Meanwhile the next generation, face the possibility of having the best years of their lives stolen – and well they know it.Ĭhatterton Square – not really a square is more of an oblong – has seen better days. Naturally, the possibility of war is contemplated with some pain by those who lived through one war and still bear the scars – either physical or mental.

However, the novel also explores pre-war attitudes, it is the late 1930s and the prospect of another war is at the back of everyone’s mind. We are in familiar territory with many of the themes of this novel, those of marriage, provincial life and morality. However, the canvas of this novel like many of her others is far smaller than that, almost the entire story taking place at the titular address. The setting is Upper Radstowe – the setting of the majority of E H Young’s novels, a thinly disguised Clifton – the genteel, prosperous suburb of Bristol where she herself lived for a time. It is complex, multi-layered and fantastically readable. Although I have still to read a few of her novels – especially those early hard to find ones – I feel confident in saying that Chatterton Square is almost certainly her best novel. E.H Young is a fabulous Virago author – and Chatterton Square – her final novel proved to be a fantastic pick for my third All Virago/All August read of the month.

Chatterton Square by E.H. Young