Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Synopsis
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

At the heart of this glittering world is notorious Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.

With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.

My Review

A new book from the talented Kate Atkinson is always exciting, so I was delighted when Anne Cater offered me the opportunity to be part of the blog tour for her new book. Shrines of Gaiety is set in 1926 and centres around the night club owner Nellie Cocker and her family. When I think of 1920’s London, I think of the roaring twenties, the Bright Young Things and their treasure hunts, but Kate Atkinson takes us to a much darker place, the seedier part of society, a place of drugs, prostitution and corruption. This is a London of salubrious clubs that break the liquor licenses, where young girls are paid to dance for the high society clientele, a place of gangs, illegal abortions and young blonde girls that end up drownng in the Thames. This is a heady mix of history, literary fiction and thriller.

The openeing chapter of a book is important, as it sets the scene and pace for the rest of the book. Kate Atkinson brilliantly opens Shrines of Gaiety at Holloway Prison where a crowd has gathered to see, and show support for, the notorious Nellie Cocker released, to take up the helm of her night club empire. Nellie is an interesting character, a single mother to five, who came from nothing to build her five night clubs, a strong and successful woman in a man’s world. However, out of prison she finds there are people wanting to stab her in the back abd betray her. I found I admired her strength of character, and perseptivness of others, even her children; she missed nothing.

Into Nellie’s story, Kate Atkinson has several other plots running parallel. Gwendolin Kelling a librain from York has come to London to help find Freda, a friend’s sister an her friend Florence who have runaway to be on the stage. Gwendoline aslo finds herself working for DCI John Frobisher who wants to bring down Nellie and her family. Frobisher is also investigating corruption in the police force and the murder of young girls who are found washed up on the banks of the Thames.

Kate Atkinson seamlessly weaves these different plot lines together before knitting them togather towards the end of the book. As expected the writing and storytelling from Kate Atkinson is magnificent, drawing me in and keeping me hooked. Her characters are fascinating and multi faceted, all seeming to have secrets below the surface. The plot is rich in detail, complex and has a balance of the darkness of the seedy London, with wit and humour.

Shrines of Gaiety is another stunning read from Kate Atkinson. From the brilliantly drawn cast of characters, to the layered plot line and the beautiful prose, I think this is perfect novel.

Thanks to Anne Cater and Doubleday for the invite to take part in this blog tour in return for my honest review.