Uncle Paul

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I don't know if I liked this at all. I've recently read her debut novel The Hours Before Dawn, published in 1958. This one, her second novel is also a "domestic noir," published 1959. There are similar elements, the focus on women, very often the drudgery of domestic work; and women's roles as wife and mother. In the 50s there was the fairly rigid separation by gender: men in the work-place and women at home. It was generally younger, un-married women who had jobs - and this is Meg's situation, in her early 20s In this Waterstones Thriller of the Month, as recommended on BBC Radio 4's Open Book, one family's skeletons emerge on a 1950s seaside summer holiday in this classic mystery from 'Britain's Patricia Highsmith' and the 'grandmother of psycho-domestic noir' ( Sunday Times ) Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die. [3] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published A Guide to Self Deliverance, but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful. [4] Celia Fremlin’s Uncle Paul is an engrossing, slow-burning psychological thriller that skilfully blends suspense, family dynamics and the infuriating complexities of human relationships. Originally published in 1959, its gripping narrative and insightful exploration of the psyche ensure that it remains surprising and impactful despite certain aspects of the story now appearing a tad dated.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. First published in 1959, this is now in a nice retro Faber & Faber edition. It starts with sensible Meg receiving a message from older sister (and often overwrought), Isabel about a problem with their half-sister, Mildred. Meg joins them on holiday by the sea, where Mildred is staying in the cottage where she found out her husband, Paul, had tried to murder his first wife over fifteen years ago. With Paul possibly released from prison, could increasingly spooky happenings indicate his presence and increasing danger for the trio? Or is it just hysteria and paranoia?

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If you like Agatha Christie and/or Patricia Highsmith, you will enjoy this book very much. If you are looking for an Enid Blyton-esque read, maybe not so much! In 1542 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, abolished slavery by decree in his Leyes Nuevas, although slavery persisted in Spain’s colonies in Puerto Rica and Cuba (until 1873 and 1886); in 1952 Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, starring Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim; in 1963 the funeral of the assassinated president John F Kennedy took place, with more than 800,000 people lining the streets to watch the procession through Washington DC; in 2016 Fidel Castro died, aged 90: he led Cuba from the 1959 revolution to 2008, defeated the CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and presided over the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 ( obituary, November 26, 2016). This book is full of tension and suspicion, which is all created by rumour, supposition and the vagaries of the human mind. Nothing graphic actually happens, but the author manages to create fear nonetheless, simply by letting then imaginations of the main protagonists run riot. Soon everyone is suspicious of everyone else and no one knows who they can trust, even their nearest and dearest.

In Uncle Paul, Fremlin – who has been dubbed ‘the grandmother of psycho-domestic noir’ – showcases her exceptional ability to craft a truly gripping psychological thriller. With its suspenseful narrative, well-developed characters and thought-provoking exploration of the human psyche, it’s an undeservedly forgotten classic of the genre that is certainly worthy of rediscovery. Lucy Lethbridge has written of Fremlin's work that "almost all her novels centring round the home as the harbour of a particularly horrible, intimate, terror". [2] Overall, Uncle Paul is well worth a read. It’s an insight into the history of the genre as well as being a great exploration of family dynamics and an interesting slice of social history. The story cleverly explores the relationship of the three sisters. As the truth about Uncle Paul unfolds, the themes also resonate with the men in the three women’s lives. There is some wonderful observation and some lovely comedy, particularly in the comings and goings at the hotel in the town where Mildred decamps. Celia Fremlin’s masterful approach to building atmosphere and tension is the standout element of Uncle Paul. She slowly ramps up the tension, introducing slightly off-kilter characters and somewhat peculiar situations to disorientate Meg as she reluctantly starts to agree with Mildred and then is forced to continuously second-guess her assumptions as events progress.The story follows a call from Isabel to Meg begging her to come and talk sense into Mildred who is intent on staying in the same cottage where Uncle Paul was arrested fifteen years before. Both Mildred and Isabel seem to think that Paul is now out of prison and coming for revenge on one or all of the sisters who caused his incarceration. Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.

The exploration of family dynamics is another strength of Uncle Paul. Fremlin delves into the complexities of the relationships among the sisters and between them and their loved ones, exposing the underlying tensions and conflicts that often exist within families. The portrayal of the strained relations between Isabel and her new husband, as well as the uncertain bond between Meg and the Bertie Wooster-esque Freddy, add depth to the narrative and reinforce the notion that anyone could be harbouring secrets. For myself the entertainment rested on Fremlin's children - a classic 50s child, Cedric, who manages on most occasions to outsmart the adults, and Isabel's two small boys, doing precisely child-like things, with a vivid sense of children's self-focus.Aside from Meg being an engaging and relatable protagonist, the other characters in Uncle Paul are also vividly depicted. Fremlin displays a sharp eye for detail and sometimes brutal characterisation in populating the caravan park and hotel in Southcliffe with an eclectic group of people who seem highly likely to be found in a 1950s British seaside resort, particularly one that is playing host to a mystery. One family’s skeletons emerge on a 1950s seaside summer holiday in this classic mystery from ‘Britain’s Patricia Highsmith’ and the ‘grandmother of psycho-domestic noir’ ( Sunday Times) The unflappable and almost pathologically competent Meg is summoned from London by a telegram from Isabel, her slightly older sister. Arriving at Southcliffe, the quintessential British seaside town where Isabel, her two sons and her new husband, when he can get away from the office anyway, are holidaying at a slightly run-down caravan park, Meg finds her sister in an even more harried state than normal. In this one, Meg, who is the youngest but most sensible of three sisters is summoned to a seaside resort by Isobel, who is worried about their older sister Mildred. Years ago, Mildred was on honeymoon at the same resort with her husband, the eponymous Uncle Paul, when she discovered that he had attempted to murder his first wife. Mildred betrayed him to the police, and now he is due to be released and may be seeking revenge By coincidence, Mildred is staying in the same cottage they honeymooners in all those years ago. The tension managed to build almost imperceptibly as the characters go about their seaside holiday with trip to the beach, fairground and hotels, all the whole the sisters start to worry about the people they are spending time with, could one of them be Uncle Paul in disguise? Reading it, I had a growing sense of unease, and the ending took me completely by surprise. Well I loved this. I'd read a review saying it was old fashioned and dated but I didn't find it so at all, certainly no more so than any mid century Agatha Christie. There's maybe one or two references to women being hysterical or not being able to "hang onto" a man (rather than the man simply being a womanizer) but they are few and far between.