REVIEW
Invitation To A Funeral by Molly Brown
Gollancz (Vista) £5.99
Molly Brown’s Invitation To A Funeral is one of the most original and enjoyable novels I’ve read in a while. I must admit, I stumbled across it by chance: I was in the middle of another book and wanted a bit of a break, but once started, I was absolutely hooked and had to finish it.
I was absorbed by the larger than life characters, and mesmerised by the intricate too-ing and fro-ing of the plot. As one set of characters flounce off stage, another takes over to draw you further into the web of intrigue with a bawdy wit and energy rarely found, and more rarely sustained. But have no doubt, this book carries it all off admirably.
Playwright, Aphra Behn is rehearsing a new play in the hope of making enough money to pay off her debts. But ever a sucker for a make-money-quick, she’s conned into giving the leading female role to Elizabeth Decker, a woman who can’t act for toffee, a scheme dreamt up by her so-called friend the Earl of Rochester. The play will surely be a disaster (and the wager be lost) unless she can drum a bit of acting skill into Elizabeth soon. To make life even more difficult, Aphra chances upon the brother of an old friend, who’s soon found dead in his lodgings, and she later discovers another body in her "house of office". Feeling that her friends may have been involved in something dodgy, she takes it upon herself to investigate the deaths, the main thrust of her plan being to invite everyone to the funeral to see what she can discover. To top it all, and to her friend Nell Gwyn’s exasperation, Aphra seems bent on paying for the funerals from her own, much depleted, pocket!
The sights, sounds and squalor of Restoration London are brought vividly to life, and the heroine, Aphra Behn, and her friends are as fine creations as any you’re likely to meet. This really is a book to throw yourself into, a great read! (EAL)
Why not visit Molly Brown's great new website and discover the background to the story?