Love and Miss Harris by Peter Maughan #Review #Giveaway

Today I am delighted to bring you Peter Maughan's Love and Miss Harris, which is Book 1 in his The Company of Fools series. I also have a great giveaway with the chance to win a print copy of the book. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.

Titus Llewellyn-Gwlynne, actor/manager of the Red Lion Theatre, has lost a backer who was going to fund a theatrical tour–when unexpected salvation appears. 

Their home theatre in the East End of London having been bombed during the war, The Red Lion Touring Company embarks on a tour of Britain to take a play written by their new benefactress into the provinces. 

This charming series transports the reader to a lost post-war world of touring rep theatre and once-grand people who have fallen on harder times, smoggy streets, and shared bonhomie over a steaming kettle. 

The mood is whimsical, wistful, nostalgic, yet with danger and farce along the way.

My Thoughts

Set in the years after the Second World War, this tale is full of nostalgia for the era, seen with a wry eye and a huge dollop of humour. It is a warm-hearted story which follows a small theatre company on a tour of England, barely staying solvent and getting from theatre to theatre on a wing and a prayer (or in this case, in a double decker bus and a vintage Rolls Royce!) There is much humour to be had from the cast of actors as they set about their tasks. Of course, they are not alone. Unbeknown to the cast, they are being shadowed by some mysterious others. 

    The pace of the story is fast and it puts you in mind of many a farce which has been performed by touring rep companies. There are moments of drama and romance threaded through but mainly you feel as though you are watching the theatre company perform. There is a real whiff of greasepaint!

In short: A nostalgic trip around the provinces

About the Author

Peter Maughan’s early career covered many trades, working on building sites, in wholesale markets, on fairground rides and in a circus. He studied at the Actor’s Workshop in London, and worked as an actor in the UK and Ireland, subsequently founding a fringe theatre in Barnes, London. He is married and lives currently in Wales

You can follow Peter here: Twitter  |  Website (batch magna)

Book link: Amazon UK 

Thanks to Peter Maughan, Farrago and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the extract and a place on the tour. 

Check out the rest of the tour!

 

Giveaway (UK only)

 

To win a print copy of Love and Miss Harris, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings and good luck!

 Closing Date is June 7th 2021 and there is one winner.

*Terms and Conditions –UK only.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.