpse into Lucy’s earliest influences. The long stay in hospital that has her turning to books; the governess who teaches her to question all she is told. We follow Lucy’s path, and the path of the protests against war and nuclear testing for the following decades. We are witness to her unconventional marriage and the enduring complexities of her relationship with Dominic.

We are led through it all by a writer who feels neither distant nor judgemental. We feel party to Lucy’s hopes and triumphs, as well as to her disappointments. And as we see that the lessons of history are never truly learnt – we worry again, in 2017, about war and nuclear arms – we also see that nothing in life is ever truly simple. This can be holding back from the person you love or from conformity. My Counterfeit Self is a sensitively wrought novel of our times, and one I gladly recommend.

[Julie Whitley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third Jane Davis novel I have read, and I am eager to read them all. She builds well rounded characters who interact with each other in authentic ways. In My Counterfeit Self, I was drawn in to Lucy's story from the start when she became a victim of polio. Following her recovery, she used her gift for poetry to lend voice to her life-long activism on behalf of the military victims of nuclear testing. Lucy lived a full life, my only regret is that I have turned the last page and can no longer share in any more of Lucy's escapades and crusades. I would have loved to meet her!

[Norma Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book drew me into its pages with a strength of writing that just kept me reading. Lucy’s life unfolded asynchronously but not chronologically. We hear how people and events shaped her self awareness but caused her to hide her true self and intelligence. I identified with her struggle to make herself understood in a world that largely tried to restrain her to the norms of society. Thank you, Jane Davis, for another thought provoking novel that was not at all counterfeit.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book from Jane Davis. Refreshingly not one of her books is alike. This is about a rather irascible old lady reflecting on her life as a social activist, using the medium of her poetry. It covers a period of time that is very familiar to me and brought back some surprising memories.

[Linda Modrall]

I feel that this is an amazing book. I t kept me turning page to page. I read half the book before I could put it down.

[Margarita Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful, complex story about Lucy Forrester, poet and activist, and how she came to be the person she is. I particularly enjoyed the scenes from Lucy's childhood and the difficult relationships with her parents. Much of the novel is set in the colourful, bohemian world of Soho. The novel also gives us an analysis of post-war issues in the 1950s and 1960s, especially those relating to the development of the bomb, the rise of CND and the treatment of homosexuality during the period when it was still illegal. This is a bold book that explores emotional pain as well as political and social issues.

[Cindy Marsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an e-book ARC of this title for purposes of an honest review.

It’s a good sign when characters live in my mind as real people do, provoking me to exasperation and twangs of pity, then satisfyingly resolving to a comfortable wash of recognition and acceptance. So has Jane Davis conjured Lucy Forrester: the sensitive child in an iron lung, the misunderstood and unappreciated adolescent, the self-righteous maturing young woman, and finally the “same old Lucy” who is up to her old activist tricks but no longer her “counterfeit self.” Consider an aging Lucy at the Palace in indigo and raspberry, her once-cold and lonely heart stirred with compassion and zeal and even a long-seasoned love. She reminds me of the infuriating Olive Kitteridge (from the eponymous novel by Elizabeth Strout), who has a flashing cameo in this novel. Both characters come to life in their literature, and I leave My Counterfeit Self feeling not that I’ve had a good read but that I’ve met an intriguing person.

To be frank, I got tired of Lucy as, one by one, she pruned off her unworthy schoolmates and family members (though surely some people DO have thoroughly awful family) and set the terms of her relationships, even conspiring to manufacture her success as a poet, sailing through all in impeccable self-justification. She protests the usual checklist of liberal causes – even bringing her own plastic chair to avoid the tainted leather of a TV talk show stage (while recalling a protest picnic of tuna sandwiches – dolphin-safe, I hope!). But when her nuclear protest matures beyond a child’s reflexive concern and a demonizing of nuclear energy itself to focus on the cause of veterans harmed in nuclear testing, Lucy becomes more human. I found myself engaging with her cause more fully as Davis recounts the experience of bewildered soldiers told to turn their backs to a nuclear detonation on Christmas Island and the British government balking at providing benefits when those veterans develop rare cancers decades later. Lucy breaks out of her iron lung and moves beyond the “Machine Girl” of the childhood poem that made her famous.

Though Lucy Forrester’s movement through the world is mechanical and counterfeit for decades, we have the privilege of witnessing her coming to life and fuller humanity especially in her very complicated romantic life. Although it feels a shortcut to have lover Dominic disappear for years when he does, his re-entry into life with Ralph and Lucy comes when Lucy has finally matured enough to make the most of it. Davis plunks us Forrest-Gump style into different significant years in Lucy’s – and the world’s – history, giving us snapshots (the steady and appealing Ralph is a photographer, by the way) that convey what Lucy can become. The very affecting opening scene of the novel – Lucy in the rose garden with a Palace invitation and a wicked set of shears – captures, as does Ralph’s photo of the tableau, the promising complexity of what will come.

I first noticed Jane Davis as I became a debut novelist myself this year, and I immediately knew she was doing it right with quality production (gorgeous covers and website, slick promotional materials). I joined her mailing list to get a copy of I Stopped Time – surely an independent author doing it so well on the business end of her career is likely to be writing quality books, as her reviews and awards attest. I was right.

Enjoy My Counterfeit Self, keeping in mind as Lucy exasperates that the very title is a confession from the standpoint of age and experience. Then try another Jane Davis title – I Stopped Time is next for me!

[Jane Davis]

‘Another little masterpiece.’ ~ Carol Cooper

‘A compelling portrayal of the bohemian life of an activist poet, the men she loves, and the issues she fights for.’ Eleanor Steele

‘Completely gripping, excellently written and so skilfully put together, I can’t recommend My Counterfeit Self highly enough.’ ~ Isabel Wolff, author of Ghostwritten

‘An engrossing read from an author who always delivers the goods.’ ~ AliB

‘Complex relationships, important moments in history, a strong, vibrant, protagonist. Lots to enjoy here.’ ~ Patchwork Queen

Q&A

Q: What’s your writing style and how do you differentiate your writing from other fellow writers?
A: I love this question. It gives the impression that the writing arrives fully formed, when in fact the version the reader sees is an illusion.

I have only three rules. Whatever my subject-matter, the end-product must be honest, credible and authentic. The hallmarks of my books are multiple points of view and non-linear timelines. I’m excited by cause and effect and unconventionality in all its forms. I like to write about big subjects and give my characters almost impossible moral dilemmas.

Q: Which of your personal qualities lend themselves to writing?
A: I come from a large family where the rule was that it was rude to interrupt, so I guess I’ve become a listener and a keen observer. As someone who never has the right words to say at the right time and who plays conversations over and over in her mind (sometime months after they take place), it’s deeply satisfying to be able to put words into characters’ mouths.

Q: How do you go about writing scenes which you know will be particularly challenging?
A: I’m sure every book or screenplay contains a scene that the author has approached with dread. I know I do! I remember reading that for Anthony McCarten, who wrote the script of The Theory of Everything, it was the one in which Stephen and Jane Hawking acknowledged that their marriage had come to an end. Since Stephen could say very little, he didn’t think it was fair to allow Jane to use words as weapons. McCarten spoke about the need to convey great emotion in very few words. That’s really my first rule of thumb: keep it simple.


Q: What’s the story behind your latest release?
A: It’s the story of a radical poet and political activist called Lucy Forrester, who’s a cross between Edith Sitwell and Vivienne Westwood. Having been anti-establishment all of her life, she’s horrified to find that she’s been featured on the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list. To be honest, the idea of writing about the life of a poet came directly from reader reviews. Several comments that my prose was like poetry. I had no idea if I could actually write poetry but this gave me confidence that I might be able to convince readers that I could see the world as a poet does.

Q: How do you manage time within a novel that spans sixty years?
A: When I was writing I Stopped Time, I set up timelines for the twentieth century. I added everything from news stories to the books people were reading to the weather. Now, whenever I write a book, I grab the data from the decades it covers and slot my tailored research into place. For My Counterfeit Self, that included details from biographies of poets, literary critics, even a dress designer. Then, because I like cause and effect to show throughout the book, I tend to deconstruct the timeline. Memories don’t arrive in chronological order. They might show up like photographs or postcards, or sometimes even like unwelcome guests. This way, the reader builds a gradual picture of who the angry old lady we meet in the first chapter is, and what made her that way. The story comes together like a mosaic.

Q: You confess to loving biographies. How much has this influenced your fiction?
A: The novel is such an ideal medium for ‘big subjects’ because it’s the only narrative form that transports the reader directly inside characters’ heads. By exploring an issue from the standpoint of one or two individuals, giving it context, providing motive, showing cause and effect, we humanise it. Biography also does that, but a biographer has a responsibility to his subjects in a way that a novelist doesn’t. I think it’s fair to say that you can be freer with the truth in fiction. At the same time, I want my fiction to feel real. I want readers to believe that Lucy Forrester exists!

Q: In the book, you talk about success coming at a price, as if another kind of bargain has been struck. Is this a reflection of how you feel about your experience of winning the Daily Mail First Novel Award?
A: Obviously, it’s unavoidable for a writer to draw on their own experience. I received several reviews that suggested Half-truths and White Lies didn’t deserve to win, that the result was a fix, or that I must have been related to the judges. I wanted to say to those people, ‘I didn’t enter with any expectation of winning.’ You see, I entered out of sheer frustration. I had an agent but my manuscript had been sitting in her in-tray for six months.

While I was writing My Counterfeit Self, I saw the reaction to Sarah Howes’ win of the TS Eliot Award for her debut collection, Loop of Jade. Even at awards ceremony, a journalist overheard the comment, “I wonder how long it will be before everyone begins to hate her.” As it turned out, the answer was ‘Not Long’. Private Eye questioned the judging, asking if the award was given “for extra-poetic reasons?” Was it because she was a “young woman with a dual Anglo-Chinese heritage” and could be seen as “a more presentable ambassador for poetry than the distinguished grumpy old men she saw off”.

There’s always a sense of giving with one hand and taking away with the other, ignoring the fact that at the centre of the controversy is someone vulnerable and real.

Q: It’s an intriguing title. What does it mean to you?
A: Lucy’s parents behave appallingly and in such a way that she is freed from any feeling of obligation to live up to their expectations. She moves out of the family home and decamps to bohemian Soho. In distancing herself from her parents she adopts a new personality that she hides behind. Although she insists that she lays herself bare in her poetry, it’s keeping secrets from those who love her most that is her undoing.


‘I was drawn in to Lucy’s story from the start when she became a victim of polio. Following her recovery, she used her gift for poetry to lend voice to her life-long activism on behalf of the military victims of nuclear testing. Lucy lived a full life, my only regret is that I have turned the last page and can no longer share in any more of Lucy's escapades and crusades. I would have loved to meet her!’ ~ Julie Whitely

‘Another excellent book from Jane Davis. Refreshingly not one of her books is alike. This is about a rather irascible old lady reflecting on her life as a social activist, using the medium of her poetry. It covers a period of time that is very familiar to me and brought back some surprising memories.’ ~ Librarian Lynn

‘The story of an extraordinary mind emerging out of a struggle with both childhood neglect and childhood polio. My Counterfeit Self packs a punch beyond the realm of fiction – a piece of ‘activist fiction’ to stand in for Lucy’s imagined activist poetry.’ ~ Bookmuse UK

‘Davis has the knack of evoking atmosphere and place extremely well. This is a novel that deals with serious and thought-provoking subjects. It's one I recommend if you want a meaty read.’ ~ Harriet Steele

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Davis never disappoint me. Such a talent for story telling. Every book is unlike the last one.
Another great book. Another great story.

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited e-book

[Moxie Cosmos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely Nuclear Weapons Protest

Books clubs everywhere put this novel on your summer must-read list, as at this very moment we can’t say what will happen in the Koreas or Iran. Well researched by this powerful writer, the era of the CND and Greenham Common in the UK, and peace marches on the USA, comes back to haunt us. The poet-activist, the pioneering open gays, the attention grabbing costumes and sights, the Tv cameras rolling, and the seething establishment remind us of our failure to stop murder in the guise of defense. They also reignite our desire to do more before we die, as this is the story of our generation, we who are in our 70s and 80s, be who are shocked by our own naïveté.

[Angela Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, ‘My counterfeit self’ follows the life story of Lucy Forrester from her privileged yet sad childhood through to white hair and old age and is about everything that happens to her in between and includes the varied and interesting characters that she meets along the way. I guarantee that you’ll like Lucy and you’ll find yourself rooting for her and for the causes that she believes in, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as an activist (as I haven’t) Lucy’s strong beliefs will rub off on you and bring about an admiration for the women and men that stood up for what they believed in. This was an enjoyable and informative read and I recommend this book.

[Julie Cordiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and memorable

Another absorbing, thought provoking and informative novel from Jane Davis. Poet Lucy Forrester leaps off the page, feisty and unconventional, and you never quite know what to expect from her relationships with Ralph and Dominic.

I prefer a linear story, so I found the hopping between dates confusing at times, but the narrative was so beautifully written that I was soon reoriented. The issue of the veterans who were forced to witness nuclear explosions, with horrific after-effects passing through generations, will be the one thing that stays with me from this book. Not just a story but a lesson about the human race.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more than I did

I really enjoyed the story of Lucy's illness and how Pamela helped her, but I felt like the story fell apart as she grew. Clearly, the author & Lucy are dedicated to nuclear disarmament and I did learns good deal of British history, but I feel cheated.

[Carlynne Toomey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I’ve read my Jane Davis. It is very well crafted and introspective. I think the subject matter is very timely and while I don’t care for the back and forth in time style of this book, it made sense as I was reading it. I’d definitely recommend it if you are into good literature with a lot of meat to it – this is NOT a light and breezy read.

[Julie Houser · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Counterfeit Self by Jane Davis is about a political activist who started her life dealing with Polio. It covers her whole life and her marriage. Very interesting how she dealt so well with all life threw at her. Her last protest on nuclear testing when she was in her 70‘s was quite powerful. This is a very thought-provoking novel.

[Barbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. There was so much packed into it, so many issues and causes, and yet it never felt too much. This was the first book I've read in awhile where I resented the time I had to do other things and not read. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Aviraj Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it , it was an amazing story Done once again no words can describe the counterfeit self It's a book which is still relevant and will be thought as one that cannot be superseded but is by only other books by Davis

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great, great story, written by the extremely gifted author, Jane Davis. Her words paint pictures, in your mind and heart and soul. A wonderful book.

[Arabella Droullard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with a young impressionable girl, stricken by polio, confined to an iron lung, her neck in a brace, her parents emotionally absent, her ability to experience all life had to offer her at not quite 10 years of age limited by her imagination and her life support.
She is paired with a forward thinker, a governess with clarity about what constitutes right and what constitutes wrong. A questioner who permitted her charge, nay encouraged her charge, to read and to question. Who said history was written by the victors, or words to this effect.
I am personally in agreement with this governess.
As the young girl begins her recovery from polio, the governess continues to open her mind to injustice, and the actions necessary to bring attention to the injustices. The governess builds her mind and her body.
Our heroine, Lucy, and her two friends, the dashing lover Dominic, and the gay photographer Ralph, live together and grow old together. There are many years unaccounted for, their personal stories are told in retrospective and consequently remembered like an old person will remember them, hazy highlights where one perfect summer day represents for the elder the entire decade between first kiss and heartbreak, one disagreeable person the entire memory of secondary school.
It is too fast for this reader, too much “and then life happened” sensibility. To fully experience the final chapter mandates a more full experience of the heroines journey to that place. It reminds me of the stiff upper lip we are often treated to in regards to a British man’s sorrow.
I wanted to feel a deeper connection with her.
We were treated to one chapter describing the events that form the basis of the final protest, and none of how these events influenced Lucy.
I wanted to experience her horror, her burgeoning knowledge, her comprehension, the hopelessness she must have felt, the indignation, the gradual awareness that somebody had to do something, and the somebody was herself.
Her actions were the natural consequence of a series of events and I wanted to know what those events were. How they unfolded in her consciousness.
What I got was an old person’s retrospective. It was sterile, removed from the day to day.

And somehow more horrible because I was removed from it, a tourist in a tragedy created, orchestrated and mandated by the governing politicians.

The telling of this tale was sparse. More sparse that I wanted, and I can imagine Ms. Davis crossing out, cutting down, removing entire section of well-written material in favor of this sparseness.

The extreme editing left me hungry. I wanted the title, “My Counterfeit Self,” to be more developed, rather than a throw away at the end of a chapter. I do not know what the author intended by such a provocative title, but I wanted to.

The author courageously told the tale through a retrospective lens, while I the reader, only experienced the distance of time.

Disclaimer … I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

[Bookmuseuk]

Jane Davis’s sixth novel, My Counterfeit Self, has three main characters and three interweaving story strands.

The first strand is the story of a lifelong relationship between a poet, a critic and a photographer – the complexities of which reveal themselves, layer by layer, as the novel unfolds.

The second is the story of an extraordinary mind emerging out of a struggle with both childhood neglect and childhood polio.

And the final strand is an account of the British anti-nuclear movement, starting with the Aldermaston march in 1958, and in particular of the fight for justice for the professional soldiers and National Servicemen whose lives were wrecked when they were ordered to act as observers in Britain’s nuclear test programme in the central Pacific in the 1950s and 60s.

Davis’s central character, Lucy, is an ‘activist poet’ – and in later life, ‘our greatest living female poet’ and someone in grave danger of being considered a national treasure. Davis wisely refrains from attempting to write poetry that lives up to this, and apart from a few stanzas, gives us just a glimpse of Lucy’s juvenile efforts – ‘Machine Girl’, the verses she wrote about her time confined in an ‘iron lung.’

“Underneath this layer of skin
This sitting down girl is made of
Pinking shears
A garden rake
Bicycle chains...”

Lucy was one of the lucky ones. She survived polio with only a chronic weakness in one leg to show for it. Deceptively tough, she has a lifetime putting herself in the way of controversy and risk, and of eschewing convention and risk. She reminds me of a childhood heroine of mine, the Canadian painter, Emily Carr, author of Klee Wick. Almost certainly not an easy person to live with in real life, Lucy is a joy to spend time with between the pages of a book.

My Counterfeit Self is a book that packs a punch beyond the realm of fiction – a piece of ‘activist fiction’ to stand in for Lucy’s imagined activist poetry.

You’ll Enjoy This If You Loved: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler; The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi

[Harriet Steel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy Forrester survives childhood polio and a miserable relationship with her family to become a respected poet and campaigner. The action of the novel goes back and forwards in time from the late 1940s to the present day and follows her life and relationships with the two men she loves as well as her involvement with the protest movements against establishment injustice and concealment that took place during much of that time.
I found the historical aspects of the novel very interesting and they awakened memories - the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was often in the news in my early life - but be warned: much of the detail Davis includes is shocking and disturbing.
The personal side of Lucy's story is sensitively handled and I grew to care about her. I also enjoyed the writing for itself. Davis has the knack of evoking atmosphere and place extremely well. This is a novel that deals with serious and thought-provoking subjects. It's one I recommend if you want a meaty read.

[Dawn Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little worried that I might find this a challenge - I don't 'get' poetry, and this is, after all about a poet activist. I needn't have worried. It is another beautifully thought provoking, well researched, meaningful and detailed novel, making for a read that has made me go on to do some research into the topics covered (sorry - can't say; spoiler alert!). It's also an emotional read; generating laughter and tears and anger in me. As always Jane Davis manages to make all her characters so well rounded, believable and genuine. Another novel that I loved reading and had to ration so that I didn't get through it all too quickly! This really needs to be longlisted for the Baileys or the Booker in my opinion.

[Rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Jane Davis and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Based on how much I enjoyed reading this book, I'm sure I will read other books by Ms. Davis.

Ms. Davis has a deft touch with writing and while aspects of the book were at times sparse, it seemed to fit the characters. I enjoyed learning more about Lucy and what influenced her to become the woman we meet in the that first chapter. Lucy is not only a poet but also an activist and her activism is a huge part of the book. For myself, I learned a lot about the social and cultural changes in the UK in post-WW II. As an American - and not of Lucy's generation - I sometimes forget that the 1960s and 1970s was a tumultuous time for many countries, not just the US.

Beyond the history lesson on social and political issues in the UK, this is also just a terrific book that explores the life of one woman who decided that she wasn't going to sit by without protest. If you're looking for a light and fun read this isn't it. But if you're looking for a book that has heft, I heartily recommend it.

[Andrew Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating novel about how ironic fate can be - especially if manipulated for reasons that may be benign or equally may be not. The central character is a great, bolshy (in every sense of the word) female activist of a kind we don't really see any more. Having lived through part of this period in my youth, there is a sense of nostalgia at work in the novel - not least because although things were horrible at least they kind of made sense. This is offset by the visceral horror of some of the things that befall her and the question of whether or not they shape the woman she becomes. This is the second novel by Jane Davis I've read; I enjoyed the last one and 'My Counterfeit Self' is even better.