Α Little London Scandal

Writer: Miranda Emmerson

Publishing House: Fourth Estate

Date of Publication: August 6th 2020

Rating: 5 stars

‘’And I know I don’t really fit in but someone has to ask the questions.’’

Anna Treadway embarks on a quest in what many consider the ‘’shady’’ parts of London, to save a young man from being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Aided by Barnaby and the wife of a sketchy MP, she will come face to face with secrets and prejudices that a significant minority is unwilling to abandon even today.

I won’t say much because the plot is rather intricate and I’d hate to spoil the slightest thing with my blabbering. What I can safely say is that once again, Miranda Emmerson’s attention to detail and the spirited writing create a story that is exciting, poignant and very, very moving. You will walk within the heart of London during the late 60s. The city ‘’like a thousand villages joined together by mistake’’ is calling like a darkly enchanting siren. Lower Regent Street, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Carnaby Street. London’s mystery beckons as we follow Anna and her friends within the capital’s underbelly and the corruption found in high places.

I’ll just leave this extract here:

‘’Up towards the palace, down towards Horse Guards Parade. In St James’s Park spots of faint light illuminated the trees and paths, the kicked-up, churned-up grass. Along the Mall, the Union flags hung limply from their posts. Very far in the distance, mostly obscured by trees, Buckingham Palace glowed myriad shades of cream and brown and grey.’’

I mean, hello Perfection!

Interspersed with vivid details and references to the British pop culture of the era, Anna’s new adventure is narrated in a voice that is as fresh as it touching. With an exceptional cast of characters and an honest, bold, piercing depiction of the darkest aspect of the ‘liberating’’ era, Miranda Emmerson’s A Little London Scandal is a beautiful gem of a book.

‘’Somewhere out of time. I think it’s the dark. All the buildings melt away. All the details. You could be anywhere. There was a book when I was a child…About breaking into the garden of a castle at night and sometimes there were dinosaurs and sometimes princesses. Night has that feeling…slipping between time.’’