The Walpole Orange

Oct 7, 2024 11:06 AM

Author:Frank Muir

The Walpole Orange

William Grundwick has a problem. As secretary of the Walpole Club he's duty-bound to arrange whatever function the Events Committee decides is appropriate to celebrate the Club's 250th birthday. It's just that what they have decided upon seems to William almost wholly inappropriate; worse still he's not sure he knows precisely what form such a function should take. And if that isn't bad enough, the whole business is supposed to be a deep secret, so he can't even discuss it with his lovely young wife Milly. Milly has her own problems. Is she going off William? His secretiveness is certainly disturbing. And now the Baroque Trio she runs has lost its viola and continuo player - Catriona has decamped to Los Angeles with a session guitarist called Trev.

Torn between the demands of the Events Committee, Milly, and an accountant in a diaphanous sari, spied on by a treacherous underporter with a hotline to the tabloids and pressurized by the chairperson of the Golden Horn Ladies Belly-Dancing Ensemble, Catford, the harrassed William has some appallingly difficult decisions to make.

The Walpole Orange, astonishingly, is Frank Muir's first novel. As one might expect from Britain's leading humorist, it is highly imaginative, wickedly witty and utterly irresistible.

Reviews

Captivating ... Muir has a wonderful ear for dialogue, and a wonderful eye for the comic situation.

—— Daily Express

Fans will recognise his exuberant wit in this light-hearted romp with a P.G. Wodehouse flavour.

—— Good Book Guide

There are enough poems in this collection which are both felt AND written to justify Woodward's claim on our attention. Where he exhibits emotional generosity, he is very good indeed.

—— Carol Ann Duffy

His characters are real, truthfully felt and never patronised by their creator

—— Daily Mail

This book had me hooked on every single word, Lauren has yet again outdone herself. I don't think I've ever felt so many emotions for a book, series and set of characters ever before.

—— Dark Readers

These are a set of short stories that cover all aspects of love - friends-to-lovers, destined love and heartbreak. Fans of the Fallen series will love this book...A great set of romantic short stories that all fans of the series must read!

—— Once Upon A Series

First-rate storytelling

—— Kati Nicholl , Daily Express

A thoughtful, even challenging, writer

—— Max Davidson , Mail on Sunday

As always, Joanna Trollope sucks you into the story; as always, she pins people's emotions with deft details.

—— Evening Standard

'With Frau Szabó, you have caught a golden fish. Buy all of her novels, the ones she is writing and the ones she will write'

—— Herman Hesse

'The Door has been waiting for us from more than sixteen years. It has just opened'

—— Livres Hebdo

'In The Door the Hungarian Magda Szabó cleverly guides her intense and poignant novel, allowing the tension to rise in a crescendo'

—— Madame Figaro

Captures the obsessive and destructive madness of sexual jealousy

—— Psychologies

Roberts deploys her research carefully, honing a novel with a strong period feel and a sprightly structure

—— Independent

An amazing read

—— Latest 7

Roberts’ sharp, evocative prose renders this simple story complex, enthralling and compelling

—— Anne Hill , Sussex Life

This spiky portrait of love makes for a gripping read

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent Radar

A heartbreaking examination of lives and love

—— Diva Magazine

A powerful story of sexual jealousy and longing, My Policeman is also a heartbreaking examination of lives and love that has gone to waste in an era in which homosexuality was a prosecutable offence

—— DIVA Magazine

A delicious novel by an experienced author who captures the scientific atmosphere of the early 19th century with a devastating study of infidelity

—— Colin Gardiner , Oxford Times

The real life players of the Napoleonic era spring to life

—— i

Compelling

—— Big Issue

Highly assured and almost educational with its broad sweep of history

—— Jane Housham , Guardian

Tillyard’s achievement is in this original portray log the Regency era and its relevance to our own time

—— Philippa Williams , The Lady

a very human tale about passion, secrets and lies.

—— Reading Matters

An achingly brilliant piece of writing on passion and delusion. It's a pleasure to read from start to finish and reignites our love for fiction

—— Independent

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