Shakespeare's Clock

by Jan Moran Neil

It’s 1984. Patricia Vickers returns like a phantom to deliver an unwelcome revelation. Jayne Thornhill is reminded of those spiteful 1960s’ schooldays: bullying, Charlie the skeleton, séances, strip poker and sexual encounters with the school’s handymen. Jayne’s confessions have now been whitewashed from lavatory walls, only to be unearthed in a third school friend’s 1969 diary. A cloud of sadness is now cast over the three women’s lives and only by revealing their own stories in later life can they move the stubborn hands of the undertaker’s clock forward. In doing so, something shockingly out of line is revealed …

317 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2021

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @janmoranneil and @cranthorpemilner my my #gifted copy of this book for #shakespearsclockbooktour

When I first read the synopsis of this book I was intrigued as it was quite vague but in a way you want to know more. Well when you get reading it's a right surprise!

This is a story that focuses on time from the sixties, to the eighties and present day. We follow a group of school girls and how the events that happened in there all girls school has stayed with them now as adults.

We follow three different characters Jayne, Patricia and Shelley. As you get into the book each character has a story, things that happened throughout school and what happened. We find that Jayne was a victim to atrocious school bullying. Patricia was Jaynes tormentor and Shelley was the bystander who watched to afraid to speak up or take action. Throughout the story we witness things that happened in this trios lives, from Charlie the skeleton, séances, strip poker, sexual encounters with the schools handyman. We have secrets and betrayals and a massive revelation that was absolutely shocking!

The story is sort of done in a way of diary entries and I absolutely loved it. It's an instant way to really get into the characters emotions and what they truly feel. The author Jan writes so well and she makes you really feel invested in everyones story. I was flying through this book needing to know more and when revelations came out I was unexpectedly shocked.
The flashbacks show that memories have been lost and that slowly it's all patched back together. Truths start to appear and the characters make you both love them and hate them. This story has a really great way of discussing bullying and as horrid as Jaynes bullying was, I felt it was done with sensitivity but also an awareness to us readers, at how awful it is (especially with girls) and signs to look out for in our children.
This story gives you the question of can time be a healer or can it be something that destroys you. So much is revealed in this book and it gave me a sense of a thriller with things that happened and all the secrets that came out.
This is a brilliant captivating read and I was surprised at what was happening in this story. Kudos to the author making the synopsis vague where you're already intrigued by the book to get it, then absolutely stuck and can't put it down, by all these things coming out from years ago. Definitely don't judge this book by it's vagueness, pick it up and be in for a interesting, emotional journey.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book with quite a lot of characters. It certainly reminds me of my childhood education, as the main action takes place in a school in the 1960's, although the action is very cleverly detailed in letters and diary entries by the various characters involved, as it time travels from 1969 to 2020. The main characters are Jayne, Patricia, Rachel, Shelley, Danny and Benji, all linked together by a terrible tragedy.

The author, Jan, has managed to create a really evil character in school bully and loose moraled, Patricia, although her family background, especially her father, does lend her a little sympathy. Jayne, the main object of her bullying, comes across as weak and ineffectual, as she nurses and stays with her arch nemesis in later life when Patricia is dying. This seems incredible. The only real characters I can feel any sympathy with, are Rachel and Shelley, as the author skilfully demonstrates all the weaknesses and duplicities of the others.

I found the book hard to get into at first but once you get to the tragedy and begin to discover how all the characters are linked to it, it becomes very engaging and page turning.

[Sue Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated by the story from the first page. Jan Moran Neil has done a brilliant job of recapturing the feeling of being a fifteen year old schoolgirl in the late 1960s. I never went on the school bus, but it rekindled many memories for me. The plot is well constructed and seeds sown early in the novel grow towards a brilliant final denouement. I look forward to reading anything else that Jan Moran Neil writes.

Sue Johnson
www.writers-toolkit.co.uk

[Caroline Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book - beautifully crafted and very difficult to put down. I highly recommend it.

[Adrian Spalding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted story of relationships that evolve over the passenger of time.