Here, in the pages of this extraordinary book where the unspoken is conveyed with vivid simplicity, lies a story that will leave you reeling.
Eleanor was born in London, educated at Westminster and read History of Art at Manchester University where she was distracted from finishing her degree by an urge for adventure. She travelled through Asia, Australia, Africa and America before settling down to write her debut under the mentorship of Dr Sally Cline at Anglia Ruskin. She lives in Surrey with her twin boys.
Eleanor Anstruther’s superb debut, A Perfect Explanation (Salt,
March), the fictionalised story of the granddaughter of the eighth
Duke of Argyll, who sold her son to her sister for £500.
*The Observer*
I have read many stories of minor historical figures and the
troubles they encounter despite their privileged existences. This
tale offers much more depth and nuance than is typical. The writing
pulls the reader under the skin of each character from where they
may view the pain of selfish frustrations. There are truly shocking
moments yet they are never sensationalised. Rather there is a
balance in the telling that allows the reader to form their own
opinions. The complexities of family relationships and the
pressures these create offer much to consider. A riveting tale of
grown children damaged by the relentless actions of their entitled
parents. Well paced and skilfully written, this is a haunting,
recommended read.
*neverimitate*
A Perfect Explanation is an extremely engaging story of the bizarre
culture of the aristocracy, where love is secondary to money, and
the cycle of maternal deprivation across generations is difficult
to escape.
*Annecdotal*
The book is both a revelation but also deeply poignant as mental
illness estranges Enid and her options narrow … Using letters and
archival evidence, and acknowledging her debt to her father 'for
giving me this story in the first place', Eleanor Anstruther has
explored her subject with objectivity laced with compassion. It's
hard not to feel desperate sorrow for Enid, and for a family
floundering in the face of something they couldn't bring themselves
to accept nor understand.
*dovegreyreader*
Eleanor has cherished her role as the family’s retrospective
therapist. In her head she listened to the voices of all her
relatives; she tried to understand the culture that surrounded
them, and she feels she’s finally put their pain and agonies to
rest.
*You Magazine*
Gripping, insightful and written with a breathtaking elegance and
eloquence that makes this first novel doubly impressive,
Anstruther’s beautifully crafted story sets out to examine and
understand how the intolerable weight of expectation and
responsibility can damage and destroy lives.
*Lancashire post*
Based on the true story of Enid Campbell, a duke’s granddaughter
whose battles with mental illness cost her custody of her children,
Anstruther’s debut novel follows a desperate Enid as she offers to
give her son to her sister for £500. With a narrative that moves
fluidly between time periods, this is a historical read that really
resonates.
*Woman Magazine*
Eleanor Anstruther has written an astounding debut novel that
bravely and completely brings to life a difficult family history.
It also deftly holds up a mirror to our own world and asks us who
are we to judge, when behind closed doors our family may not be as
perfect as we like to show to the outside world either. I loved
it.
*Years of Reading Selfishly*
You can’t fail but be touched by A Perfect Explanation and the
tragedy of a family torn apart by abandonment, lack of
communication and understanding, anger and jealousy. There are no
winners in this story, which is the saddest part of it.
*Over 40 and a Mum to One*
This is just superb. Elegant, intense, completely bewitching.
*Xan Brooks*
I was gripped by A Perfect Explanation, and found it to be a
compelling and fascinating debut which explores the extraordinary
story behind Enid Campbell, and how a woman coming from a seemingly
privileged world is impacted so heavily by the pressures and
traditions that surround her.
*The Owl on the Bookshelf*
This is a story of family ties and allegiances, deeply buried
secrets, status and wealth. It also looks unflinchingly at the
struggles of motherhood and mental health. If you’re a fan of
family drama’s spanning over a number of years then I would
recommend this book, the fact that it’s based on real life events
gives it that extra fascinating gravitas.
*Bookish Chat*
This is an outstanding family history put together in a way that
tells of paths that were demanded to be followed through tradition,
heart breaking that children could be used as a means to an end or
sadly hidden away. In the epilogue the author describes how the
writing of this book came about, Finetta the only one, besides her
father that she ever knew. The feelings have been put together as
how she believes they would have occurred and this worked perfectly
for me. This has to be one of my favourite reads of this year. Just
outstanding!
*Books from Dusk Till Dawn*
This is as much a story of emotional deprivation as of entitlement
or riches, and one which underlines that no group has a monopoly on
humanity, fragility or fallibility – these are universal and so is
this devastating and exquisitely written novel; we are all just
people, in the end.
*The Literary Sofa*
Throughout the book Anstruther perfectly combines human drama and
emotion with evocative settings and haunting description. Each
individual comes alike thanks to the writer’s skilful descriptions
and human-focused narrative, which hones in on each member of the
family and brings them to vivid life.
*Dorset Book Detective*
This is a fascinating and heartbreaking read. I often find that the
books I enjoy the most, are ones with flawed characters who
frustrate the life out of me. A Perfect Explanation did that – I
really wanted to reach into the story and bang some heads together;
and when I didn’t feel like doing that, I wanted to mother the
children who were denied the love and care they needed … It’s a
fabulous book which deserves a very wide audience.
*Emma’s Book Blog*
Writing this, I find myself less concerned with the story –
although it’s undeniably riveting – & more enamoured of the
storytelling. With the way the author lays her words on the page.
This book unfolds in layers of exquisitely fierce prose. The
dialogue scalds – characters show scant compassion for Enid & her
situation. They are often horribly, crushingly cruel. She was
clearly a deeply flawed woman but obviously ill & a victim of the
mores of the time.
*Carol Lovekin*
★★★★★ It’s a quirk of fiction that the most extraordinary stories
are those that have their origins in real human affairs and this is
a prefect example of truth proving stranger than fiction. In lesser
hands this story could come across as a curio or an idiosyncratic
tale but Anstruther has taken something that might appear marginal
and imbued it with psychological depth and great emotional
understanding. A Perfect Explanation will brings it home to
everyone just how connected we all are, how common our
unhappinesses and joys can be.
*NB Magazine*
★★★★★ A moving exploration of a life plagued by mental illness, A
Perfect Explanation is a tale of historical fiction told through
modern eyes – sympathetic, studied, and beautifully written.
*The Bookbag*
A Perfect Explanation, is a fictionalised account of how her
father, Ian, came to be sold to her great aunt Joan for £500. It’s
a sombre, anguished tale of tradition, motherhood and inheritance
within an appallingly dysfunctional clan where “heritage dictates
and heritage always wins”.
*Observer*
Eleanor Anstruther never met this troubled woman, but she recreates
her with empathy and compassion in this novel, which has been
longlisted for the Desmond Elliott prize for debut fiction.
Anstruther’s writing is elegant and intelligent, and the closest
possible thing to a perfect explanation.
*The Times*
Almost all the protagonists were dead by the time Miss Anstruther
was born, but, armed with the facts revealed to her by her father
before he died, as well as family archives, she has used her
imagination to bring her family vividly back to life through a
novel that is both beautifully written and transfixing.
*Country Life*
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