Mr. Chartwell: A Novel - Softcover

Hunt, Rebecca

3.41

2,183 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554688663 ISBN 13: 9781554688661

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2012

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It’s July 1964. In bed at home in Kent, Winston Churchill is waking up. There’s a visitor in the room, someone he hasn’t seen for a while, a dark, mute bulk, watching him with tortured concentration. It’s Mr. Chartwell.

In her terraced house in Battersea, Esther Hammerhans, young, vulnerable and alone, goes to answer the door to her new lodger. Through the glass she sees a vast silhouette the size of a mattress. It’s Mr. Chartwell.

Mr. Chartwell is a huge, black dog.

Charismatic and dangerously seductive, Mr. Chartwell unites the eminent statesman at the end of his career and the vulnerable young woman. But can they withstand Mr. Chartwell’s strange, powerful charms and his stranglehold on their lives?

In this utterly original, moving, funny and exuberant novel, Rebecca Hunt explores how two unlikely lives collide as Mr. Chartwell’s motives are revealed to be far darker and deeper than they seem.

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Review:

A Letter from Author Rebecca Hunt

� Angus Muir

The central premise of Mr. Chartwell is that Winston Churchill’s ‘black dog’ of depression is imagined as an independent character, free to walk, talk, and stalk others as he did with Churchill. The book follows the charismatic but menacing black dog--called Mr. Chartwell, but known as Black Pat by his closer acquaintances--as he weaves his devious influence into the lives of Churchill and Esther Hammerhans, a young widow. In different ways, both Esther and Churchill are approaching the end of deeply significant relationships, and the dog arrives to plague them as they face their challenges.

Depression is an intensely personal affliction, and I felt personifying it as Black Pat provided me with an opportunity to translate the emotions of the characters affected by his presence as dialogue, engaging them in conversation about their situations. It may be an unusual way to broach such a difficult topic, but I was immediately struck by the possibilities this opened up to me. There is no such thing as a definitive description of depression, I believe it varies with the individual, but I wanted to create a version of depression which was honest and true to my personal understanding of it. Using the dark and dynamic character of Mr. Chartwell gave me a vehicle to explore Churchill and Esther’s circumstances in greater detail, and in many ways, with a more accessible expression of the sensitivity I felt towards the subject and characters.

I was also struck by how perfectly the ‘black dog’ description can be used to capture the nature of depression. It takes the typical characteristics of a dog--the loyalty and attachment, along with the predatory and instinctual aspects--and converts them into something corruptive. This dog takes the image of man’s best friend and reverses it, becoming a jealously devoted companion who works against you from within you. However, for all this, Mr Chartwell isn’t just a book about depression. It is equally about redemption, courage and love. And, for me, it is predominantly and most importantly about hope.

About the Author:

REBECCA HUNT graduated with a first class degree in fine art from Central Saint Martins College in 2002. Her paintings have been successfully exhibited in London and all over the UK. In 2008 she started writing and her short stories have already been published in several eminent literary magazines.

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