tamaranth | 2026/027: Nonesuch

2026/027: Nonesuch — Francis Spufford

...here they still were, since they were not the dead ones, under the weary yellow lighting, sharing the unspoken knowledge that, every night the bombers came, ten thousand possible exits from life opened silently, and unpredictably, and without appeal, down which anyone and anything could fall. [loc. 4817]

My initial review: rereading for this 'proper review' was sheer delight, and I am eager to read the second half of this duology.

The story begins in August 1939. Iris Hawkins lives in a Clapham boarding house, works at a City brokerage, and is fascinated by economics. One evening, she flees a disastrous date and ends up at a bohemian dance club, where she encounters the other two protagonists: Geoff Hale, a gawky engineer who works for the BBC, and Lall Cunningham, the icy recipient of Geoff's unrequited love. Iris intends her seduction of Geoff to be a one night stand, but things become more complicated when she's pursued by a monstrous, inhuman creature which turns out to have something to do with Hale Senior's role as archivist of an occult society.

Spufford's depiction of London in the first year of the Second World War is tremendously evocative, often cinematic. The beauty of silently-falling incendiaries contrasts with the squalor of piss-reeking shelters: the ironwork of Leadenhall Market (still a working market back then, stinking of blood) with the soda-water effervescence of a liberated spirit. Did I mention that this novel has strong elements of the fantastical? There are Biblically-accurate angels in the architecture, and indications that history has been changed in the past -- and could be changed again.

I loved Iris, who is competent, intelligent and sensual. Her interest in economics made it interesting to me -- even the fluctuations of the Stock Exchange index, reflecting events in the wider world, felt integral to the story. (I think Spufford's said that she was partly influenced by C S Lewis' Susan: Iris demonstrates that you can like stockings and lipsticks and boyfriends, and still be clever and resourceful.) But I also found myself warming to Lall, despite her fascist allegiance. She too is smart and quick-thinking: she too is brave and determined. Though she's technically the villain of the piece, I kept cheering for her -- for instance, when she's confronting a pair of elderly perverts in pursuit of initiation into an esoteric order. (Also, she saves the cat.) Geoff, seen through Iris' eyes and her growing appreciation, is also intriguing: I'd have liked more of his viewpoint, and his engineering work for the war effort.

But the focus is always on Iris. This is a distinctly female-oriented, and feminist, novel. I was impressed by Spufford's sex scenes, written from Iris' perspective, and the ever-present practicalities of contraception. And I also enjoyed the ways in which Iris, denied agency by the double standards of the time, claims that agency by demonstrating her intelligence, courage and wit.

There's a lot more I could write about here: economics, and John Maynard Keynes, and the homoerotic murals in artist Eleanor's Sussex farmhouse; fascism ('practical patriotism') on the streets of Chelsea; the precarious calm and magic of Midnight Mass in 1940; the demographics of the clientele of a brokerage firm that's partly Jewish-owned. But instead I urge you to read this novel, because despite the setting and the stakes it is brimful of joy.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 24th February 2026.