Aunt Margaret's Lover

by Mavis Cheek

Aunt Margaret, surrogate mother to teenage Saskia, has just waved goodbye to her niece. She has sent her to Canada for a year. Now, buoyed up by an unexpected legacy that's given her a year of freedom, Aunt Margaret decides to kick up her heels a little and have some fun...

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Humor, Romance, Modern, Contemporary

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Born in Wimbledon, now part of London, Mavis left school at 16 to do office work with Editions Alecto, a Kensington publishing company. She later moved to the firm's gallery in Albemarle Street, where she met artists such as David Hockney, Allen Jones, Patrick Caulfield and Gillian Ayres. In 1969 she married a "childhood sweetheart", Chris Cheek, a physicist, whom she had met at a meeting of the Young Communist League in New Malden, but they separated three years later. Later she lived for eleven years with the artist Basil Beattie. She returned to education in 1976, doing a two-year arts course at Hillcroft College, a further education college for women.

Although Cheek had planned to take a degree course, she turned instead to fiction writing while her daughter, Bella Beattie, was a child. She moved from London to Aldbourne in the Wiltshire countryside in 2003, but as she explained to a newspaper, "Life in the city was a comparative breeze. Life in the country is tough, a little bit dangerous and not for wimps."

Cheek has been involved with the Marlborough LitFest, and also teaches creative writing. This has included voluntary work at Holloway and Erlstoke prisons. As she described in an article: "What I see [at Erlstoke] is reflected in my own experience. Bright, overlooked, unconfident men who are suddenly given the opportunity to learn grow wings, and dare to fail. It helps to be able to tell them that I, too, was once designated thick by a very silly [education] system. My prisoners have written some brilliant stuff, and perhaps it gives them back some self-esteem."

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book charts the journey of Margaret,who has raised her niece on behalf of her deceased sister ,who was killed in an accident caused by her sister's husband.
Once the ward has flown the nest ( the niece actually goes to live with her estranged birth-father in Canada),the tale begins...
Margaret decides to use that year to find a lover and to have fun ,non- committal times.She succeeds in this and the story revolves around a world a picture framing and the art world.
Many mentions of Ovid ( which I liked) and peppered with French and Latin phrases.These are not de trop!
Set in London,with mentions of Northumberland and the Cheviots.It is a fairly modern work ,being set in the nineties,before cell phones and internet - hence a lot of postcards and letters,these form part of the main theme

[Louise Culmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Margaret is 39 and on her own for the first time in many years, as her niece Saskia, whom she has raised since infancy, has gone to Canada for a year to visit her father. Margaret decides to take a lover for a year, to enjoy sex without any strings. Meanwhile her two close friends Verity and Jill both have romantic issues of their own. Unfortunately, as with many of Mavis Cheek’s novels, I did not like any of the characters much, neither Margaret nor her rather tiresome friends. I didn’t care whether any of them had success in their romances or not. Margaret could have spent the entire year celibate for all I cared.

[Caroline Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book straight after The Escape Artist so it was never going to be able to compete. It is a relatively short book and I read it quickly despite finding it a bit beige. The story is about a 39 year old woman in the 90s. It has not aged well. The voice of the main character would be the voice of a woman in her 60s in the year 2025 and this was the hardest thing to adjust to. I’m the end I just imagined all the characters to be in this late 50s or 60s. It either shows how much things have changed in 30 years or that the book was completely out of touch. The book describes itself as the funniest book you will read all summer and it was amusing in parts but not enough to laugh out loud. Having said that I think it would transfer to the TV quite well as a 3 part light comedy/drama. I have read a few of Mavis Cheek’s books and have enjoyed them. I think it would have been better if it had read it another time but I wanted something light after EA. So I guess it was a good choice. ☺️

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret is 39, and has an opportunity to please herself when the niece she has brought up goes away for a year. This is funny on the subject of dating via various lonely hearts channels (and managing to conceal this from her inquisitive friends). She succeeds in the end in finding someone for both a fling and companionship for a finite period, agreed between them first. There are some odd things - switches in narrative voice, unexplained stuff relating to Elizabeth I. Her affair has a startling effect on both a happily married friend and a single one in the throes of having just separated from her man. Undemanding and entertaining but maybe needed some tightening up in places.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't like the characters, they were ridiculously privileged and self involved. Nothing much happens. It's described on the cover as funny but it really wasn't. Almost didn't bother finishing it.

[Jane Glaister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasantly amusing.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dull book, at least it wasn’t too long

[Yaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect summer read !!

[Maureen Reil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mavis Cheek writes wonderful women with lots of wit and warmth and wisdom and I must look out for more of her works, because I do enjoy them so much. This novel is about Aunt Margaret and her one chance as of late to have her romantic whims seen to at last, when her niece Sassy who she has raised after the tragic death of her sister goes to stay with her father for 12 months, before coming back home. (He was drunkenly driving the car in which his wife was killed so Margaret still blames him.) This in turn finds her free, especially, after the death of an elderly acquaintance who leaves her with a piece of artwork and some money to spoil herself with. Aunt Margaret soon decides that after having found out that her ex had advertised for love in the lonely-hearts section and was successful with it, then so would she be. She wanted some passion in her life which according to her workmate, only lasts for about a year into a relationship anyway. And this gives Aunt Margaret the idea that she would take not only a break from her job in a framing shop but also a lover from April to April. Now all she needs to do is find the perfect guy that will accept this scenario and then, keep this situation secret from her closest family and friends. If only, I heard myself cry!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm 2 stars seems harsh but really it was ok - that sums it up for me. It started off really well. I loved the premise, I loved the set up, but it just didn't quite deliver the promise. I never really understood the actual relationship they established (Aunt Margaret and her lover). There were some very odd chapters and segues - mostly written in the first person ('I') it sometimes slipped into the 3rd person observer 'Aunt Margaret'. There was some seemingly completely irrelevant stuff about Queen Elizabeth I and, most bizarrely, the chapter when all of Verities household appliances, fixtures and fittings became characters and commentated on her slow burn breakdown.

Having said that, I quite liked the ending and overall it was an ok read.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite ejoyed it until I encountered two crazy women, Jill and Verity. I looked up all painters and other names mentioned and the way the auther uses them in the context was briliant and cheeky. But I felt uncomfortable and got annoyed to Verity's crazy talking to her stuff in the house and Jill's outburst of emotions.

[Silencut · Rating 4 out of 5]

No soapy-sappy happily-ever-afters. And what else can you expect from a demi-romance novel?

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. I laughed out loud.

[Rikard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny in places, but on the whole average to read!

[Alina Trigger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as amusing as some of her other novels.The plot seemed to go nowhere really and there was a 'so what' feeling at the end of it.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mavis Cheek should be winning awards. Her knowledge of art and history permeate her writing with a liveliness not often found, her characters are entirely believable, and her stories are a delight.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'ho trovato un po' triste ma mi è piaciuta la lettura di quello che puo' essere l'amicizia tra donne ossia totale incomprensione a fin di bene....

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my Favourite Mavis Cheek

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am working my way through her books. This one was OK, not as good as some of her other ones. Not a lot of character development, they were all a bit one dimensional.

[Little BigGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy read but no great shakes

[Vivienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very quick easy light read