Like my favourite book - The Great Gatsby - only with a more heat swept location with glamour and more than a touch of intrigue.
The author transports you to Kenya in the blink of an eye in this novel as Maud and Theo make a new life for themselves and the 1920's roar into life in front of your eyes. This book has it all, fascism, sexism, coming of age, and mystery - it is just like my favourite book - The Great Gatsby - only with a more heat swept location with glamour and more than a touch of intrigue. There are physical and emotional situations to overcome as in that time people were treated very differently and the author has ensured this is brought out in the book to make it more real for the era. I read this on a long journey and I just couldn't put this book down as I followed the lives of the characters. A brilliant novel I would definitely read again - a great book to take on holiday too
Evocative coming of age story set in 1930s Kenya against a backdrop of political unrest - guaranteed to transport the reader!
Evocative coming of age story set in 1930s Kenya against a backdrop of political unrest - guaranteed to transport the reader!
Previously published as The Hunters, Kat Gordon’s scintillating historical fiction novel takes inspiration from two real-life characters and tells the story of an inexperienced fourteen-year-old boy, Theo Miller, who is drawn to the glittering allure of the privileged and vicarious British crowd known as the Happy Valley set. Set across the period 1925 to 1937, the story opens with the mastermind behind the newly built railway, William Miller, appointed as director and uprooting his twenty-five-years younger and unpredictable wife, Jessie, and children, Theo and Maud, from Scotland to Nairobi. Arriving at the Norfolk Hotel, Theo’s attention is drawn to the flamboyant and fast-living set frequently in residence and wide-eyed and eager to become an adult after years of bullying he quickly ingratiates himself with the group...
Capricious Sylvie de Croÿ is a hedonistic but inherently self-destructive character and along with ebullient Freddie Hamilton, soon to become a Lord and keen to make his own mark, they introduce Theo to a seductive lifestyle. But with Theo out of his depth and with world politics changing, Freddie sees the appeal of Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement and sets in motion his own ideals for the white colonists. Theo’s first-person narrative and his attraction to Sylvie and his loyalty towards Freddie allows the reader to empathise with his predicament and given his difficult relationship with his mother, the appeal of being treated like an adult is understandable. Along with Maud becoming increasing political and having a natural empathy for the natives, Kat Gordon’s drama makes apparent the hostile climate and precarious nature of the farming livelihood.
There is a deliciously dark undertone to the whole narrative and the twists in Theo’s romantic life along with the thoroughly well-researched rise of fascism in Kenya and an attempt to impose the outdated aristocratic lifestyle on a completely different culture make for a scintillating read. An Unsuitable Woman is a multi-layered story that I didn’t want to end and I can’t help wanting to know where Theo and Kenya continue from here. Whilst some readers may have reservations about the likelihood of a naive teenager being subsumed within the group and his parents' easy acceptance of this situation, it does little to detract from an atmospheric and tense historical drama.
For readers interested in reading more on the rise of fascism in a dramatic setting I would recommend After The Party by Cressida Connolly.
Addictive, intoxicating read, couldn't put it down. Thanks for my free copy.
An intoxicating read, very addictive.
I was captivated from the very start, the writing is beautifully descriptive, the story intriguing and absorbing; I just couldn't put it down but at the same time I didn't want it to end.
Just a wonderful read.
Nairobi 1927, a place of dreams, dust, wild animals and for fourteen-year-old Theo Miller it's where he meets Sylvie De Croy, an American heiress and Freddy Hamilton her close friend.
Theo is a sensitive boy, easily hurt, and his mother takes great pleasure trying to belittle him, in public. Sylvie and Freddy welcome Theo into "The Happy Valley" set, rich and dazzling, with scandalous reputations, they offer him and his sister Maud an escape from their everyday lives.
With beautiful descriptive writing, you're swept away to Africa, you can feel the heat and dust as you read... Wonderful!
An interesting take on the coming-of-age genre with beautiful scenery and a vast array of eccentric and compelling characters.
A slightly bizarre coming-of-age novel set in 1920s and 1930s Kenya. Theo comes to Kenya aged fourteen with his parents and younger sister Maud. He quickly becomes captivated by the enigmatic and alluring Sylvie who is much older and married, along with her other decadent friends, especially his new idol, Freddie. Theo longs to belong and desperately tries to integrate himself into their bizarre circle of debauchery, observing excessive drinking, tame household lions and regular partner swapping. Meanwhile, Maud is making her own way and learning the harsh realities of being a white woman in colonial Kenya.
This book was quite surprising with all that is covered. I felt sorry for Theo throughout and really couldn't understand his fascination with Freddie and adoration of Sylvie. As the story continues it took a turn for the unexpected when a much older Theo finally sees things as they are and matures. Maud was much more likeable and understanding, especially to a modern reader who is more likely to sympathise with her opinions on slaves, the ivory trade and live. The irony of this book could well be that Maud with her viewpoints, is just as likely to be the 'Unsuitable Woman' as Sylvie. I didn't know much about Kenya during this time and was very interested to learn more about the time and place. It was very well written with beautiful descriptions, especially of the surroundings and locations.
Wonderfully evocative and compelling story set in 1920s Kenya.
Kenya in the 1920s and 30s evokes images of the rich expatriates and their lives of excess - drinking, partying, affairs. This coming of age story uses characters loosely based on some of the infamous figures from what became known as the Happy Valley set and brilliantly evokes their lifestyles of mixed glamour and tragedy.
Theo is 15 when his family moves to Kenya and he is dazzled by the charisma and exoticism of Sylvie, Freddie and their circle. The rich and vivid writing makes you feel the heat, the claustrophobia, the atmosphere of hedonism and understand why Theo is so captivated and falls in love with Sylvie, the unsuitable woman of the title. The heroine of the story though for me is Maud, Theo's sister, who grows up to love and understand the people and culture of Kenya and to fight against attitudes of colonialism and white entitlement and supremacy.
I really enjoyed this book - Theo's journey from infatuation to a more mature view of the sad and seedy underside of the superficial glamour, Maud's enlightened attitudes contrasting with those of the Happy Valley set, the background politics and especially the excellent descriptions of time and place.
An intriguing and thought-provoking look at life in colonial Africa, as seen through the eyes of young Theo Miller. Who is the "unsuitable woman" that he comes to know?
An Unsuitable Woman is a novel based partly on real people who lived – and died – in Kenya in the 1920s and 30s. Kat Gordon, the author, has told the story through the eyes of Theo, who arrives in Nairobi at the age of fourteen with his parents and younger sister, Maud. Theo’s father had helped to build a railroad in Kenya in the late nineteenth century and had now come out to Africa to be Director of the same railway.
Life in Africa is very different and Theo is fascinated by the people he meets, many of whom belong the Happy Valley set. These white settlers had come to Africa to live the sort of life no longer available in other parts of the world. They indulged in a luxurious, hedonistic lifestyle, waited on by Africans. Theo was particularly drawn to Sylvie, a beautiful American heiress and her friend Lord Freddie Hamilton.
The author moves us on several years to a time in the 1930s when Theo has completed his university education and returns to Kenya. As a young man, Theo has many challenges to his loyalties during the years up to the outbreak of the second world war.
This is an interesting and thought-provoking novel. The attitudes embodied in the story are quite alien to modern thought, but this increased the interest for me. Many of the characters were unpleasant and misguided, but their portrayal made them seem real. All in all, a good read!
A fascinating historical novel of a way of life long gone, of old colonial living in Africa.
This novel is written from the viewpoint of Theo, a young teenage boy arriving in Africa with his family in the early 1900's. The white settlers there still reign supreme, glorying in their power and holding sway over the African population who they see as vastly inferior and far beneath them.
Theo quickly gets caught up with the glamorous and privileged 'happy valley' ex-pat set who lead a laid back hedonistic life of luxury, gentlemen's clubs, drinks and cocktails, wild parties and all sorts of seedy affairs.
What I loved about this story was the brilliant descriptions of living in Africa at this time - the historical way of life, the distances travelled, the intense heat, the beautiful countryside around them.
Running throughout the story is Theo's obsession with Sylvie, an American heiress, with whom he eventually has a relationship in later years but she will never return the depth of love that he feels for her and she eventually succumbs to depression and madness.
And underlying it all you can feel the disintegrating despair of these people, who must surely have felt out of their comfort zone regardless of putting themselves in a position of power there and gradually their shiny ivory towers start to crumble around them as the 20th century marches on and the winds of change start to blow in.
On opening the book, I was immediately transported to 1920s Kenya. 1920s fans will love this book.
On opening the book, I was immediately transported to 1920s Kenya. The descriptions are so vivid you feel like you are living and breathing the 1920s and totally immersed in colonial Kenya. The plot follows 14 year old Theo Miller and his family as they move to Naivasha and become involved in expat life in Kenya. Theo in particular is caught up in the Happy Valley drinking and partying set. The plot unwinds smoothly and effortlessly as the years pass leading to turbulent political times. Then towards the end suddenly bam! A shock hits you and then bam! Another shock. Totally unexpected after the smooth effortless style of the earlier part of the book. 1920s fans will love this book.
An interesting dark novel of glamour, secrets an intrigue set in 20s and 30s colonial Kenya in a time of British supremacy well recommended.
Previously published as The Hunters, this is the authors take loosely on actual people who lived in Kenya in the 20s. She tells the story via Theo arriving as a 14-year-old with his sister. Their father is a director of the railway. This is set in colonial Africa and lifestyles that are within the history books - white people who felt black people were beneath them and who waited upon the rich and privileged.
life was luxurious for the rich and Theo gets in with the "happy valley set" and an American heiress and lord.
The story is interesting and depicts a time when we thought we owned countries and could do what we want as it was part of the empire. It is interesting and dark at the same time. Some of the characters are unlikable but again this was a different time.
The 30s are then on the horizon and what will happen to Kenya in the future, Theo and Syvie and the threat of World War II waiting in the wings. There is glamour and secrets thrown into the mix.
Coming of age story depicting 1930s Kenya during a period of political unrest. Follow Theo’s journey of growing up during this turbulent times.
An evocative coming of age story set in Kenya against the backdrop of political unrest. It has previously been published called hunted. The storyline is partly based on the true lives of real people who lived and died in Kenya during the era of the 1920’s and 30’s. Theo tells a very personal and intimate story of of his arrival in Nairobi At the age of 14 with his family to enable his dad to direct the railway he has previously helped to build.
The story shows the contrast between the happy valley set who live a rich and luxurious life contrasted with the rest of the society.
The story describes the challenges Theo faces growing up in Kenya and how his life panned out. I enjoyed the descriptions of Kenya as this is a country that I am interested in. You could almost visualise the surrounding and feel like you were there through Kat Gordon’s descriptive writing.
This book is a must read for anyone who likes historical novels and who is interested in Kenya.