This is a brilliantly tantalizing debut novel, interweaving madness into the stunning story of two women who meet in a mental institution. The two chief characters provide an emotional plotline which is troubling and frightening by turns; one of them has been in the hospital for years and never wants to leave; the other has just arrived and doesn’t believe she should be there at all. This novel provides incredible, jolting insights into insanity, reality, and the grey areas in between where they meet.
Welcome to the Dorothy Fish, a day hospital in North London! N has been a patient here for thirteen years. Day after day she sits smoking in the common room, swapping medication and comparing MAD money rates. Like all the patients at the Dorothy Fish, N’s chief ambition is never to get discharged. Each year when her annual assessment comes round, she is relieved to learn that she hasn’t got any better.
Then in walks Poppy Shakespeare in her six -inch skirt and twelve-inch heels. She is certain she isn’t mentally ill and desperate to return to her life outside. Though baffled by Poppy’s attitude, N agrees to help. Together they plot to gain Poppy’s freedom. But in a world where everything’s upside-down, are they crazy enough to upset the system?
Clare Allan was the winner of the first Orange/Harpers short story prize. She lives in London. Poppy Shakespeare, an arresting account of madness set in a North London day hospital, is her first novel.
