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Troy Chimneys
Troy Chimneys
Dec 4, 2025 6:12 AM

Author:Margaret Kennedy

Troy Chimneys

A Victorian gentleman is forced by illness to entertain himself with the family archive, and he uncovers the Regency-era correspondence and diaries of one Miles Lufton, MP - apparently a black sheep of the family, connected with a scandal long buried. But through the pieced-together artefacts from the past, a fuller picture emerges of a man torn between two personalities - Miles, serious, studious and penniless, and 'Pronto', flirt, political mover and eternal 'extra man'. Miles longs to dispose of his disreputable alter ego, but that way lies calamity...

Reviews

She combines imagination with delicate feeling, capturing the right atmosphere with a simple style that makes her story timeless

—— Times Literary Supplement

Margaret Kennedy caught just the taste of the time, mixing a stolid domestic Englishness with 'Continental' bohemians

—— Irish Times

She is not only a romantic but an anarchist, and she knows the ways of men and women very well indeed

—— Anita Brookner

Kennedy was immensely popular in her heyday

—— Washington Post

A powerful and often moving novel, bleak and atmospheric

—— Mandy Jenkinson , Nudge

Her essays are delightful in the way that serious play is delightful. She is enjoying herself, and reading her gives me that leaping sense of being in excellent company

—— Jeanette Winterson , The Times

Stimulating and genuinely thought-provoking collection of pieces.

—— The Herald

Pacy and thought provoking.

—— Rebecca Kershaw , Nudge

Walker’s amusing first novel follows the quirky and engaging family on their lives away from home over 30 years…an enjoyable romp.

—— Daily Mail

[A] deliciously funny novel…Walker’s clever observations on materialism, parenting, love, friendship and even internet dating are piercingly accurate, but served up with a generous dollop of humour…Fluidly written, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, this debut from Walker is guaranteed to leave readers wanting more.

—— Press Association syndicated review

[A] witty, shrewd family saga … Mercilessly well-observed.

—— Saga magazine

A corker of a debut.

—— Valerie Grove , Standpoint

Completion is Tim Walker’s first novel, and a pleasing one at that, with strong characterisation and astute observations

—— The Tablet

Tim Walker's entertaining first novel gets to grips with our property obsessed times.

—— Independent
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