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Beloved Ghost
Theo Lawder and Zac Bonneval meet in the army at the outbreak of World War II. They survive the horror of Dunkirk and become lovers. Theo goes to work at Bletchley Park, where he becomes friendly with Alan Turing. After the war he joins the Foreign Office, while Zac works for MI6. They make a good life together. But this is a time when homosexuals are criminalised, and the pressure of being outcasts in society takes a terrible toll. Zac becomes deeply depressed and goes away. Can their love survive society’s hatred?
294 pages, Paperback
Published May 2, 2022
11 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Graph
2 books1 followerFiona Graph was born in Sydney. Once she had obtained a degree in Psychology and Ancient History, she travelled before settling in north London. She worked variously as a psychologist, for an LGB organisation and as a librarian, before ending up at the Foreign Office. Her youthful interest in writing came back strongly about seven years ago.
Things that Bounded, published in October 2020, was her first novel. Her second novel, Beloved Ghost, came out in May 2022.
Things that Bounded, published in October 2020, was her first novel. Her second novel, Beloved Ghost, came out in May 2022.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 20, 2024
A beautiful meditation on the power of love. A bit of a cliché at times but very satisfying and moving.
May 24, 2022
If you liked My Policeman by Bethany Roberts you'll absolutely fall in love with this book.
It's so beautifully written and it's pages hold the most beautiful love story, told in a time when their love was forbidden, hidden and condemned.
My heart bled for Theo and Zac, their only crime falling in love. They were resilient, hardy characters, bouncing back, stronger and more together each time.
The story is credible, relatable and something we should all reflect upon.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's so beautifully written and it's pages hold the most beautiful love story, told in a time when their love was forbidden, hidden and condemned.
My heart bled for Theo and Zac, their only crime falling in love. They were resilient, hardy characters, bouncing back, stronger and more together each time.
The story is credible, relatable and something we should all reflect upon.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
July 4, 2022
Beloved Ghost is the moving love story between Theo Lawder and Zac Bonneval. Having met during the war, the author takes them and us on a journey to the beginning of equality. It is the story of their love affair, the way they were forced to live their life as a couple in the shadows, facing persecution, physical and mental abuse.
Fiona Graph has written a very character driven novel, creating two characters who both having grown up when being gay was a criminal offence, are used to show how the life they lived affected them mentally and physically. She uses the two men to show that it took great bravery to refuse to conform, that their love was what defined them, not the judgement of others. She gives them a voice to express the damage done by the homophobia of others, yet more important than that, to show they were no different to ‘straight couples’. All they wanted was to be allowed to live their lives together. Beloved Ghost is about, love, the daily minutiae of being a couple and the love of two men for each other.
The flip side of this novel is how she depicts the cruelty and persecution faced by men like Theo and Zac. The beatings, the threats to careers, the isolation from ‘normal’ society. The drama comes from ache the reader feels when the pressure of all this takes its inevitable toll on their love . The drama is not big and flashy, it is subtle and rooted in their individual characters. I felt a desperate need for their love to survive, but given all they had been through, I knew that that was not a given and it felt heartbreaking.
Beloved Ghost is a novel that speaks not just about Theo and Zacs, but all the gay men of that period who paid a terrible price for just being themselves. It pays homage to their bravery, the important part they played in both the war and after and how despite all this they were betrayed and prosecuted.
It is a tale of despair and pain, but also hope and courage, charting how progress came about too slowly for so many!
Fiona Graph has written a very character driven novel, creating two characters who both having grown up when being gay was a criminal offence, are used to show how the life they lived affected them mentally and physically. She uses the two men to show that it took great bravery to refuse to conform, that their love was what defined them, not the judgement of others. She gives them a voice to express the damage done by the homophobia of others, yet more important than that, to show they were no different to ‘straight couples’. All they wanted was to be allowed to live their lives together. Beloved Ghost is about, love, the daily minutiae of being a couple and the love of two men for each other.
The flip side of this novel is how she depicts the cruelty and persecution faced by men like Theo and Zac. The beatings, the threats to careers, the isolation from ‘normal’ society. The drama comes from ache the reader feels when the pressure of all this takes its inevitable toll on their love . The drama is not big and flashy, it is subtle and rooted in their individual characters. I felt a desperate need for their love to survive, but given all they had been through, I knew that that was not a given and it felt heartbreaking.
Beloved Ghost is a novel that speaks not just about Theo and Zacs, but all the gay men of that period who paid a terrible price for just being themselves. It pays homage to their bravery, the important part they played in both the war and after and how despite all this they were betrayed and prosecuted.
It is a tale of despair and pain, but also hope and courage, charting how progress came about too slowly for so many!
April 1, 2023
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Beloved Ghost
Author: Fiona Graph
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 7/10
Cover: 3/5
Of the 15 readers:
11 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
12 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
10 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
11 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“An enjoyable historical novel following two men who meet during the war. Being gay, they must face many hardships which the author puts over strongly to the reader. Interesting story, tackling a subject commonly seen in contemporary novels but not historically.” Male reader, aged 43
“In many ways, this is a love story; in other ways it´s a look at the shameful way men like Alan Turing were treated during and after the way. I loved the story, although the writing style is a little choppy here and there. All in all, a compelling read looking at a compelling subject.” Female reader, aged 58
“A story of love during a time when such love was frowned upon and unlawful. The two male characters show wonderful strength of character in the face of so much hostility. A bit slow here and there but I still enjoyed this well-written novel.” Male reader, aged 62
To Sum It Up:
‘A compelling and often moving love story set during a time when such love was unlawful.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Title: Beloved Ghost
Author: Fiona Graph
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Content: 7/10
Cover: 3/5
Of the 15 readers:
11 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
12 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
10 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
11 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“An enjoyable historical novel following two men who meet during the war. Being gay, they must face many hardships which the author puts over strongly to the reader. Interesting story, tackling a subject commonly seen in contemporary novels but not historically.” Male reader, aged 43
“In many ways, this is a love story; in other ways it´s a look at the shameful way men like Alan Turing were treated during and after the way. I loved the story, although the writing style is a little choppy here and there. All in all, a compelling read looking at a compelling subject.” Female reader, aged 58
“A story of love during a time when such love was frowned upon and unlawful. The two male characters show wonderful strength of character in the face of so much hostility. A bit slow here and there but I still enjoyed this well-written novel.” Male reader, aged 62
To Sum It Up:
‘A compelling and often moving love story set during a time when such love was unlawful.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
July 23, 2022
This is the second novel by this author, and I think she will be a writer to watch in the future. It is a love story between two very well drawn male protagonists who lived at a time when homosexual relationships were illegal, and could result in painful, traumatic and dangerous repercussions not only from the law but from relations, friends, workplace colleagues and strangers. Homosexual men were at risk of prosecution, ostracism and severe beatings because of their personal feelings. The attitudes, prejudices and consequences of this period of British history are very well expressed, and exposed, by the author. As a reader I really felt for Theo and Zac in their obvious love for each other and the agonies they suffered and endured because of it.
I was not sure about the cover at first, but as I read I realised its subtle relevance, although I personally would have preferred more of the image and less text on the front, hard to read it at thumbnail size online.
The cameo appearances of real-life people (Alan Turing and Guy Burgess, for instance) bring a sense of heightened reality to the narrative, leading a reader to believe that Theo and Zac did exist, although in a way they did as there were many men, just like these two, trapped in an abusive world of intolerant discrimination. When fiction can be made to feel like reality, then the writer is doing a good job.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
I was not sure about the cover at first, but as I read I realised its subtle relevance, although I personally would have preferred more of the image and less text on the front, hard to read it at thumbnail size online.
The cameo appearances of real-life people (Alan Turing and Guy Burgess, for instance) bring a sense of heightened reality to the narrative, leading a reader to believe that Theo and Zac did exist, although in a way they did as there were many men, just like these two, trapped in an abusive world of intolerant discrimination. When fiction can be made to feel like reality, then the writer is doing a good job.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews