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An Inventory of Heaven
The few years Mavis Gaunt spent in the village of Shipleigh, Devon, as a wartime evacuee - away from London and her parents' loveless marriage - were sufficient for her to conceive of the place as a heavenly retreat. But it is not until her twenties, with nothing left to keep her in the city, that Mavis decides to head back. Frances, Tom and Robert Upcott are reclusive siblings from a local farm. When Mavis returns to the village, she and Frances strike up an unlikely friendship. As they grow closer, Mavis is drawn into the sequestered life of the farm and begins at last to enjoy a sense of belonging. But a tragic sequence of events one winter's day is set to turn her heaven into a living hell. Mavis is seventy when Eve and her young son Archie turn up unexpectedly in the village. The tentative friendship that develops between them prompts Mavis to put together a collection of memories and treasures: her inventory. In revealing the truth of what happened at the Upcott farm, she is able to answer Eve's questions about the past, and in summoning them, finally to lay her own ghosts to rest. Chilling and poignant, "An Inventory of Heaven" is a meditation on the things we hold onto in life and how, in the end, we can try to let them go.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 20, 2020
A very reflective book, not the most cheerful of reading. I found the skipping from the 1940s to the 1960s then to the present time and also at the same time skipping to different characters in different chapters a little irritating. It was a great observational story of life but I did get a little tired of waiting for the great reveal and one certainly has to wait!
An o.k. read but not really my sort of thing, I like to be entertained throughout the book, or to have a bit of mystery or excitement running as a thread throughout and I think it was just too bland for me.
An o.k. read but not really my sort of thing, I like to be entertained throughout the book, or to have a bit of mystery or excitement running as a thread throughout and I think it was just too bland for me.
March 26, 2022
Really couldn't get in to this book at all. I found it very confusing (and frustrating at times) to determine which decade I was reading about as it changed so much. The constant changing of characters was also hard to follow and there was no explanation as to who most were. Found it quite a boring book overall.
December 20, 2012
Kindly sent to me by the publishers.
As this novel opens in 2006 Mavis Gaunt is seventy years old, living in the Devonshire cottage she once inherited from her aunt. She is surrounded by people she has known for many years, still deeply affected by the memories of long ago. When Eve and her young son Archie arrive in the village and strike up a friendship with Mavis, it awakens more memories of the past for Mavis, and especially of events that took place in the winter of 1963. Eventually troubled single mum Eve, whose mother was from Shipleigh originally, is able to settle some of the questions about her own past.
As a child, Mavis Gaunt was evacuated to the village of Shipleigh in Devon during the war, living with an aunt of her father’s. Later Mavis returns to London and her warring parents, taking with her, her memories of the elusive Frances Upcott and her brothers, Robert and Tom. It is a time that is short lived, and in the years that follow, boarding school, life in London with her French mother, she remembers Shipleigh as a kind of heaven.
“It was customary, if the weather was fair, to conduct the extended assembly outdoors in the schoolyard. Duly, Mr Bird had fetched the maypole from the shed. He’d set it up in the middle of the dirt patch, anchoring it with sandbags disguised with bundles of lightings borrowed from the wood store. Against the yard wall, he was in the process of arranging two rows of a dozen or so small wooden chairs to accommodate the audience.”
However it is not until the 1960’s when she is in her twenties that Mavis finds reason to return to shipleigh, this time to stay. Now she and Frances become uneasy friends and Mavis begins to involve herself in the lives of the Upcott’s farm.
I really enjoyed An Inventory of Heaven, and I am glad I got a chance to read it; not having heard of the author, I didn’t know what to expect from this her third novel. Though if I am honest I don’t think I expected that much of it. I like it when I am proved to be wrong. An Inventory of Heaven is actually hugely readable with some good characterisation, I especially liked Mavis, while other characters, who are maybe less likeable, are interesting because they are flawed. There is a non-linear structure to this extremely readable novel, a structure which I do still quite like, and think works well, although it is a device that is used so much these days that it ceases to be as powerful as it once was. As a hook to keep the reader waiting for a big reveal of course it is very effective, however, if I am honest, I do think, it is becoming a rather obvious way of telling a story across two time periods. As I have said, it’s a device I quite like, but then I read fewer of these contemporary novels than I did, and so encounter it less often. I am aware however that many novels now are written in this way. On the plus side there is a really wonderful sense of time and place, particularly in some of the early sections of the novel set during a rural wartime. There is a reflective nostalgic feel to this novel which I really enjoyed.
“It wasn’t until years after it all happened that I was able to discover this: that in the backs of kitchens and village halls, in choir stalls, at bus stops, there are places where scraps of love persist.”
As this novel opens in 2006 Mavis Gaunt is seventy years old, living in the Devonshire cottage she once inherited from her aunt. She is surrounded by people she has known for many years, still deeply affected by the memories of long ago. When Eve and her young son Archie arrive in the village and strike up a friendship with Mavis, it awakens more memories of the past for Mavis, and especially of events that took place in the winter of 1963. Eventually troubled single mum Eve, whose mother was from Shipleigh originally, is able to settle some of the questions about her own past.
As a child, Mavis Gaunt was evacuated to the village of Shipleigh in Devon during the war, living with an aunt of her father’s. Later Mavis returns to London and her warring parents, taking with her, her memories of the elusive Frances Upcott and her brothers, Robert and Tom. It is a time that is short lived, and in the years that follow, boarding school, life in London with her French mother, she remembers Shipleigh as a kind of heaven.
“It was customary, if the weather was fair, to conduct the extended assembly outdoors in the schoolyard. Duly, Mr Bird had fetched the maypole from the shed. He’d set it up in the middle of the dirt patch, anchoring it with sandbags disguised with bundles of lightings borrowed from the wood store. Against the yard wall, he was in the process of arranging two rows of a dozen or so small wooden chairs to accommodate the audience.”
However it is not until the 1960’s when she is in her twenties that Mavis finds reason to return to shipleigh, this time to stay. Now she and Frances become uneasy friends and Mavis begins to involve herself in the lives of the Upcott’s farm.
I really enjoyed An Inventory of Heaven, and I am glad I got a chance to read it; not having heard of the author, I didn’t know what to expect from this her third novel. Though if I am honest I don’t think I expected that much of it. I like it when I am proved to be wrong. An Inventory of Heaven is actually hugely readable with some good characterisation, I especially liked Mavis, while other characters, who are maybe less likeable, are interesting because they are flawed. There is a non-linear structure to this extremely readable novel, a structure which I do still quite like, and think works well, although it is a device that is used so much these days that it ceases to be as powerful as it once was. As a hook to keep the reader waiting for a big reveal of course it is very effective, however, if I am honest, I do think, it is becoming a rather obvious way of telling a story across two time periods. As I have said, it’s a device I quite like, but then I read fewer of these contemporary novels than I did, and so encounter it less often. I am aware however that many novels now are written in this way. On the plus side there is a really wonderful sense of time and place, particularly in some of the early sections of the novel set during a rural wartime. There is a reflective nostalgic feel to this novel which I really enjoyed.
“It wasn’t until years after it all happened that I was able to discover this: that in the backs of kitchens and village halls, in choir stalls, at bus stops, there are places where scraps of love persist.”
January 14, 2013
I reviewed this for www.luxuryreading.com.
Weaving back and forth between time and place, the bulk of An Inventory of Heaven reads as Mavis’s testament to Eve, something not fully realized until the very last page. So much of Mavis’s life is sad that you cannot help but feel sorry for her when her illusions of paradise here on earth are shattered by the events unfolding around her. The writing is beautiful, allowing the reader to look through Mavis’s rose-colored glasses at the nature and people of Shipleigh and, after the events that change everything, the writing actually makes the world feel darker and dreary. It’s not hard to immerse yourself in Mavis’s life, for good and bad.
Giving a unique view into a country life not often written about, An Inventory of Heaven is about the many secrets we all keep, about trying to find someone to share these burdens with and not always finding that person when and where we want. By no means a happy story, it nonetheless reaffirms one’s belief that it is never too late to find a piece of happiness if we open ourselves up to finding it.
Weaving back and forth between time and place, the bulk of An Inventory of Heaven reads as Mavis’s testament to Eve, something not fully realized until the very last page. So much of Mavis’s life is sad that you cannot help but feel sorry for her when her illusions of paradise here on earth are shattered by the events unfolding around her. The writing is beautiful, allowing the reader to look through Mavis’s rose-colored glasses at the nature and people of Shipleigh and, after the events that change everything, the writing actually makes the world feel darker and dreary. It’s not hard to immerse yourself in Mavis’s life, for good and bad.
Giving a unique view into a country life not often written about, An Inventory of Heaven is about the many secrets we all keep, about trying to find someone to share these burdens with and not always finding that person when and where we want. By no means a happy story, it nonetheless reaffirms one’s belief that it is never too late to find a piece of happiness if we open ourselves up to finding it.
August 3, 2017
I found this very heavy going. The story was supposed to be around the 1940's, but the wordiness of the description of the characters and the story line were more as if written in the 1840's....I am not sure if this was Jane Feaver's first novel.
An Inventory of Heaven tells the story of Mavis Gaunt who leaves post-war London to make a new life for herself in rural Devon. The story rambles on with it's description of village life from the young Mavis' point of view.
An Inventory of Heaven tells the story of Mavis Gaunt who leaves post-war London to make a new life for herself in rural Devon. The story rambles on with it's description of village life from the young Mavis' point of view.
May 26, 2018
An interesting , well written novel . Worth reading
November 4, 2025
I found this incredibly scattered and difficult to follow. When I reached the end I hoped for more answers and clarity then what I got
November 3, 2013
An Inventory of Heaven is a slow-building story that’s short of action and long on reflection. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, if you like books that move slowly towards a climax, delving deep into the protagonist’s thoughts, then that’s a good thing. If, however, you like books that reveal their secrets quickly and focus on reactions, then this is not that kind of book.
Mavis Gaunt leaves post-war London to make a new life for herself in Shipleigh, rural Devon, the place where she lived as a child evacuee. Rural life is slow and quiet and for Mavis; it’s just what she wants – it’s her heaven. Following the death of her aunt (also named Mavis), she makes a quiet life for herself, befriending the strange Upcott family and hoping that one day she’ll catch the eye of Tom Upcott.
Years later, when Eve and her young son Archie move to the village, Mavis is forced to recall a violent tragedy she’d rather stay buried. Beneath her unassuming exterior, Mavis is guarding secrets and ghosts; instead of living in peace as she had hoped, her inner life has been characterised by the memories she’s been holding on to for so long, isolating her (by choice) from others lest they get too close.
I read this book slowly; it took me quite a while to get into because the narrative jumps around a bit, focussing one moment on the past and then the present, and also, because not a lot happens. The reader is privy to the Mavis’s thoughts and recollections about her life – her relationship with her parents, the friendships and acquaintances in her life, and sometimes her day-to-day routine. Now that I think about it, I can imagine an elderly Mavis sitting with a cup of tea, thinking over her life … that’s how this book reads – the present is interrupted by a memory, which leads to another, until the present intrudes again. As I read, I knew that something had happened in the past, something most likely bad, but what? The telling of the tale was so calm that when the reveal came, very near the end, I was not at all prepared for it. It shocked me … I’d been thinking that all these thoughts and memories wouldn’t lead to much (kind of like when I tell a joke and mess up the punch line).
I can’t see this book being for everyone. The writing is beautiful and perceptive and for a time, that’s what kept me going, until the moment the story took over (and my mood was right for the type of book this is). However, those who want more action, more things happening, may find this book too slow, even dull. Those in the mood for something more uplifting and comforting read may also find this doesn’t live up to expectations because it’s a rather sad and poignant book about life and the feeling that sometimes it just feels like an inventory (this happened, and this, then that). For me, I had to wait for the right time to read it; my patience was rewarded with a subtle, thoughtful tale, with more than one thought of “Poor Mavis”. I’m interested to see what others think.
Mavis Gaunt leaves post-war London to make a new life for herself in Shipleigh, rural Devon, the place where she lived as a child evacuee. Rural life is slow and quiet and for Mavis; it’s just what she wants – it’s her heaven. Following the death of her aunt (also named Mavis), she makes a quiet life for herself, befriending the strange Upcott family and hoping that one day she’ll catch the eye of Tom Upcott.
Years later, when Eve and her young son Archie move to the village, Mavis is forced to recall a violent tragedy she’d rather stay buried. Beneath her unassuming exterior, Mavis is guarding secrets and ghosts; instead of living in peace as she had hoped, her inner life has been characterised by the memories she’s been holding on to for so long, isolating her (by choice) from others lest they get too close.
I read this book slowly; it took me quite a while to get into because the narrative jumps around a bit, focussing one moment on the past and then the present, and also, because not a lot happens. The reader is privy to the Mavis’s thoughts and recollections about her life – her relationship with her parents, the friendships and acquaintances in her life, and sometimes her day-to-day routine. Now that I think about it, I can imagine an elderly Mavis sitting with a cup of tea, thinking over her life … that’s how this book reads – the present is interrupted by a memory, which leads to another, until the present intrudes again. As I read, I knew that something had happened in the past, something most likely bad, but what? The telling of the tale was so calm that when the reveal came, very near the end, I was not at all prepared for it. It shocked me … I’d been thinking that all these thoughts and memories wouldn’t lead to much (kind of like when I tell a joke and mess up the punch line).
I can’t see this book being for everyone. The writing is beautiful and perceptive and for a time, that’s what kept me going, until the moment the story took over (and my mood was right for the type of book this is). However, those who want more action, more things happening, may find this book too slow, even dull. Those in the mood for something more uplifting and comforting read may also find this doesn’t live up to expectations because it’s a rather sad and poignant book about life and the feeling that sometimes it just feels like an inventory (this happened, and this, then that). For me, I had to wait for the right time to read it; my patience was rewarded with a subtle, thoughtful tale, with more than one thought of “Poor Mavis”. I’m interested to see what others think.
April 26, 2013
De introverte Mavis wordt op haar oude dag geconfronteerd met haar verleden door de komst van de gescheiden Eva, kleindochter van de dorpsdominee, en haar zoontje Archie. Mavis werd in de oorlog door haar onverschillige ouders als evacué ondergebracht in het afgelegen dorp Shipleigh in Devon. Daar logeerde ze bij een oude tante en keerde ze in de zestiger jaren terug om er permanent in Paradise cottage te gaan wonen. Haar geïdealiseerde idee van een hemel valt in duigen als ze halverwege de twintig is en haar een tragedie overkomt. Dit is een verhaal met een eigen tempo, dat liefdevol en met een scherp oog voor detail een leven beschrijft, vol onvervulde dromen en dorpse verwikkelingen. De titels van de afzonderlijke delen verwijzen naar poëzieregels van bekende Engelse dichters als Larkin en Milton. Ondanks de ingetogen toon en het springen naar heden en verleden is het een genot om te lezen, een literaire prijs waardig. Doet denken aan de romans van Ian McEwan en Annie Proulx.
October 4, 2013
I picked this up in the library intrigued by the title. Mavis is now 70 and living in the village where she was evacuated to in the war to live with her aunt. She returned when her mother died and the her story is told through her memories to Eve and her son when they arrive in the village and who are related to people Mavis used to know. Her life is not particularly happy and she harbours a secret from long ago. There are many lovely passages in the writing depicting the rural life that used to be, the blossoming friendship with Archie is lovely and when the secret is finally revealed her ghosts area laid to rest. This is not a story where a lot happens but the writing makes up for that. I enjoyed it, as for the title I have decided that Devon is her heaven (even substituting in the song "I'm in heaven",and the inventory is all her memories associated to Devon/Heaven. 31/2 stars.
June 22, 2016
The sort of story that gradually unfolds, which I tend to enjoy as you are able to fully immerse yourself in the characters and the life depicted. The only disappointment was the revealing of the long time mystery. It was a little short of drama, given how long you wait to find out Mavis's secret.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews