Crow Court by Andy Charman

Synopsis
Spring, 1840. In the Dorset market town of Wimborne Minster, a young choirboy drowns himself. Soon after, the choirmaster a belligerent man with a vicious reputation is found murdered, in a discovery tainted as much by relief as it is by suspicion. The gaze of the magistrates falls on four local men, whose decisions will reverberate through the community for years to come.

So begins the chronicle of Crow Court, unravelling over fourteen delicately interwoven episodes, the town of Wimborne their backdrop: a young gentleman and his groom run off to join the army; a sleepwalking cordwainer wakes on his wife s grave; desperate farmhands emigrate. We meet the composer with writer s block; the smuggler; a troupe of actors down from London; and old Art Pugh, whose impoverished life has made him hard to amuse.

Meanwhile, justice waits

Review
1840, Wimborne in Dorset, a young choirboy Henry Cuff takes his own life in the river. The Choirmaster, Matthew Ellis is known to rule by fear and abuse and is blamed for the young boys death. Found murdered, relief and a sense of justice runs through the community, but the decisions of that night taint the lives of the four men who found him, and the community as a whole. Covering the years 1840-1863 Crow Court is the story of a community and the people whose lives are effected from that night.

It really is hard to believe that Crow Court is the debut novel from Andy Charman. It is so beautifully written, with attention to detail and wonderful observations of society, peoples character and the important issues of the mid nineteenth century. This books starts with a real puch with the suicide of a young boy and the subsequent murder of the man thought to be responsible for his death, and asks if it is ever alright to take justice in to your own hands. The question of who murdered Charles Ellis is much speculated, but the four men who found him, Charles Ellis, Jack Street, Bill Brown and his brother Cornelius are very much suspected. Charles Ellis the younger half brother of Matthew, is a merchant and pillar of the community. Both brothers disliked each other and spent very little time together. Charles sees his brother for the bully he is, using violence to control those in the choir, so there is no love loss when he finds Matthew murdered. Cornelius was punished by Matthew Ellis when he was a choir boy and knows the violent and horrific acts committed in the name of God. John and Bill, although manual workers, are still friends with Charles which is why they go with him to confront his brother, but find themselves with a murdered body on the hands. Charles doesn’t forget his childhood friends, even though he has gone up in the world, and will do anything to protect them from the fingers of suspicion, and in turn he has their respect and protection. The mystery is that none of these four young men were guilty, yet by actions and association all four find themselves at some point thought guilty, and some pay the ultimate price for it.

Andy Charman uses different voices from a diverse cast of characters to show how the tragic events weave through Wimborne’s rich tapestry of life over the next twenty three years. Evelyn, a composer with writers block, who eventually writes a song after a young squire returns to Wimborne after being cleared of his involvement. The Shakespeare players who come to perform at a wedding, and a Priest who begins to question his faith after reading Darwin. These very different stories show the everyday lives of those in Wimborne, the trials they face, their hopes and dreams and most importantly their very individual voices, speaking in the first, third and second person narratives. I also thought the use of colloquial language really added to the characterisation, and the vocabulary summary at the back of the book really helpful. There is also fact of the books title, Crow Court, referring to the fact that if a crow is killed the others will look for the one responsible and can attack any predator, just like to actions in this book.

As a debut novel Crow Court is exceptional in both plot and prose. Andy Charman’s skillfully weaves together the different, individual stories into a comprehensive whole, with the only link being the suicide and murder in 1840. Beautifully written, with attention to detail this is an origional piece of historical fiction with a feel of the classics about it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Andy Charman writes next.

I’d like to thank Unbound Publishers and Anne Cater for my advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.