An alternative London in the ’50s
- Book: Dominion
- Location: Birmingham, Brighton, London
- Author: C J Sansom
Not, certainly, as memorable as Winter in Madrid – nor as powerful as the Shardlake series – but, nevertheless, a book that I found hard to put down. Meticulous research, as ever, helps C J Sansom construct an utterly believable vision of how Britain could have been in the ’50s had the war ended 5 years earlier than it did – and had the country been under German domination. Right down to the London smogs (which I remember!)… The poverty and the despair (but also the acquiescence) of the general population are credibly portrayed. The story line, and its development, are very ‘Resistance’ like – but there is a real twist in reading about such events set in Britain and not in occupied Europe. The characters are a little cardboard like and predictable at times, but the story carries them along. Very effective use of ‘real’ politicians – Churchill, Attlee, and Butler – as well as a newpaper proprietor turned Prime Minister (Beaverbrook) to add credibility to the plot. Probably not as fine a work as Fatherland by Robert Harris (one of my favourites, and in the same genre), but absolutely worth the read.
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