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Matilda Windsor #2
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home
This book will have you breaking your heart one minute and laughing out loud the next.In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty’s burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?Told with compassion and humour, Anne Goodwin’s third novel is a poignant, compelling and brilliantly authentic portrayal of asylum life, with a quirky protagonist you won’t easily forget.The Secret Scripture crossed with Elizabeth Is Missing and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Chosen by Isabel Costello as a Literary Sofa Summer “The light wins in this novel, which manages to be warm, uplifting and surprisingly funny for all the sadness and injustice portrayed.”
- GenresHistorical Fiction
418 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 29, 2021
9 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Anne Goodwin
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Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
Anne writes about the darkness that haunts her and is wary of artificial light. She makes stuff up to tell the truth about adversity, creating characters to care about and stories to make you think. She explores identity, mental health and social justice with compassion, humour and hope.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.
Website: annegoodwin.co.uk
https://annegoodwin.co.uk/subscribe-t...
Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
Anne writes about the darkness that haunts her and is wary of artificial light. She makes stuff up to tell the truth about adversity, creating characters to care about and stories to make you think. She explores identity, mental health and social justice with compassion, humour and hope.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.
Website: annegoodwin.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 1, 2021
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
I found Matilda Windsor an endearing heroine, and her story is told in a delightfully poignant yet humorous manner.
The book deals with the tricky issue of people with mental disabilities, and how best to enable them to live the best lives they possibly can in today’s world whilst maintaining their dignity. The author is well qualified to write about this subject and show how attitudes have changed over the decades.
Our heroine is Matilda Windsor (Matty), or sometimes Matilda Osborne. She is also known as Tilly. She is sometimes all of these people at once, and at different times to different people.
Matilda’s brother Henry (Hal) plays a large part in the story, as does Janice, who is thought of by Matty as “Circus Girl” for reasons which are obvious in the book. Their lives interlock as the drama plays out.
The story is told in flashback, in many short chapters. This method of writing worked very well for the plot.
Matty’s story starts in the late 1920s when she is a young girl being brought up by just her mother. Matty believes her father died as a war hero, but that was not true. Her mother remarried George Windsor for economic reasons, hence Matty’s future repetitions of “My mother married a prince.” When Matty was just thirteen, her mother died during childbirth and the care of baby Hal falls to her.
Then, as sadly was often the case, Matty became pregnant and had to be hidden away and incarcerated as mentally incapacitated. The word of the father of her baby was always believed over hers, so she had no alternative life plan, though she had dreamt of becoming a doctor.
The story is triggered by the patients of the mental hospital being re-assessed for care in the community. Janice the care worker really comes to life here as a credible character. One can only sympathise with her breaking of professional rules if they contradict her sense of justice.
My only tiny gripe with the book was that I didn’t care much for Matty’s brother Hal or his lady friend Irene, but that is a very subjective comment.
All in all, I found Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
I found Matilda Windsor an endearing heroine, and her story is told in a delightfully poignant yet humorous manner.
The book deals with the tricky issue of people with mental disabilities, and how best to enable them to live the best lives they possibly can in today’s world whilst maintaining their dignity. The author is well qualified to write about this subject and show how attitudes have changed over the decades.
Our heroine is Matilda Windsor (Matty), or sometimes Matilda Osborne. She is also known as Tilly. She is sometimes all of these people at once, and at different times to different people.
Matilda’s brother Henry (Hal) plays a large part in the story, as does Janice, who is thought of by Matty as “Circus Girl” for reasons which are obvious in the book. Their lives interlock as the drama plays out.
The story is told in flashback, in many short chapters. This method of writing worked very well for the plot.
Matty’s story starts in the late 1920s when she is a young girl being brought up by just her mother. Matty believes her father died as a war hero, but that was not true. Her mother remarried George Windsor for economic reasons, hence Matty’s future repetitions of “My mother married a prince.” When Matty was just thirteen, her mother died during childbirth and the care of baby Hal falls to her.
Then, as sadly was often the case, Matty became pregnant and had to be hidden away and incarcerated as mentally incapacitated. The word of the father of her baby was always believed over hers, so she had no alternative life plan, though she had dreamt of becoming a doctor.
The story is triggered by the patients of the mental hospital being re-assessed for care in the community. Janice the care worker really comes to life here as a credible character. One can only sympathise with her breaking of professional rules if they contradict her sense of justice.
My only tiny gripe with the book was that I didn’t care much for Matty’s brother Hal or his lady friend Irene, but that is a very subjective comment.
All in all, I found Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
November 5, 2021
“A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit”
Oh My Goodness! – How can I organise my jumbled thoughts into some semblance of order to talk about this book in any sensible way? My emotions have been pushed and pulled in a multitude of directions whilst reading it, much of which takes me back to my own childhood experiences with my mother, who whilst not in any way as severely constrained as Matty and her fellow Ghyllside residents, underwent a couple of experiences with ECT therapy in a 1960s asylum, with dire consequences, which affected the rest of her life and probably my own!
It is very difficult to set this book within the rigid confines of a genre and it probably isn’t one I would ordinarily choose to read, although overall I am pleased that I did. It definitely does shine the spotlight onto many important aspects of the social and cultural norms, spanning several decades from the late 1930s to the 1990s. It documents, through fictional characters, in an easy to connect with way, how our perceptions of mental health and single parenthood have purportedly advanced, although the culture of systemic grooming and rape may not seem to have improved to any great degree in all that time, despite increased authority and public awareness.
The story and that enticing cover art, drew me in from the very first line, with some well timed and optimum length chapters keeping Matty’s life moving forward at a steady and manageable pace. I do think that it is possible to read this book as a stand alone story and not be too disappointed with the outcome, although I understand that there is to be a second-half closure to Matty’s story, which I feel almost compelled to read, although I don’t really want to necessarily. I do have a couple of scenarios already in my mind, so I might have to see if I am in any way near to the mark in my deductions. I’m kind of hoping for a happy ending, yet wondering if that is ever truly possible, given all that has gone before and how out of control events have become.
That Matty has been given such a huge well deserved voice with which to share her muddled and often delusional thoughts in her own way, at intervals during the main narration, weaves the human and humane emotions into the story in a cohesive way. This is just one strand of the complicated mix of elements, which contrive to converge, yet never entirely weld together into a definitive chain of events. Matty’s life is obviously the main focus of the timeline, however her brother Henry seems to me, to have been just as severely damaged by events of sixty years ago, albeit in an entirely different way, but maybe with equally dire consequences for his current mental health. Newly qualified social worker Janice is also brought into the mix, with a raft of personal issues which are vying with her professional status, for a place at the forefront of her mind.
I might just elaborate a little on that last paragraph, although I don’t want to give too much away about the storyline: Much of Tilly’s early life was lived in an abuse filled lie, which clearly had a terrible effect on her in her latter childhood and early adult years. Her much younger brother Henry, who is now almost a pensioner himself, has put his entire life on hold waiting for Tilly to come home, although it transpires that they were never really that far apart, it was simply a strange set of coincidences which kept them from finding one another. To my mind, Henry’s mental health is every bit as fragile as Tilly’s, albeit that it manifests itself in different ways, to the point where he doesn’t know if he ever wants to acknowledge Tilly again in the strange new world she inhabits. It might all just be too much for him, as reality doesn’t quite match up to expectations. Janice is the enigma within the cast of characters, as I was never really certain if she was simply using and manipulating the Ghyllside staff and residents, to further her own fledgling career, or whether she really did have their best interests at heart. She has so much emotional baggage of her own to deal with, including the urge to discover her own roots and reconnect with her past, whilst dealing with a very uncertain future, that she often takes her eye off the ball.
That the author is writing very much from a personal and professional perspective, is obvious in the well structured, multi-layered storyline, which seamlessly blends fact with fiction, to give a wonderfully textured, rich in atmosphere, immersive work, with true visual depth and range. From the outset, Anne knew exactly where she was heading with this story, including the many little twists and turns which kept me guessing the exact circumstances and chain of events, which were going to lead me to the place where now Matty finds herself. It was never going to be comfortable reading, however the sheer intensity of her unfolding story left me totally unsurprised that her mind had been so badly and probably so irrevocably damaged. There were a few moments of genuine laugh-out-loud humour, when it was possible to smile with the characters, not at them; and these poignant moments were narrated with sympathy and compassion, but never with condescension, and always lovingly.
Anne has brought together a mix of well developed personalities, who collectively, marginally tip the balance towards making this a predominantly character driven narrative, despite the intriguing storyline. No matter on which side of the asylum doors; the characters are all emotionally complex, raw and passionate, vulnerable and often unreliable; although always genuine, believable, authentic and totally addictive. The character dynamics and the synergy between them, is often devoid of any genuine depth of feeling, although there is plenty of ’empty’ emotion, which made them quite difficult to relate to or invest in and I was left feeling that there was so much searching for a sense of belonging and inclusion, that the rare light-hearted moments of humour did little to ease their collectively lugubrious nature.
This is most definitely one of those books designed to take each reader on a unique and individual personal journey towards a common outcome, so I recommend you read this one for yourself and see where it leads you.
Oh! and as a small aside – As a ‘Jelly Baby’ lover (but mostly only the orange and yellow ones), I shall probably never be able to either look at one in the same way again, or probably ever eat one again – not without visualising Matty biting their heads off anyway!
You can check out my full post, including all those extra extracts and details, here...
https://www.fiction-books.biz/reviews...
Oh My Goodness! – How can I organise my jumbled thoughts into some semblance of order to talk about this book in any sensible way? My emotions have been pushed and pulled in a multitude of directions whilst reading it, much of which takes me back to my own childhood experiences with my mother, who whilst not in any way as severely constrained as Matty and her fellow Ghyllside residents, underwent a couple of experiences with ECT therapy in a 1960s asylum, with dire consequences, which affected the rest of her life and probably my own!
It is very difficult to set this book within the rigid confines of a genre and it probably isn’t one I would ordinarily choose to read, although overall I am pleased that I did. It definitely does shine the spotlight onto many important aspects of the social and cultural norms, spanning several decades from the late 1930s to the 1990s. It documents, through fictional characters, in an easy to connect with way, how our perceptions of mental health and single parenthood have purportedly advanced, although the culture of systemic grooming and rape may not seem to have improved to any great degree in all that time, despite increased authority and public awareness.
The story and that enticing cover art, drew me in from the very first line, with some well timed and optimum length chapters keeping Matty’s life moving forward at a steady and manageable pace. I do think that it is possible to read this book as a stand alone story and not be too disappointed with the outcome, although I understand that there is to be a second-half closure to Matty’s story, which I feel almost compelled to read, although I don’t really want to necessarily. I do have a couple of scenarios already in my mind, so I might have to see if I am in any way near to the mark in my deductions. I’m kind of hoping for a happy ending, yet wondering if that is ever truly possible, given all that has gone before and how out of control events have become.
That Matty has been given such a huge well deserved voice with which to share her muddled and often delusional thoughts in her own way, at intervals during the main narration, weaves the human and humane emotions into the story in a cohesive way. This is just one strand of the complicated mix of elements, which contrive to converge, yet never entirely weld together into a definitive chain of events. Matty’s life is obviously the main focus of the timeline, however her brother Henry seems to me, to have been just as severely damaged by events of sixty years ago, albeit in an entirely different way, but maybe with equally dire consequences for his current mental health. Newly qualified social worker Janice is also brought into the mix, with a raft of personal issues which are vying with her professional status, for a place at the forefront of her mind.
I might just elaborate a little on that last paragraph, although I don’t want to give too much away about the storyline: Much of Tilly’s early life was lived in an abuse filled lie, which clearly had a terrible effect on her in her latter childhood and early adult years. Her much younger brother Henry, who is now almost a pensioner himself, has put his entire life on hold waiting for Tilly to come home, although it transpires that they were never really that far apart, it was simply a strange set of coincidences which kept them from finding one another. To my mind, Henry’s mental health is every bit as fragile as Tilly’s, albeit that it manifests itself in different ways, to the point where he doesn’t know if he ever wants to acknowledge Tilly again in the strange new world she inhabits. It might all just be too much for him, as reality doesn’t quite match up to expectations. Janice is the enigma within the cast of characters, as I was never really certain if she was simply using and manipulating the Ghyllside staff and residents, to further her own fledgling career, or whether she really did have their best interests at heart. She has so much emotional baggage of her own to deal with, including the urge to discover her own roots and reconnect with her past, whilst dealing with a very uncertain future, that she often takes her eye off the ball.
That the author is writing very much from a personal and professional perspective, is obvious in the well structured, multi-layered storyline, which seamlessly blends fact with fiction, to give a wonderfully textured, rich in atmosphere, immersive work, with true visual depth and range. From the outset, Anne knew exactly where she was heading with this story, including the many little twists and turns which kept me guessing the exact circumstances and chain of events, which were going to lead me to the place where now Matty finds herself. It was never going to be comfortable reading, however the sheer intensity of her unfolding story left me totally unsurprised that her mind had been so badly and probably so irrevocably damaged. There were a few moments of genuine laugh-out-loud humour, when it was possible to smile with the characters, not at them; and these poignant moments were narrated with sympathy and compassion, but never with condescension, and always lovingly.
Anne has brought together a mix of well developed personalities, who collectively, marginally tip the balance towards making this a predominantly character driven narrative, despite the intriguing storyline. No matter on which side of the asylum doors; the characters are all emotionally complex, raw and passionate, vulnerable and often unreliable; although always genuine, believable, authentic and totally addictive. The character dynamics and the synergy between them, is often devoid of any genuine depth of feeling, although there is plenty of ’empty’ emotion, which made them quite difficult to relate to or invest in and I was left feeling that there was so much searching for a sense of belonging and inclusion, that the rare light-hearted moments of humour did little to ease their collectively lugubrious nature.
This is most definitely one of those books designed to take each reader on a unique and individual personal journey towards a common outcome, so I recommend you read this one for yourself and see where it leads you.
Oh! and as a small aside – As a ‘Jelly Baby’ lover (but mostly only the orange and yellow ones), I shall probably never be able to either look at one in the same way again, or probably ever eat one again – not without visualising Matty biting their heads off anyway!
You can check out my full post, including all those extra extracts and details, here...
https://www.fiction-books.biz/reviews...
April 20, 2021
I arrived in the UK in September 1992. My goal was to qualify as a psychiatrist (I had studied Medicine back home in Barcelona, Spain) and, also, to improve my English. I started working as a junior doctor in psychiatry in February 1993, and Anne Goodwin’s new novel is set (mostly) just a couple of years earlier, at a moment when mental health services in the UK were undergoing a major change. The move from the big old-style asylums —where people who suffered from chronic mental health conditions, sometimes poorly defined, were “warehoused”—to “care in the community”, with its resulting emphasis on normalisation, on reintegration, and on support within the family, and/or the community, rocked the foundations of the system, and resulted on new practices, roles, and also in bringing to the fore a number of patients who had spent most of their lives in institutions and had real difficulties finding a place in an outside world they no longer recognised.
Even though this is a work of fiction, it is evident that the author is writing from personal experience, and that lends immediacy and depth to the story. Goodwin captures perfectly the atmosphere of the mental health asylums, where routine was sacred, and everybody had a part to play they were not allowed to deviate from. She offers readers several points of view: that of a newly-qualified social worker (Janice), who is going through an unsettling time in her personal life, and whose values and certainties will be put to the test by this job, especially by Matty’s case; Matty’s, one of the long-stay patients, whose story is less-than-certain after having been institutionalised for over 50 years, who allows us a peek into her unique world (stuck as she is in the past, an imaginary refuge from her less than glamorous reality); Henry’s, a man who also lives stuck in the past, waiting for a sister/mother whom he is no longer sure ever existed; and Matilda’s, who takes us back to the 1930s and tells us a story full of everyday tragedy, loss and despair.
Although I only experienced the aftermath of the closing of the big asylums, I got to talk to many nurses and doctors who had spent most of their working lives there, and had been involved in the changes as well. I also met many of the patients who hadn’t been lucky enough to move back into the community and ended up in newer long-term units, and also some of those who managed to create new lives for themselves, with the dedicated support of members of staff who were usually stretched to their limits. I worked in a newly-built unit in the grounds of one of the big asylums in the South of England, and walked the beautiful gardens, saw the impressive buildings (it had even had a railway station in its heyday), and it was easy to imagine how things must have been. Hardly any of the patients who’d spent years there had any contact with their families any longer, and their worlds had become reduced to their everyday routine, the tea with the sugar and milk already in, and the daily trip to the shop that the novel so realistically portrays. The way the author contrasts the experiences from the characters who live “normal” lives in the community (Henry’s life is “peculiar” to say the least, and Janice is in a sort of limbo, an impasse in her life) with Matty’s life in hospital emphasises the importance of the stories we tell ourselves, and also reminds us of the need to take control and to impose our own meaning in our lives. If we don’t, we are at risk of becoming the person or the version of ourselves that other people decide. And that is the worst of tragedies.
This is not an easy story to contemplate, and most readers will soon imagine that the truth about Matilda’s past, once revealed, will be shocking and tragic. Worse still, we know that it is all a too-familiar story, and not a flight of fancy on the part of the author. But she manages to make it deeply personal, and I challenge any casual readers not to feel both, horrified and moved, by the story.
As a mental health professional, this novel brought goosebumps to my skin and a lot of memories. As a reader, it gave me pause, and made me care for a group of characters whom I share little with (other than my professional experience). As a human being, I can only hope no girls find themselves in the position of Matilda ever again, and also that, as a society, we always remember that there is no health without mental health. Thankfully, many people have come forward in recent years and shared their mental health difficulties and their experiences trying to find help. It was about time, because those patients not at liberty to leave the hospital always reminded us that we would go home at the end of the day, but they had no home to go to, or, worse even, the hospital was their only home. Out of sight, out of mind is a terrible attitude when it comes to people’s suffering. Hiding away mental health problems does nothing to help those suffering them or the society they should be fully participating in, and Goodwin’s novel reminds us that we have come a long way, but there’s still a long way ahead.
A fantastic novel, about a tough topic, which highlights the changes in mental health policy and forces us to remember we are all vulnerable, and we should fight to ensure that nobody is ever left behind.
Thanks to the author for offering me the opportunity to read her novel ahead of publication. It will stay with me for a long time, and I’m delighted to hear that she’s already working on its second part.
Even though this is a work of fiction, it is evident that the author is writing from personal experience, and that lends immediacy and depth to the story. Goodwin captures perfectly the atmosphere of the mental health asylums, where routine was sacred, and everybody had a part to play they were not allowed to deviate from. She offers readers several points of view: that of a newly-qualified social worker (Janice), who is going through an unsettling time in her personal life, and whose values and certainties will be put to the test by this job, especially by Matty’s case; Matty’s, one of the long-stay patients, whose story is less-than-certain after having been institutionalised for over 50 years, who allows us a peek into her unique world (stuck as she is in the past, an imaginary refuge from her less than glamorous reality); Henry’s, a man who also lives stuck in the past, waiting for a sister/mother whom he is no longer sure ever existed; and Matilda’s, who takes us back to the 1930s and tells us a story full of everyday tragedy, loss and despair.
Although I only experienced the aftermath of the closing of the big asylums, I got to talk to many nurses and doctors who had spent most of their working lives there, and had been involved in the changes as well. I also met many of the patients who hadn’t been lucky enough to move back into the community and ended up in newer long-term units, and also some of those who managed to create new lives for themselves, with the dedicated support of members of staff who were usually stretched to their limits. I worked in a newly-built unit in the grounds of one of the big asylums in the South of England, and walked the beautiful gardens, saw the impressive buildings (it had even had a railway station in its heyday), and it was easy to imagine how things must have been. Hardly any of the patients who’d spent years there had any contact with their families any longer, and their worlds had become reduced to their everyday routine, the tea with the sugar and milk already in, and the daily trip to the shop that the novel so realistically portrays. The way the author contrasts the experiences from the characters who live “normal” lives in the community (Henry’s life is “peculiar” to say the least, and Janice is in a sort of limbo, an impasse in her life) with Matty’s life in hospital emphasises the importance of the stories we tell ourselves, and also reminds us of the need to take control and to impose our own meaning in our lives. If we don’t, we are at risk of becoming the person or the version of ourselves that other people decide. And that is the worst of tragedies.
This is not an easy story to contemplate, and most readers will soon imagine that the truth about Matilda’s past, once revealed, will be shocking and tragic. Worse still, we know that it is all a too-familiar story, and not a flight of fancy on the part of the author. But she manages to make it deeply personal, and I challenge any casual readers not to feel both, horrified and moved, by the story.
As a mental health professional, this novel brought goosebumps to my skin and a lot of memories. As a reader, it gave me pause, and made me care for a group of characters whom I share little with (other than my professional experience). As a human being, I can only hope no girls find themselves in the position of Matilda ever again, and also that, as a society, we always remember that there is no health without mental health. Thankfully, many people have come forward in recent years and shared their mental health difficulties and their experiences trying to find help. It was about time, because those patients not at liberty to leave the hospital always reminded us that we would go home at the end of the day, but they had no home to go to, or, worse even, the hospital was their only home. Out of sight, out of mind is a terrible attitude when it comes to people’s suffering. Hiding away mental health problems does nothing to help those suffering them or the society they should be fully participating in, and Goodwin’s novel reminds us that we have come a long way, but there’s still a long way ahead.
A fantastic novel, about a tough topic, which highlights the changes in mental health policy and forces us to remember we are all vulnerable, and we should fight to ensure that nobody is ever left behind.
Thanks to the author for offering me the opportunity to read her novel ahead of publication. It will stay with me for a long time, and I’m delighted to hear that she’s already working on its second part.
June 26, 2021
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home provides an interesting insight into life in a mental asylum in the UK at a time when policy was moving away from institutionalization and towards integration of patients back into community life. It was an even more intriguing peep into the mind of Matilda Windsor or Tilly, who had become known as Matty Osborne.
Janice is a newly qualified social worker who has pursued a job opportunity at a mental asylum which, at the time, was within commuting distance of her boyfriend's flat. In the intervening period between making her application and attending the interview, her relationship has broken down and she is now reluctantly single again. The job doesn't seem like such a good idea any more, but during the interview process, Janice meets Matty and is very intrigued by her. She takes the job.
Henry is a single man living in his family home. He is in a long-term relationship with a married woman who won't leave her husband and live with him because of his obsession with his sister, Tilly Windsor, who left home 50 years previously and whom he lives in hope will return some day. Henry has a number of keep sakes that were given him by Tilly when she left and he keeps her old bedroom exactly as it was before she left. He has no idea what happened to Tilly when she left or why she has never returned to him.
The character of Matty was intriguing and those parts of the story that were narrated through her eyes reflected her delusional thoughts. Matty believes she is living through World War II and that she is a great lady living in a mansion and attended by servants. She sees the caregivers and medical personal at the asylum as being her personal staff and imagines them to be her personal maid, butler, and in other domestic roles about her home. Matty believes the other inmates are people she is giving shelter to because they have lost their homes due to the war.
It was most interesting to read her thoughts and conversations from this perspective. Janice is very taken with Matty and wants to help her find her family and manage to remain with the programme for integration into the community. Having being given insight through the style of writing into Matty's confused mind, it seemed obvious to me as a reader, that Matty was not suited to the programme and would never manage to stand even partially on her own two feet. The hold her delusions had on her mind and behaviour were far to strong.
As the story unfolds, the other staff can also see that Matty is not a very good candidate but Janice cannot be swayed from her hope that Matty will find her family and her sanity will be redeemed. Janice is aware of the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded Matty's admission into the asylum in the first instance and they had nothing to do with a mental condition.
This is a very poignant tale as Matty's story is gradually revealed and the abuse she has suffered becomes known. As her story unwinds, Janice is forced to face her own relationship problems, issues with her sister and adoptive parents, and uncertainty about her job.
Henry is also compelled to confront his obsession with the past and decide whether his dreams of being reunited with Tilly are more important that the woman he loves.
This is a compelling book and is well written, although this is not a book you can cruise or skim through, it is a book that you need to sit down and focus on to appreciate the great skill of the writer and the complex story.
Janice is a newly qualified social worker who has pursued a job opportunity at a mental asylum which, at the time, was within commuting distance of her boyfriend's flat. In the intervening period between making her application and attending the interview, her relationship has broken down and she is now reluctantly single again. The job doesn't seem like such a good idea any more, but during the interview process, Janice meets Matty and is very intrigued by her. She takes the job.
Henry is a single man living in his family home. He is in a long-term relationship with a married woman who won't leave her husband and live with him because of his obsession with his sister, Tilly Windsor, who left home 50 years previously and whom he lives in hope will return some day. Henry has a number of keep sakes that were given him by Tilly when she left and he keeps her old bedroom exactly as it was before she left. He has no idea what happened to Tilly when she left or why she has never returned to him.
The character of Matty was intriguing and those parts of the story that were narrated through her eyes reflected her delusional thoughts. Matty believes she is living through World War II and that she is a great lady living in a mansion and attended by servants. She sees the caregivers and medical personal at the asylum as being her personal staff and imagines them to be her personal maid, butler, and in other domestic roles about her home. Matty believes the other inmates are people she is giving shelter to because they have lost their homes due to the war.
It was most interesting to read her thoughts and conversations from this perspective. Janice is very taken with Matty and wants to help her find her family and manage to remain with the programme for integration into the community. Having being given insight through the style of writing into Matty's confused mind, it seemed obvious to me as a reader, that Matty was not suited to the programme and would never manage to stand even partially on her own two feet. The hold her delusions had on her mind and behaviour were far to strong.
As the story unfolds, the other staff can also see that Matty is not a very good candidate but Janice cannot be swayed from her hope that Matty will find her family and her sanity will be redeemed. Janice is aware of the unfortunate circumstances that surrounded Matty's admission into the asylum in the first instance and they had nothing to do with a mental condition.
This is a very poignant tale as Matty's story is gradually revealed and the abuse she has suffered becomes known. As her story unwinds, Janice is forced to face her own relationship problems, issues with her sister and adoptive parents, and uncertainty about her job.
Henry is also compelled to confront his obsession with the past and decide whether his dreams of being reunited with Tilly are more important that the woman he loves.
This is a compelling book and is well written, although this is not a book you can cruise or skim through, it is a book that you need to sit down and focus on to appreciate the great skill of the writer and the complex story.
October 25, 2021
What a stunning book!
Matilda Windsor is Coming Home has two timelines and is told from the perspective of three main characters.
The most compelling voice for me was that of Matty herself. Her scant timeline begins in 1931 and leads to her unforgivable incarceration in an asylum on the grounds of ‘moral turpitude’. Broken by decades of institutionalisation when the ‘inmates’ were controlled by medication, given no choices or allowed even to express themselves, we follow her confused thoughts as she meanders through her days. I loved Matty’s take on things. She sees herself as a grand dame making the best of things during WWI and Anne Goodwin has done an amazing job of letting us see what’s really happening behind Matty’s interpretation of events.
Janice and Henry are on the short timeline that begins in 1989.
The 1980s saw the drive to close these asylums and bring in Care in the Community to replace them. The first of these closed in 1986. Janice is a newly-qualified social worker assigned to a closing home with a view to helping the residents adjust. She’s another wonderfully drawn character and her determination, compassion and understanding shine a light on present and past horrors of the system.
Henry is Matty’s brother. Not much younger than Matty herself, he has spent his life trying to track down the sister who cared for him like a mother.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say that the characters were finely drawn and the plot delivered surprises, distress and delight.
Highly recommended.
Matilda Windsor is Coming Home has two timelines and is told from the perspective of three main characters.
The most compelling voice for me was that of Matty herself. Her scant timeline begins in 1931 and leads to her unforgivable incarceration in an asylum on the grounds of ‘moral turpitude’. Broken by decades of institutionalisation when the ‘inmates’ were controlled by medication, given no choices or allowed even to express themselves, we follow her confused thoughts as she meanders through her days. I loved Matty’s take on things. She sees herself as a grand dame making the best of things during WWI and Anne Goodwin has done an amazing job of letting us see what’s really happening behind Matty’s interpretation of events.
Janice and Henry are on the short timeline that begins in 1989.
The 1980s saw the drive to close these asylums and bring in Care in the Community to replace them. The first of these closed in 1986. Janice is a newly-qualified social worker assigned to a closing home with a view to helping the residents adjust. She’s another wonderfully drawn character and her determination, compassion and understanding shine a light on present and past horrors of the system.
Henry is Matty’s brother. Not much younger than Matty herself, he has spent his life trying to track down the sister who cared for him like a mother.
I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say that the characters were finely drawn and the plot delivered surprises, distress and delight.
Highly recommended.
May 28, 2021
Written with real understanding!
Henry has never forgotten his sister Matilda. It’s sixty years since she went away and he has never given up hope of her coming back. Mattie endures days with staff looking after her, the highlights being when she does her recitals. Janice is a young social worker who hasn’t yet become jaded with what she sees on a daily basis and desperately wants to makes changes for the better but has other things to see to first. Will these lives come together and get things sorted for once and for all?
The first thing which drew me to this book was the cover; there’s just something about it which promises so much. It’s a really hard one to categorise – there is so much sadness between the pages and yet hope shines through. The writer’s empathy is obvious and there is a thread of lightness and humour throughout. Matilda is a wonderful character, expertly crafted, and a delight to read about. There is so much wrong with how things used to be done which is highlighted in this novel; it’s almost a social commentary and yet it’s told in such a lively, entertaining way. Anne Goodwin has demonstrated a real understanding of social history, the human psyche and the indomitable spirit in this tender and warm-hearted read. I was, however, a little disappointed that it wasn’t all wrapped up at the end as there is a sequel to come. I’m still happy to recommend this one though, and give it 4.5*.
Henry has never forgotten his sister Matilda. It’s sixty years since she went away and he has never given up hope of her coming back. Mattie endures days with staff looking after her, the highlights being when she does her recitals. Janice is a young social worker who hasn’t yet become jaded with what she sees on a daily basis and desperately wants to makes changes for the better but has other things to see to first. Will these lives come together and get things sorted for once and for all?
The first thing which drew me to this book was the cover; there’s just something about it which promises so much. It’s a really hard one to categorise – there is so much sadness between the pages and yet hope shines through. The writer’s empathy is obvious and there is a thread of lightness and humour throughout. Matilda is a wonderful character, expertly crafted, and a delight to read about. There is so much wrong with how things used to be done which is highlighted in this novel; it’s almost a social commentary and yet it’s told in such a lively, entertaining way. Anne Goodwin has demonstrated a real understanding of social history, the human psyche and the indomitable spirit in this tender and warm-hearted read. I was, however, a little disappointed that it wasn’t all wrapped up at the end as there is a sequel to come. I’m still happy to recommend this one though, and give it 4.5*.
September 6, 2021
4.5*
I read this book via an ARC from the author, for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team. The fact that it was free has not affected this honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which is both entertaining and incredibly sad. It is set mostly in 1989/90, with flashbacks to the 1930s, and Matty Osborne, also known as Matilda Windsor, has been a resident in psychiatric hospitals for fifty years - since she was around twenty. The reason given at the time was 'moral turpitude' - in other words, becoming pregnant without being married. I remember seeing something on television once, a long time ago, about how, in the first half of this century, young girls who were committed to asylums for getting pregnant, and were never let out again. In this circumstance, Matty eventually lost her mind; her path to this state is not revealed until the end of the book.
She believes that she is in her own stately home - sometimes during the Great War, at other times during World War II - that the other residents are her guests, and the carers are her staff. The story weaves between three points of view: Matty, a young carer called Janice, and Matty's younger half-brother Henry who doesn't know where she is or why she left home. The staff of Tuke House have no idea whatsoever what goes on in Matty's head, or probably within the head of any of the residents. Janice is likable and fun, and I enjoyed the portrayals of the people she worked with, most of them ghastly, grey jobsworths with limited imagination. She is very much a young woman of the Thatcher years with anti-Thatcher ideals; I felt such a sense of going back over 3 decades when I read about her.
I guessed early on what had led to Matty's dreadful fate, but it's not obvious, and I did change my mind a few times; either way, the fact that we don't know 'how, who and why' adds to the page-turning quality of the book. When I got to the end of her 1930s story, I could have cried at how alone she was, how there was no-one, anywhere, who would listen to and believe her. It was so tragic, so shocking, made even more so because you know that this sort of thing happened to so many girls, never mind the stories of some of her friends in the unmarried mothers' home.
Another element that adds to the suspense is Henry's search for the long lost sister he hardly remembers, and all the near misses when he could have found her but didn't. They're frustrating; each time I though, oh, they're going to find each other!
I found this book particularly interesting because I've worked at a psychiatric hospital in the past, and because I was reminded of my late mother, who had Alzheimer's for eleven years and lived in a care home for the last seven or so years of her life. I visited her often; I remember her being under the impression that the place was a hotel, and the carers were waitresses.
Although this story has a certain amount of resolution, I gather there is to be a sequel. I admit to being a little disappointed as I expected to get to the end and have everything nicely wrapped up - but life isn't like that, and the stories of Matty, Janice and Henry will continue. I look forward to reading the next book when it appears!
I read this book via an ARC from the author, for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team. The fact that it was free has not affected this honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which is both entertaining and incredibly sad. It is set mostly in 1989/90, with flashbacks to the 1930s, and Matty Osborne, also known as Matilda Windsor, has been a resident in psychiatric hospitals for fifty years - since she was around twenty. The reason given at the time was 'moral turpitude' - in other words, becoming pregnant without being married. I remember seeing something on television once, a long time ago, about how, in the first half of this century, young girls who were committed to asylums for getting pregnant, and were never let out again. In this circumstance, Matty eventually lost her mind; her path to this state is not revealed until the end of the book.
She believes that she is in her own stately home - sometimes during the Great War, at other times during World War II - that the other residents are her guests, and the carers are her staff. The story weaves between three points of view: Matty, a young carer called Janice, and Matty's younger half-brother Henry who doesn't know where she is or why she left home. The staff of Tuke House have no idea whatsoever what goes on in Matty's head, or probably within the head of any of the residents. Janice is likable and fun, and I enjoyed the portrayals of the people she worked with, most of them ghastly, grey jobsworths with limited imagination. She is very much a young woman of the Thatcher years with anti-Thatcher ideals; I felt such a sense of going back over 3 decades when I read about her.
I guessed early on what had led to Matty's dreadful fate, but it's not obvious, and I did change my mind a few times; either way, the fact that we don't know 'how, who and why' adds to the page-turning quality of the book. When I got to the end of her 1930s story, I could have cried at how alone she was, how there was no-one, anywhere, who would listen to and believe her. It was so tragic, so shocking, made even more so because you know that this sort of thing happened to so many girls, never mind the stories of some of her friends in the unmarried mothers' home.
Another element that adds to the suspense is Henry's search for the long lost sister he hardly remembers, and all the near misses when he could have found her but didn't. They're frustrating; each time I though, oh, they're going to find each other!
I found this book particularly interesting because I've worked at a psychiatric hospital in the past, and because I was reminded of my late mother, who had Alzheimer's for eleven years and lived in a care home for the last seven or so years of her life. I visited her often; I remember her being under the impression that the place was a hotel, and the carers were waitresses.
Although this story has a certain amount of resolution, I gather there is to be a sequel. I admit to being a little disappointed as I expected to get to the end and have everything nicely wrapped up - but life isn't like that, and the stories of Matty, Janice and Henry will continue. I look forward to reading the next book when it appears!
June 6, 2021
There's so much going on in this novel, so many strands which loop and nestle alongside each other, threatening to interweave yet failing. And all the while managing to be an engaging, rewarding story with characters who are real and raw and flawed and trying their best with the lives they've been given.
Matty's story is eked out through moments of clarity wedged between the half-memories she's knitted together to make sense of her situation, leaving the reader as confused and bewildered as the narrator.
A wonderful, captivating novel I couldn't put down.
Matty's story is eked out through moments of clarity wedged between the half-memories she's knitted together to make sense of her situation, leaving the reader as confused and bewildered as the narrator.
A wonderful, captivating novel I couldn't put down.
December 9, 2021
This book is a behind the scenes drama played out behind the doors of a mental institution transitioning from a place to stash those who suffered from alleged mental disorders or lapses in moral judgment. Many living within these institutions may not have originally suffered from a mental impairment, but after fifty years within this closed and rigid environment, they have developed the inability to distinquish between reality and fantasy.
Told from three different perspectives we are introduced to Matilda (Matty), Janice and Henry who all have threads from the past keeping them from living life to the full.
Matilda’s story is heartbreaking and from an early age she was blighted by poverty, loss and abuse by those who should have kept her safe. She was a free spirit trapped by circumstances and the actions of others, and even behind the walls of this institution, there are those eager to take advantage of her vulnerability.
Her escape is the make believe world of princes and country houses in an era she felt most comfortable in. There is humour and logic behind her thinking and it was easy to fall in love with her mischievous approach to modern intrusions into her fantasy. However, after all the deprivations she has suffered, will she be able to move onto the more relaxed approach of community living?
Henry has been stuck in a time warp since his older sister he knew asTilly left when he was very young. He cannot move on as he is convinced that one day she will return to the house they shared fifty years ago. Now reaching retirement that dream is fading despite events in his neighbourhood that conspire to shake him out of his comfort zone. Can he let go of the past and move on to find love and a new life?
Finally Janice a young social worker, idealistic and convinced that she can prepare Matty for life in the new open community housing despite a number of setbacks during the process. Janice has her own past to explore as she becomes more disconnected from her adopted parents and sister and begins to question her role in mental health.
There are times, as events unfold and Matilda shares her childhood and teenage years, you as the onlooker are moved to outrage, despair but also admiration for the spirit that reached breaking point, only for it to escape instead into a fantasy world that provided comfort.
This is a thought provoking novel that is the first in the Matilda Windsor story, written by an author with first hand experience of the world of mental health institutions and the changing approach to treatment as a clinical psychologist. I look forward to discovering how the story unfolds in the next book.
Told from three different perspectives we are introduced to Matilda (Matty), Janice and Henry who all have threads from the past keeping them from living life to the full.
Matilda’s story is heartbreaking and from an early age she was blighted by poverty, loss and abuse by those who should have kept her safe. She was a free spirit trapped by circumstances and the actions of others, and even behind the walls of this institution, there are those eager to take advantage of her vulnerability.
Her escape is the make believe world of princes and country houses in an era she felt most comfortable in. There is humour and logic behind her thinking and it was easy to fall in love with her mischievous approach to modern intrusions into her fantasy. However, after all the deprivations she has suffered, will she be able to move onto the more relaxed approach of community living?
Henry has been stuck in a time warp since his older sister he knew asTilly left when he was very young. He cannot move on as he is convinced that one day she will return to the house they shared fifty years ago. Now reaching retirement that dream is fading despite events in his neighbourhood that conspire to shake him out of his comfort zone. Can he let go of the past and move on to find love and a new life?
Finally Janice a young social worker, idealistic and convinced that she can prepare Matty for life in the new open community housing despite a number of setbacks during the process. Janice has her own past to explore as she becomes more disconnected from her adopted parents and sister and begins to question her role in mental health.
There are times, as events unfold and Matilda shares her childhood and teenage years, you as the onlooker are moved to outrage, despair but also admiration for the spirit that reached breaking point, only for it to escape instead into a fantasy world that provided comfort.
This is a thought provoking novel that is the first in the Matilda Windsor story, written by an author with first hand experience of the world of mental health institutions and the changing approach to treatment as a clinical psychologist. I look forward to discovering how the story unfolds in the next book.
November 21, 2022
At the end of my review of Stolen Summers I said I wanted to see "more about the circumstances in which Matty became pregnant and her emotional reaction to them." I also referred to the presence of sample "chapters that take us forward by another 25 years, to 1989," What I realised only later was that that book already existed. I have now read Mattilda Windsor is Coming Home and this is my review.
This is a book that will shock, sadden and delight you by turns. Taken together, the two books form an entertaining and informative exploration of the changes in the treatment of mental patients over the half century leading up to the UK's "care in the community" reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But it is much more than that. Society's attitude to women, especially those who become pregnant whilst single, underwent profound change too. Changing the opinion of the general public towards those it regarded as insane was much harder to achieve.
The woman variously known as Matilda, Matty or Tilly is now in her early 70s. A group of professionals has been recruited to assess the suitability of a small contingent of Ghyllside inmates, including Matty, for life in the community. They are transferred to a half-way-house located within the grounds of the hospital whilst a site is sought and construction commenced for three houses which they will share under the close supervision of social workers and mental health practitioners.
A newly qualified social worker takes a special interest in Matty and sets about trying to find her relatives. The problem is that Matty has her father's surname, Osbourne, whereas her only living relative is her step-brother, Henry Windsor, Matty's mother having died giving birth to him. As it happens the site chosen for the new homes for the select group of Ghyllside patients is opposite Henry's home. This presents the opportunity for a series of chance meetings that never quite materialise, ending either in farce or minor tragedy.
An important theme of the book is that of how we perceive what we observe and experience. As the story alternates between the lives of the three central characters, Matty, Henry and the social worker, we are enabled to see things from three very different perspectives.
Matty has rationalised her years in the institution by creating a fantasy life in which she is the lady of the kind of country house featured in an Agatha Christy novel. In it, appropriate roles are assigned to the staff and inmates: the butler, the chauffeur, the maid, the Belgian detective. The professionals supervising the half-way-house and carrying out the assessment are, in her mind, journalists attending a press conference which she is conducting. The social worker, with her colourful dress style, is the "circus girl".
Henry, a minor bureaucrat in the local council, seems wedded to the past. He still lives in the house where he was born. He has fond memories of the young woman, Tilly, who looked after him for the first six years of his life. He has preserved her attic room exactly as it was 50 years ago. But, as he nears retirement, he begins to wonder about the young woman: what became of her? His efforts to trace her having repeatedly come to dead ends, was she really his sister, as he has always believed? Did she even exist? The only tangible evidence is a faded photograph in which the Blackpool tower sprouts from his head. Could the woman accompanying him be his mother, not his sister?
The social worker is equally stymied in her attempts to discover Matty's past, not least because they are based on assumptions that may or may not be correct.
There is an important secondary question at the heart of this book: what, really, is meant by the word 'home'?
The social worker, having grown up in Nottingham with adoptive parents and a sister, also adopted, wonders about her own biological parents. She is torn between Nottingham, where she still has friends and family, and Cumbria, where she has taken the Ghyllside job to be near to her boy friend. When that relationship ends, her quest to change Matty's life takes over, but is it enough? Is it even appropriate?
For Matty, is home the little house in the rougher part of town she shared for the first 13 years of her life with her mother and another war widow and daughter? Is it the suburban villa she shared with her step-farther and step-brother following her mother's death? Or is it the place in which she is a society hostess entertaining an assortment of guests and supervising a staff of servants?
The discussions between the professionals, formal and informal, are evidently drawn from the author's own experience. They reflect the differing concerns of the disciplines involved: psychiatry, occupational therapy, nursing, social work, and are filled with seemingly impenetrable jargon. The private lives of Henry and the social worker are satisfyingly full of revealing incident.
Fortunately Matty, despite her fantasy life, has enough moments of lucidity to enable her to reveal, to us, though not the professionals, the shocking truth about her pregnancy and what followed.
This is a book that will shock, sadden and delight you by turns. Taken together, the two books form an entertaining and informative exploration of the changes in the treatment of mental patients over the half century leading up to the UK's "care in the community" reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But it is much more than that. Society's attitude to women, especially those who become pregnant whilst single, underwent profound change too. Changing the opinion of the general public towards those it regarded as insane was much harder to achieve.
The woman variously known as Matilda, Matty or Tilly is now in her early 70s. A group of professionals has been recruited to assess the suitability of a small contingent of Ghyllside inmates, including Matty, for life in the community. They are transferred to a half-way-house located within the grounds of the hospital whilst a site is sought and construction commenced for three houses which they will share under the close supervision of social workers and mental health practitioners.
A newly qualified social worker takes a special interest in Matty and sets about trying to find her relatives. The problem is that Matty has her father's surname, Osbourne, whereas her only living relative is her step-brother, Henry Windsor, Matty's mother having died giving birth to him. As it happens the site chosen for the new homes for the select group of Ghyllside patients is opposite Henry's home. This presents the opportunity for a series of chance meetings that never quite materialise, ending either in farce or minor tragedy.
An important theme of the book is that of how we perceive what we observe and experience. As the story alternates between the lives of the three central characters, Matty, Henry and the social worker, we are enabled to see things from three very different perspectives.
Matty has rationalised her years in the institution by creating a fantasy life in which she is the lady of the kind of country house featured in an Agatha Christy novel. In it, appropriate roles are assigned to the staff and inmates: the butler, the chauffeur, the maid, the Belgian detective. The professionals supervising the half-way-house and carrying out the assessment are, in her mind, journalists attending a press conference which she is conducting. The social worker, with her colourful dress style, is the "circus girl".
Henry, a minor bureaucrat in the local council, seems wedded to the past. He still lives in the house where he was born. He has fond memories of the young woman, Tilly, who looked after him for the first six years of his life. He has preserved her attic room exactly as it was 50 years ago. But, as he nears retirement, he begins to wonder about the young woman: what became of her? His efforts to trace her having repeatedly come to dead ends, was she really his sister, as he has always believed? Did she even exist? The only tangible evidence is a faded photograph in which the Blackpool tower sprouts from his head. Could the woman accompanying him be his mother, not his sister?
The social worker is equally stymied in her attempts to discover Matty's past, not least because they are based on assumptions that may or may not be correct.
There is an important secondary question at the heart of this book: what, really, is meant by the word 'home'?
The social worker, having grown up in Nottingham with adoptive parents and a sister, also adopted, wonders about her own biological parents. She is torn between Nottingham, where she still has friends and family, and Cumbria, where she has taken the Ghyllside job to be near to her boy friend. When that relationship ends, her quest to change Matty's life takes over, but is it enough? Is it even appropriate?
For Matty, is home the little house in the rougher part of town she shared for the first 13 years of her life with her mother and another war widow and daughter? Is it the suburban villa she shared with her step-farther and step-brother following her mother's death? Or is it the place in which she is a society hostess entertaining an assortment of guests and supervising a staff of servants?
The discussions between the professionals, formal and informal, are evidently drawn from the author's own experience. They reflect the differing concerns of the disciplines involved: psychiatry, occupational therapy, nursing, social work, and are filled with seemingly impenetrable jargon. The private lives of Henry and the social worker are satisfyingly full of revealing incident.
Fortunately Matty, despite her fantasy life, has enough moments of lucidity to enable her to reveal, to us, though not the professionals, the shocking truth about her pregnancy and what followed.
June 5, 2021
My own experience of mental illness is what attracted me to reading Matilda Windsor is Coming Home. In 1938 my Jewish mother and grandmother escaped from the Nazis in Vienna. Unable to return to their hometown of Bucharest, they made their way to England and settled here in Cheltenham, where I still live. Over her adult life, my mother spent three spells in psychiatric hospitals – the first in the 1950s following the death of my older sister at 17 months and then the birth of my brother and myself. This resulted in a lobotomy. The second in 1973 after her mother died and the third in 1989/90, the same time as when we meet Matty.
I mention this because I can relate to Matty’s treatment. For my mother, I was told that her ‘quality of life’ could be improved by her learning to make a cup of tea and a ham sandwich, thus allowing her to live more successfully in her own flat. This is similar to Matty’s rehabilitation from being institutionalised. What I couldn’t explain, as they would think us both frightful snobs, was that she had had servants in Romania and had no intention of making her own sandwiches. In fact she didn’t even know how to boil the kettle or wished to. When Matty talks about the butler, maids and her mother marrying a prince I can almost hear my mother’s voice (though not the prince part).
None of this has anything to do with my review, I just wanted to explain why this book means so much to me. We love Matty because she is such a lovable character. As the story unfolds we discover more and more about her childhood, the death of her father, her mother’s death in childbirth and her relationship with her stepfather, George. The more we learn, the more shocking it becomes.
But let’s look at the story in 1990. Janice with her pink hair and harlequin trousers who Matty dubs ‘circus girl’ has split from her boyfriend and takes her first proper job as a social worker in Cumbria. The residents of the ‘asylum’ are being assessed as to who can be released back into society and given their own flat in a new development on the site of the old baby clinic. Janice is drawn to Matty, who has been locked up for 50 years. Her ‘crime’ it appears, was getting pregnant while unwed at the age of 20. Following a diagnosis of schizophrenia, she is put away for the rest of her life. Janice wants to make a difference by showing everyone that Matty should finally be released, but will she cope?
Henry, who works for the council but has been downgraded because he refuses to learn how to use a computer (try this in 2021 Henry), lives next door to the proposed flats where the released patients will reside. Henry has spent his life waiting for his sister Tilly to return. Following the death of his mother in childbirth, Tilly, aged thirteen, single-handedly raised him from a baby, until she mysteriously went away. Henry’s married ‘lover’ Irene is fed up of waiting for Henry to give up his obsession with his sister.
In the meantime, the Residents Association is opposing the psychiatric patients being moved into sheltered housing in the community. They don’t want ‘lunatics’ living next door. Henry is on the committee. I love this conversation.
‘How about Sheepwash Residents against Psychiatric Invasion?’ Susanna offered.
Zoe nodded. ‘SRAPI for short.’
Oh, yes,’ said Ursula, ‘what’s it called when the initials form a word? Like NATO?’
‘An anachronism,’ said Susanna.
‘An acronym,’ said Henry, but nobody heard.
Oh Henry! What an anachronism you are! Oh the irony!
The story unfolds slowly and at times is so frustrating as the reader is always one step ahead. I loved reading about Matty, Janice and Henry and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours.
I mention this because I can relate to Matty’s treatment. For my mother, I was told that her ‘quality of life’ could be improved by her learning to make a cup of tea and a ham sandwich, thus allowing her to live more successfully in her own flat. This is similar to Matty’s rehabilitation from being institutionalised. What I couldn’t explain, as they would think us both frightful snobs, was that she had had servants in Romania and had no intention of making her own sandwiches. In fact she didn’t even know how to boil the kettle or wished to. When Matty talks about the butler, maids and her mother marrying a prince I can almost hear my mother’s voice (though not the prince part).
None of this has anything to do with my review, I just wanted to explain why this book means so much to me. We love Matty because she is such a lovable character. As the story unfolds we discover more and more about her childhood, the death of her father, her mother’s death in childbirth and her relationship with her stepfather, George. The more we learn, the more shocking it becomes.
But let’s look at the story in 1990. Janice with her pink hair and harlequin trousers who Matty dubs ‘circus girl’ has split from her boyfriend and takes her first proper job as a social worker in Cumbria. The residents of the ‘asylum’ are being assessed as to who can be released back into society and given their own flat in a new development on the site of the old baby clinic. Janice is drawn to Matty, who has been locked up for 50 years. Her ‘crime’ it appears, was getting pregnant while unwed at the age of 20. Following a diagnosis of schizophrenia, she is put away for the rest of her life. Janice wants to make a difference by showing everyone that Matty should finally be released, but will she cope?
Henry, who works for the council but has been downgraded because he refuses to learn how to use a computer (try this in 2021 Henry), lives next door to the proposed flats where the released patients will reside. Henry has spent his life waiting for his sister Tilly to return. Following the death of his mother in childbirth, Tilly, aged thirteen, single-handedly raised him from a baby, until she mysteriously went away. Henry’s married ‘lover’ Irene is fed up of waiting for Henry to give up his obsession with his sister.
In the meantime, the Residents Association is opposing the psychiatric patients being moved into sheltered housing in the community. They don’t want ‘lunatics’ living next door. Henry is on the committee. I love this conversation.
‘How about Sheepwash Residents against Psychiatric Invasion?’ Susanna offered.
Zoe nodded. ‘SRAPI for short.’
Oh, yes,’ said Ursula, ‘what’s it called when the initials form a word? Like NATO?’
‘An anachronism,’ said Susanna.
‘An acronym,’ said Henry, but nobody heard.
Oh Henry! What an anachronism you are! Oh the irony!
The story unfolds slowly and at times is so frustrating as the reader is always one step ahead. I loved reading about Matty, Janice and Henry and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours.
June 30, 2021
“Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home” is a poignant reminder of what life was like in a mental asylum in the UK when the policy shifted from institutionalization toward the assimilation of patients back into community living. Even more interesting is the character of Matty Osborne. The story crosses, weaves, and intersects in the lives of Matty, her brother, Henry, and Janice, Matty’s social worker.
Not sure about accepting the position, Janice accepts after meeting with Matty in the Institution. The intention of the medical staff is to move the patients to a more suitable living environment. The older lady intrigues her, and Janice wants to help find Matty’s family. There are some interesting connections between Matty and Janice, who was adopted as a baby.
Henry, the brother, still lives in the family home. He’s in a relationship with a married woman, yet remains obsessed with why Matty left all those long years before. He stays in the home because he hopes one day, his beloved sister will return.
But it is Matty that steals your heart. She narrates some of the story hinting at some of the horrifying details of rape and incest by her step-father. The cruelness of the man doesn’t end there, and Matty finds herself institutionalized. Trauma does strange things to a person, and Matty retreats into a delusional world. Matty spends fifty years in the asylum. Her story chilled me to the bone.
In the asylum, Matty still believes World War II is carrying on. She assumes she is a fine lady attended by many servants. In reality, these are her nurses and medical personnel. Interestingly, she supposes the rest of the patients are people she is helping by providing shelter to those homeless from the war.
The story is fascinating and horrifying, at the same time. Anne Goodwin uses her years as a clinical psychologist to weave realistic characters and situations you will not easily forget. Her attention to detail makes her writing shine. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and not being moved by the characters. They draw you in and won’t let you go!
I doubt Matty will come out of her protective shell enough to assimilate back into society. But like they say, time will tell. If the title of the book is a sign, there is hope for Matty. The rest of the story will reveal itself in the sequel. I can’t wait to find out if my intuition is correct!
Not sure about accepting the position, Janice accepts after meeting with Matty in the Institution. The intention of the medical staff is to move the patients to a more suitable living environment. The older lady intrigues her, and Janice wants to help find Matty’s family. There are some interesting connections between Matty and Janice, who was adopted as a baby.
Henry, the brother, still lives in the family home. He’s in a relationship with a married woman, yet remains obsessed with why Matty left all those long years before. He stays in the home because he hopes one day, his beloved sister will return.
But it is Matty that steals your heart. She narrates some of the story hinting at some of the horrifying details of rape and incest by her step-father. The cruelness of the man doesn’t end there, and Matty finds herself institutionalized. Trauma does strange things to a person, and Matty retreats into a delusional world. Matty spends fifty years in the asylum. Her story chilled me to the bone.
In the asylum, Matty still believes World War II is carrying on. She assumes she is a fine lady attended by many servants. In reality, these are her nurses and medical personnel. Interestingly, she supposes the rest of the patients are people she is helping by providing shelter to those homeless from the war.
The story is fascinating and horrifying, at the same time. Anne Goodwin uses her years as a clinical psychologist to weave realistic characters and situations you will not easily forget. Her attention to detail makes her writing shine. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and not being moved by the characters. They draw you in and won’t let you go!
I doubt Matty will come out of her protective shell enough to assimilate back into society. But like they say, time will tell. If the title of the book is a sign, there is hope for Matty. The rest of the story will reveal itself in the sequel. I can’t wait to find out if my intuition is correct!
April 23, 2021
I found this book fascinating. The setting - mostly in a long-term psychiatric institution - is rich and real. It's written partly from the point of view of a young, idealistic social worker keen to give the patients on her caseload a fresh start at a time when such institutions were preparing to close and transfer their inmates to 'care in the community' - and partly from the viewpoint of a woman who's been incarcerated there for many decades. I grew very fond of the little band of patients who were making the faltering and often painful transition to a life 'outside'. There's a mystery at the heart of this story which keeps the reader guessing and turning the page. It's well written and easy to read. There's a huge sense of injustice that someone can have been locked up in such a place for no good reason other than - apparently - misfortune and bad luck. The book raises profound questions about rights, attitudes to mental health and what it means to be 'home.'
May 29, 2021
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is mainly set in a psychiatric hospital for long stay patients. Matilda has been here for decades, sent here as a young woman but now a young idealist social worker has arrived and she’s working to get people back to ‘normal’ lives outside.
This is a beautifully written tale of a world many of us have no idea exists, of a community within the community. I fell in love with Matty and her friends, the odd and peculiar who really just want to get on with life.
It’s also horrifying how people could be hospitalised for so many years just because people are scared of those with mental health problems. Out of sight out of mind seems to be the answer for many.
It is clear, from her writing, the author has strong feelings on this issue and this makes for an emotional and thought provoking read.
Thank you to Random Things Tours for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, for the promotional material and an eARC of Matilda Windsor is Coming Home
This is a beautifully written tale of a world many of us have no idea exists, of a community within the community. I fell in love with Matty and her friends, the odd and peculiar who really just want to get on with life.
It’s also horrifying how people could be hospitalised for so many years just because people are scared of those with mental health problems. Out of sight out of mind seems to be the answer for many.
It is clear, from her writing, the author has strong feelings on this issue and this makes for an emotional and thought provoking read.
Thank you to Random Things Tours for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, for the promotional material and an eARC of Matilda Windsor is Coming Home
December 13, 2021
As I sit to write this review, my mind is awhirl as I attempt to find the right words to express how much I adored this very special book.
For my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
For my full review please visit my blog at:
https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...
October 11, 2021
I have had an interest in the mental health sector for a long time. Some members of my family worked within the old asylum system whilst other members of my family unfortunately had to reside in an old asylum for one reason and another. So you can probably understand why the synopsis for ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ appealed to me so much. I couldn’t wait to start reading and so without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down to read what proved to be one hell of a story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ but more about that in a bit.
I really, really felt for the character of Matilda. Back in the day she was admitted to an asylum. I won’t go too far into details as I would hate to spoil the story for anybody but needless to say that the reason for admission back then wouldn’t be entertained in today’s society. Matilda stays within the asylum system for that long that she has become institutionalised, which is so sad but unfortunately not uncommon. Matilda has her quirks but ultimately she is a lovely person, who has ended up in an asylum through no fault of her own. I kept wanting to jump inside the pages of the book to give Matilda a hug and to remonstrate with those who had treated her like an ‘inconvenience’. Thankfully not everybody is ready to write Matilda off and she does have people on the outside fighting for her in one way and another. What happens? Well for the answer to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’. In fact by the time I got to the end of the first page, I knew that I would have immense difficult in putting the book to one side for any length of time. I think part of the reason why I became so addicted to the story was the fact that I have such a fascination for the old asylum system and the history of mental health in general. In fact I didn’t put this book down at all. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I developed a need to know how the story turned out for Matilda and whether or not she was reunited with anybody from her past. I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough as I worked my way through the story. All too quickly I reached the end of the book and I had to leave Matilda Windsor behind. I found ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ to be a gripping and emotional read.
‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ is superbly written and then some. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into what proves to be one hell of a compelling read. The fact that the author was formerly a clinical psychologist in a long term psychiatric hospital, lends authenticity to the story. For me the story hit the ground running and maintains a fairly gentle pace throughout. Reading this book was a bit like being on an emotional rollercoaster with the ups and downs and frustrating moments. I would find myself wanting to cry at certain parts of the story and then the next minute I would be chuckling away to myself at certain other moments. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Anne’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ and I will definitely be recommending this book to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Anne’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
I really, really felt for the character of Matilda. Back in the day she was admitted to an asylum. I won’t go too far into details as I would hate to spoil the story for anybody but needless to say that the reason for admission back then wouldn’t be entertained in today’s society. Matilda stays within the asylum system for that long that she has become institutionalised, which is so sad but unfortunately not uncommon. Matilda has her quirks but ultimately she is a lovely person, who has ended up in an asylum through no fault of her own. I kept wanting to jump inside the pages of the book to give Matilda a hug and to remonstrate with those who had treated her like an ‘inconvenience’. Thankfully not everybody is ready to write Matilda off and she does have people on the outside fighting for her in one way and another. What happens? Well for the answer to that question and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’. In fact by the time I got to the end of the first page, I knew that I would have immense difficult in putting the book to one side for any length of time. I think part of the reason why I became so addicted to the story was the fact that I have such a fascination for the old asylum system and the history of mental health in general. In fact I didn’t put this book down at all. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. I developed a need to know how the story turned out for Matilda and whether or not she was reunited with anybody from her past. I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough as I worked my way through the story. All too quickly I reached the end of the book and I had to leave Matilda Windsor behind. I found ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ to be a gripping and emotional read.
‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ is superbly written and then some. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into what proves to be one hell of a compelling read. The fact that the author was formerly a clinical psychologist in a long term psychiatric hospital, lends authenticity to the story. For me the story hit the ground running and maintains a fairly gentle pace throughout. Reading this book was a bit like being on an emotional rollercoaster with the ups and downs and frustrating moments. I would find myself wanting to cry at certain parts of the story and then the next minute I would be chuckling away to myself at certain other moments. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Anne’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home’ and I will definitely be recommending this book to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Anne’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
October 5, 2021
Matty Osborne was sent to a mental institution when she was twenty years old. The septuagenarian has spent over half a century incarcerated, with no family or friends ever calling or coming to visit.
Janice is a new social worker assigned to Matty’s case, who believes the latter might not really be mentally unstable. With staff having changed over the years and records being damaged in the war, no one even knows what Matty was sent in for.
Henry has spent all his life waiting for his sister to return home. He was only a child when she was taken away, and she promised she would come back. Awaiting her return, and being let down for over fifty years, Henry still harbours hope.
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home takes the reader across almost a century, as Anne Goodwin addresses mental health issues and institutionalization over the years, and questions mental health policies and societal assimilation. Who decides who is sane and who is to be believed? Matilda Windsor represents cases that fall through the system and just linger because no one knows what to do with them. Matty is all those patients who are falsely incarcerated, betrayed by family members, those left alone with no visitors, those who find family among staff, those who yearn to go back to society but are labelled and discriminated against.
Anne Goodwin uses her own experience as a clinical psychologist working in psychiatric hospitals, to paint a portrait on identity, mental health and social justice. Matty is an endearing protagonist, and the alternating perspectives of Matty’s mind, Henry’s life, and Janice’s experiences present a vivid landscape of mental disabilities. Matty’s point of view is particularly interesting, because she has been locked up all her life and all her references and vocabulary and social etiquettes are of the 1930s. This starkly contrasts with Henry’s perspective, who’s bodily in the 80s but mentally and emotionally in the 30s when his sister left him. And then there’s Janice, trying to bring the two people and the two perspectives together. The book spans from pre-WWII to the nineties, and the author showcases changing attitudes towards mental health, and also certain stigmas that have stayed the same.
Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a thought-provoking novel with important insights into asylum life and the people on the fringes of society who go unseen and unheard. Absorbing and heartbreaking, the author’s professional experience plays a huge role in her approach to a sensitive topic that warrants required discussions.
Janice is a new social worker assigned to Matty’s case, who believes the latter might not really be mentally unstable. With staff having changed over the years and records being damaged in the war, no one even knows what Matty was sent in for.
Henry has spent all his life waiting for his sister to return home. He was only a child when she was taken away, and she promised she would come back. Awaiting her return, and being let down for over fifty years, Henry still harbours hope.
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home takes the reader across almost a century, as Anne Goodwin addresses mental health issues and institutionalization over the years, and questions mental health policies and societal assimilation. Who decides who is sane and who is to be believed? Matilda Windsor represents cases that fall through the system and just linger because no one knows what to do with them. Matty is all those patients who are falsely incarcerated, betrayed by family members, those left alone with no visitors, those who find family among staff, those who yearn to go back to society but are labelled and discriminated against.
Anne Goodwin uses her own experience as a clinical psychologist working in psychiatric hospitals, to paint a portrait on identity, mental health and social justice. Matty is an endearing protagonist, and the alternating perspectives of Matty’s mind, Henry’s life, and Janice’s experiences present a vivid landscape of mental disabilities. Matty’s point of view is particularly interesting, because she has been locked up all her life and all her references and vocabulary and social etiquettes are of the 1930s. This starkly contrasts with Henry’s perspective, who’s bodily in the 80s but mentally and emotionally in the 30s when his sister left him. And then there’s Janice, trying to bring the two people and the two perspectives together. The book spans from pre-WWII to the nineties, and the author showcases changing attitudes towards mental health, and also certain stigmas that have stayed the same.
Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a thought-provoking novel with important insights into asylum life and the people on the fringes of society who go unseen and unheard. Absorbing and heartbreaking, the author’s professional experience plays a huge role in her approach to a sensitive topic that warrants required discussions.
October 7, 2021
This is such a fascinating eye-opening book, an insight into the old fashioned mental asylums in the UK. It is set just as they were changing the system, and thought about trying to rehabilitate patients so they could be part of society again.
The title character, Matilda, who is also referred to as Tilly, then as Matty. The parts told from her perspective are a real insight into the mind of someone who is seriously mentally ill. She believes she is still in World War 2, and living in a luxurious home, where she is the lady of the house, and the staff at the hospital are her personal maids and such. Janice, a nurse in the hospital hope she will eligible to start on this new program, and be allowed back out into society. The rest of the staff see this just cannot be possible. Matty's story is gradually uncovered and the reasons for her delusions become clear. Both heartbreaking and eye-opening.
Along with the story of Matty, is that of her brother, who wonders if she will ever come home. She brought him up after their mother died, and then just disappeared. He is also struggling to adapt to a modern, changing world. He has waited fifty years, not understanding where his sister went and why she hasnt returned, and if she ever will.
The three main characters are all relatable to some extent. The story slowly unfolds, so this isnt a thrilling race along read. It is however better for taking your time over, absorbing the information, the feelings, emotions portrayed within the pages.
I have experienced mental health issues, and know loads of others have too, so I was intrigued to see how it was portrayed, especially knowing the author has experience working in these services before she wrote. It made me grateful that I wasnt around in the 1920's and 1930's and that things have come a long way since then.
A poignant, heartbreaking at times, but overall uplifting read.
The title character, Matilda, who is also referred to as Tilly, then as Matty. The parts told from her perspective are a real insight into the mind of someone who is seriously mentally ill. She believes she is still in World War 2, and living in a luxurious home, where she is the lady of the house, and the staff at the hospital are her personal maids and such. Janice, a nurse in the hospital hope she will eligible to start on this new program, and be allowed back out into society. The rest of the staff see this just cannot be possible. Matty's story is gradually uncovered and the reasons for her delusions become clear. Both heartbreaking and eye-opening.
Along with the story of Matty, is that of her brother, who wonders if she will ever come home. She brought him up after their mother died, and then just disappeared. He is also struggling to adapt to a modern, changing world. He has waited fifty years, not understanding where his sister went and why she hasnt returned, and if she ever will.
The three main characters are all relatable to some extent. The story slowly unfolds, so this isnt a thrilling race along read. It is however better for taking your time over, absorbing the information, the feelings, emotions portrayed within the pages.
I have experienced mental health issues, and know loads of others have too, so I was intrigued to see how it was portrayed, especially knowing the author has experience working in these services before she wrote. It made me grateful that I wasnt around in the 1920's and 1930's and that things have come a long way since then.
A poignant, heartbreaking at times, but overall uplifting read.
July 12, 2021
I have to say this book is very intriguing . Matilda Windsor's story is a complex accumulation of many different factors, the mental health services that existed in the 1930s, the patriarchal society that solved their problems of pesky women by having them institutionalized for mental illness, the limits put on women by society of the acceptable and unacceptable. All of these factors led to Matty's life being squandered away for over 50 years.
Matty "left" home when her brother Henry, who adored his glamorous older sister, was very young. She promised Henry she would return soon. Over 50 years later Henry is still waiting for her to return. His life has been lived in a kind of limbo since Matty left. He has kept every memento she had ever given him, he keeps her bedroom exactly the same as the day she left. His waiting has impeded all aspects of Henry's life including his relationship with the woman he wants to marry.
Janice is a young social worker starting her first job in the mental health field. At first not sure she wants to keep the job, then she meets Matty and is intrigued by her and her story. Janice soon makes it her mission to find Matty's family and reunite them as the hospital policy changes and they move towards more progressive forms of treatment.
This book is both sad and funny. The depictions of Matty's escapades add humor to a heartbreaking story. The subject of mental health has been controversial and progress is slow as in any field that serves the public. Reading about the abuse and loss that Matty had to suffer, only because society would scorn her just makes me want to scream. That such barbaric treatment was so commonplace back then and until only recently have great strides been made to improve on some of these archaic practices is astounding. This book is well researched and handles a delicate subject with great dignity, with just the right touch of humor.
I give 5 stars and recommend to anyone that is interested in mental health or who just want to read a darn good book!
Thank you to the publishers and Book Sirens for the free ARC of the e-book version of this novel. I am giving my honest review in return.
Matty "left" home when her brother Henry, who adored his glamorous older sister, was very young. She promised Henry she would return soon. Over 50 years later Henry is still waiting for her to return. His life has been lived in a kind of limbo since Matty left. He has kept every memento she had ever given him, he keeps her bedroom exactly the same as the day she left. His waiting has impeded all aspects of Henry's life including his relationship with the woman he wants to marry.
Janice is a young social worker starting her first job in the mental health field. At first not sure she wants to keep the job, then she meets Matty and is intrigued by her and her story. Janice soon makes it her mission to find Matty's family and reunite them as the hospital policy changes and they move towards more progressive forms of treatment.
This book is both sad and funny. The depictions of Matty's escapades add humor to a heartbreaking story. The subject of mental health has been controversial and progress is slow as in any field that serves the public. Reading about the abuse and loss that Matty had to suffer, only because society would scorn her just makes me want to scream. That such barbaric treatment was so commonplace back then and until only recently have great strides been made to improve on some of these archaic practices is astounding. This book is well researched and handles a delicate subject with great dignity, with just the right touch of humor.
I give 5 stars and recommend to anyone that is interested in mental health or who just want to read a darn good book!
Thank you to the publishers and Book Sirens for the free ARC of the e-book version of this novel. I am giving my honest review in return.
October 5, 2021
Fiction to care about
The three main characters in this wonderful novel are all harbouring dreams for the future. Matty, about 70 years old, is longing to find someone from her past. Henry is looking for the sister he last saw about 50 years ago and Janice dreams of bringing positive change to the world of psychiatric long term residential care.
Matty is a wonderful character who puts a positive slant on everything, and keeps herself busy entertaining her house guests, always being polite and welcoming even when her guests are somewhat trying. As the reader learns more of Matty’s past, so her present makes more and more sense, and I found myself really hoping that the book would have a happy ending. Henry’s whole life is on hold until he finds his sister – will he find her and therefore find peace. Janice discovers that her ideas are not always appreciated by her superiors at work, and is worried that something she did recently may be found out.
The action takes place in Cumbria in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when steps are being taken to get residents of long term residential care back into the community, with flashbacks to earlier times. Set among the world of long stay psychiatric hospitals there are some hard hitting moments, but as a whole this is a book of kindness, positivity and hope.
5*s for this “fiction to care about” – and reading it I really cared about Matty and became involved with Henry. The further I got into the book, the more I hoped all would turn out happily at the end.
The three main characters in this wonderful novel are all harbouring dreams for the future. Matty, about 70 years old, is longing to find someone from her past. Henry is looking for the sister he last saw about 50 years ago and Janice dreams of bringing positive change to the world of psychiatric long term residential care.
Matty is a wonderful character who puts a positive slant on everything, and keeps herself busy entertaining her house guests, always being polite and welcoming even when her guests are somewhat trying. As the reader learns more of Matty’s past, so her present makes more and more sense, and I found myself really hoping that the book would have a happy ending. Henry’s whole life is on hold until he finds his sister – will he find her and therefore find peace. Janice discovers that her ideas are not always appreciated by her superiors at work, and is worried that something she did recently may be found out.
The action takes place in Cumbria in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when steps are being taken to get residents of long term residential care back into the community, with flashbacks to earlier times. Set among the world of long stay psychiatric hospitals there are some hard hitting moments, but as a whole this is a book of kindness, positivity and hope.
5*s for this “fiction to care about” – and reading it I really cared about Matty and became involved with Henry. The further I got into the book, the more I hoped all would turn out happily at the end.
June 1, 2021
Books like Matilda Windsor is Coming Home by Anne Goodwin are a noteworthy literary contribution to a topic which deserves a serious reconsideration, not matter the country and the context: mental health, particularly mental health policies.
However, the book is not a nonfiction account of various mental health policies in England. It has a story and lively characters and also a pinch of humour which makes both the story and the characters widely relatable. The book reminded me a lot of old good English literature, with old ladies stuck in the past or/and forced to isolate by their families since their early youth due to some random morality and emotionally misunderstood issues.
Matilda Windsor, the once glamorous lady who is now rewinding over and over again her glamorous memories is one of the kindest and interesting characters in the book. Janice, the social worker who is not only doing a job, but also is involved emotionally in the fate of her patients, is another relatable character keeping the reader a good company alongside the story. The other important character in the book, the brother, Henry, who last saw his sister as a little boy, seems less profiled and is not necessarily a coherent presence into the story.
As the story takes place mostly in the very far away past, in the 1930s and in the 1990s, the context and the ambiance are very important. The book is well placed in the then social and political realm which gives authenticity and a specific life zest to the story.
Anne Goodwin writes extensively about topics related to mental health and I am curious to read out more by her. Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a recommended read for anyone with an interest in such a sensitive and very painful social topic, seen from the perspective of a relatable kind story.
Disclaimer: Book offered part of a book blog tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
However, the book is not a nonfiction account of various mental health policies in England. It has a story and lively characters and also a pinch of humour which makes both the story and the characters widely relatable. The book reminded me a lot of old good English literature, with old ladies stuck in the past or/and forced to isolate by their families since their early youth due to some random morality and emotionally misunderstood issues.
Matilda Windsor, the once glamorous lady who is now rewinding over and over again her glamorous memories is one of the kindest and interesting characters in the book. Janice, the social worker who is not only doing a job, but also is involved emotionally in the fate of her patients, is another relatable character keeping the reader a good company alongside the story. The other important character in the book, the brother, Henry, who last saw his sister as a little boy, seems less profiled and is not necessarily a coherent presence into the story.
As the story takes place mostly in the very far away past, in the 1930s and in the 1990s, the context and the ambiance are very important. The book is well placed in the then social and political realm which gives authenticity and a specific life zest to the story.
Anne Goodwin writes extensively about topics related to mental health and I am curious to read out more by her. Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a recommended read for anyone with an interest in such a sensitive and very painful social topic, seen from the perspective of a relatable kind story.
Disclaimer: Book offered part of a book blog tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
June 11, 2021
Given the intrinsic gravity of the subject matter Anne Goodwin has done an impressive job of striking a balance between empathic sensitivity and some light hearted humour. The humour in no way dilutes or detracts from the heart of this novel which looks at the life of one woman incarcerated from early adulthood in a psychiatric institution. Indeed some humour is necessary for without it one’s anger would be hard to contain. Although there is still much more progress needed, attitudes to mental health have shifted in recent decades. Stories like these are essential to raise awareness and bring the tools for understanding to a wider consciousness, so that history is never allowed to repeat itself.
But the story isn’t just about dear, sweet Matty Windsor. It’s also about Henry, a demoted public servant and it’s also about Janice, an idealistic, yet practical social worker who became a social worker ‘Not for the paltry pay, not for professional prestige, but for the human connection with people who are otherwise hard to reach.‘ She’s a wonderful character, who wants to “give the dispossessed a voice.“ She is a cement of sorts linking both Henry and Matty within the narrative. The characterisations are astute and perceptive and you can’t fail to engage with all three of these seemingly different people. But maybe they have more in common than we are first led to believe. Identity, finding one’s place in the world, interacting and reacting, looking at cause-and-effect, motivation, are all crucial.
Henry is well-intentioned but there are times when you want to stick a firecracker up his posterior! But underlying it you know what eats away at him and has done for all his life and it will break your heart. His redemption towards the conclusion of the novel is uplifting.
But Matty, Matty........ The heart of this book and fueling something of a mystery within the tale, as bit by bit, her story unravels, from her first person perspective. And the horror of what has happened to her becomes searingly potent. The sense of injustice that has been served upon this poor woman just makes you want to protect her, nurture her and try to make everything all right for her. And as the institution she’s been resident in for the last 50 years is scheduled for closure Matty’s future seems precarious as she searches for her own closure. Matilda Windsor is coming home but what does home really mean?
It’s a bittersweet story. The research is impeccable but I understand that much of what occurs is from firsthand experience. And indeed some of the bureaucracy and local government protocols will be all too familiar to many readers. It’s depicted here so accurately. However what occurred between the four walls of an asylum may not be so familiar. It’s a story that needs to be told. Lessons need to be learned. Fiction can do that. It can entertain and it can educate. And when the fusion of the two work well together a book can leave a lasting impression on you. And so you’ll be thinking about Matty Windsor long after you turn the last page of this story. And I doubt you’ll ever consider jelly babies in the same way again!
But the story isn’t just about dear, sweet Matty Windsor. It’s also about Henry, a demoted public servant and it’s also about Janice, an idealistic, yet practical social worker who became a social worker ‘Not for the paltry pay, not for professional prestige, but for the human connection with people who are otherwise hard to reach.‘ She’s a wonderful character, who wants to “give the dispossessed a voice.“ She is a cement of sorts linking both Henry and Matty within the narrative. The characterisations are astute and perceptive and you can’t fail to engage with all three of these seemingly different people. But maybe they have more in common than we are first led to believe. Identity, finding one’s place in the world, interacting and reacting, looking at cause-and-effect, motivation, are all crucial.
Henry is well-intentioned but there are times when you want to stick a firecracker up his posterior! But underlying it you know what eats away at him and has done for all his life and it will break your heart. His redemption towards the conclusion of the novel is uplifting.
But Matty, Matty........ The heart of this book and fueling something of a mystery within the tale, as bit by bit, her story unravels, from her first person perspective. And the horror of what has happened to her becomes searingly potent. The sense of injustice that has been served upon this poor woman just makes you want to protect her, nurture her and try to make everything all right for her. And as the institution she’s been resident in for the last 50 years is scheduled for closure Matty’s future seems precarious as she searches for her own closure. Matilda Windsor is coming home but what does home really mean?
It’s a bittersweet story. The research is impeccable but I understand that much of what occurs is from firsthand experience. And indeed some of the bureaucracy and local government protocols will be all too familiar to many readers. It’s depicted here so accurately. However what occurred between the four walls of an asylum may not be so familiar. It’s a story that needs to be told. Lessons need to be learned. Fiction can do that. It can entertain and it can educate. And when the fusion of the two work well together a book can leave a lasting impression on you. And so you’ll be thinking about Matty Windsor long after you turn the last page of this story. And I doubt you’ll ever consider jelly babies in the same way again!
November 8, 2021
Taking three stories and entwining them can be a challenge not just for an author but also for a reader. While at times I needed to slow my read, mostly I was able to keep track of everyone. And there is a lot going on to keep track of.
As an asylum is on the cusp of closure, residents, staff and the community are each trying to deal with the repercussions. This book also deals with a jumble of assorted mental health issues from the client, society and provider viewpoints. Frankly how this author kept everything straight was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out Matilda’s world and how it related to the other stories. Matilda’s (or Tilly) is living in the real world as well as various versions she keeps alive in her mind, either factual or not.
You can read it for the surface subjects that are very apparent or you can dig a little deeper into what makes each of these characters not only live but keep them moving and changing.
The only downside is there is quite a bit left hanging at the end of the book. I were have preferred to have at least something with closure for my own satisfaction.
As an asylum is on the cusp of closure, residents, staff and the community are each trying to deal with the repercussions. This book also deals with a jumble of assorted mental health issues from the client, society and provider viewpoints. Frankly how this author kept everything straight was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out Matilda’s world and how it related to the other stories. Matilda’s (or Tilly) is living in the real world as well as various versions she keeps alive in her mind, either factual or not.
You can read it for the surface subjects that are very apparent or you can dig a little deeper into what makes each of these characters not only live but keep them moving and changing.
The only downside is there is quite a bit left hanging at the end of the book. I were have preferred to have at least something with closure for my own satisfaction.
August 29, 2021
This book is narrated by three points of view:
Janice – a young social worker who wants to use her job to set the world to rights.
Henry – a man nearing sixty years old who has put his life on hold awaiting the return of his sister, who left when he was a young boy.
Matty – a woman in her seventies who loves her recitals but must also put up with the life in Tuke House.
Some of the secrets of the old asylums are revealed and the heart-breaking truth of how some of the patients’ lives were destroyed due to the difference in mental health care in these times.
Will Janice achieve her mission?
Will Henry find his sister?
What will Matty think of all the changes going on around her?
I enjoyed reading this book although the subject matter is really tough and serious, but mental health is an important issue and close to my heart.
This book highlights the changes in mental health care over the years, but also points out the stigma that still is around in society today.
I fell in love with Matty’s character, the more you hear from her the more you want to listen to her story and what she says. Although some of the comments do make you smile.
Overall, an emotional and heart-warming book which delves into the changes of mental health care over the years.
Janice – a young social worker who wants to use her job to set the world to rights.
Henry – a man nearing sixty years old who has put his life on hold awaiting the return of his sister, who left when he was a young boy.
Matty – a woman in her seventies who loves her recitals but must also put up with the life in Tuke House.
Some of the secrets of the old asylums are revealed and the heart-breaking truth of how some of the patients’ lives were destroyed due to the difference in mental health care in these times.
Will Janice achieve her mission?
Will Henry find his sister?
What will Matty think of all the changes going on around her?
I enjoyed reading this book although the subject matter is really tough and serious, but mental health is an important issue and close to my heart.
This book highlights the changes in mental health care over the years, but also points out the stigma that still is around in society today.
I fell in love with Matty’s character, the more you hear from her the more you want to listen to her story and what she says. Although some of the comments do make you smile.
Overall, an emotional and heart-warming book which delves into the changes of mental health care over the years.
October 11, 2021
This is an extremely amazing read three characters perspectives. It makes you think how our actions, choices and decisions shape our future. Reading about deep topics is always a tough one but when you see the story unfold and the positives that rise from the darkest devastations this is what makes this book so special.
I loved the age it was written, I loved the style and how the author linked the family secrets. The characters were extremely likeable and I wasn’t always sure who I preferred I don’t think there was one favourite during this. The style of read is one where you need to read a big chunk at a time.
The author does an incredible job at twisting and turning your emotions in different directions. I smiled, I laughed but also wanted to sob at the same time.
I don’t think I’ve read a book which situates around mental health and institutions and have an insight to how they work and who gets involved during that time. So this was an incredible one to really take on.
Would definitely recommend this.
I loved the age it was written, I loved the style and how the author linked the family secrets. The characters were extremely likeable and I wasn’t always sure who I preferred I don’t think there was one favourite during this. The style of read is one where you need to read a big chunk at a time.
The author does an incredible job at twisting and turning your emotions in different directions. I smiled, I laughed but also wanted to sob at the same time.
I don’t think I’ve read a book which situates around mental health and institutions and have an insight to how they work and who gets involved during that time. So this was an incredible one to really take on.
Would definitely recommend this.
June 17, 2021
Matilda is a grande dame of drama, an woman with connections and also one who has lived for many decades behind the closed doors of a facility for the mentally ill. A small number of them are long-term residents., which means they fall to the side of the facility they live.
Henry is a man who lives in the past and wants to find the sister who disappeared when he was a young child. He doesn't understand why she didn't keep her promise to come back to him. Others in his small orbit tell him to get on with his own life and forget all about the woman who never returned.
This is tragic, perhaps more so because it's fiction with root in facts and reality. Although the story of Matilda is set in the early 20th century, what she experiences is a crime that has been committed against women and girls for many centuries.
Lack of understanding at the biological functions of the female body and the possibly ensuing psychological and physical medical conditions, would result in them being deemed mentally unstable and retired to a hospital or lunatic asylum. If you wanted rid of your pesky wife then having them declared insane and locked away was a frequent solution. Any person of either gender who didn't conform to the norm or was classed as what we would now term as having additional needs would suffer similar fates. The patriarchal society used the powerlessness of the opposite gender to commit legal crimes against them.
Imagine spending half a century locked away for essentially being a victim and speaking your truth. In a place that eventually turns you into the unstable liability everyone says you are. Imagine being forgotten in an uncaring system with loopholes bigger than Swiss cheese.
It's an intricately drawn picture of a tragic family story. A series of mishaps shows the vast nature of surroundings, despite the fact it also speaks to the six degrees of separation that exists between us all. From what I can gather this might just be the start of Miss Windsor's story. I'm not sure how I feel about that, because this is an excellent standalone read, and you can't spoil the integrity or experience of that, so a sequel will be interesting.
*I received a courtesy copy*
Henry is a man who lives in the past and wants to find the sister who disappeared when he was a young child. He doesn't understand why she didn't keep her promise to come back to him. Others in his small orbit tell him to get on with his own life and forget all about the woman who never returned.
This is tragic, perhaps more so because it's fiction with root in facts and reality. Although the story of Matilda is set in the early 20th century, what she experiences is a crime that has been committed against women and girls for many centuries.
Lack of understanding at the biological functions of the female body and the possibly ensuing psychological and physical medical conditions, would result in them being deemed mentally unstable and retired to a hospital or lunatic asylum. If you wanted rid of your pesky wife then having them declared insane and locked away was a frequent solution. Any person of either gender who didn't conform to the norm or was classed as what we would now term as having additional needs would suffer similar fates. The patriarchal society used the powerlessness of the opposite gender to commit legal crimes against them.
Imagine spending half a century locked away for essentially being a victim and speaking your truth. In a place that eventually turns you into the unstable liability everyone says you are. Imagine being forgotten in an uncaring system with loopholes bigger than Swiss cheese.
It's an intricately drawn picture of a tragic family story. A series of mishaps shows the vast nature of surroundings, despite the fact it also speaks to the six degrees of separation that exists between us all. From what I can gather this might just be the start of Miss Windsor's story. I'm not sure how I feel about that, because this is an excellent standalone read, and you can't spoil the integrity or experience of that, so a sequel will be interesting.
*I received a courtesy copy*
October 10, 2021
Matilda Windsor is coming home by Anne Goodwin.
In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.
Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.
As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty’s burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.
Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.
A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?
In this, her third novel, Anne Goodwin has drawn on the language and landscapes of her native Cumbria and on the culture of long-stay psychiatric hospitals where she began her clinical psychology career.
This was an interesting read. Good story and characters. I did enjoy this book. This was very well written. 5*.
In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.
Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.
As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty’s burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.
Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.
A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?
In this, her third novel, Anne Goodwin has drawn on the language and landscapes of her native Cumbria and on the culture of long-stay psychiatric hospitals where she began her clinical psychology career.
This was an interesting read. Good story and characters. I did enjoy this book. This was very well written. 5*.
December 30, 2021
Quite some tale…
Matty, or Tilly or Matilda has one heck of a life, a lot of it lived inside her head. To her it’s both colourful and cruel. Confusing too. For Henry it’s confusing and cruel, with no leavening of colour.
This is a hard read with a dusting of humour. The system that trapped and held Matty is as monstrous as it is believable. But Matty’s ability to frame her life as one of a long suffering aristocrat helping make do during the War allows the reader at least the illusion that, for her, her life is almost peaceful.
The story takes us from the 1930s to the 1990s and back. It’s a clear structure though on each occasion I sort of begrudged the jump, so immersed was i in the timeline I was leaving. Credit to the writer for achieving that response!
If I lacked one piece as the stories unfolded, it was how Matty’s mental state changed over time. It had to be gradual and not the subject of this book which juxtaposed her before and after. Without this there is a sense of some sort of dramatic collapse somewhere in the intervening period. I suspect that to be my failing as the reader…
Overall a most engaging read
Matty, or Tilly or Matilda has one heck of a life, a lot of it lived inside her head. To her it’s both colourful and cruel. Confusing too. For Henry it’s confusing and cruel, with no leavening of colour.
This is a hard read with a dusting of humour. The system that trapped and held Matty is as monstrous as it is believable. But Matty’s ability to frame her life as one of a long suffering aristocrat helping make do during the War allows the reader at least the illusion that, for her, her life is almost peaceful.
The story takes us from the 1930s to the 1990s and back. It’s a clear structure though on each occasion I sort of begrudged the jump, so immersed was i in the timeline I was leaving. Credit to the writer for achieving that response!
If I lacked one piece as the stories unfolded, it was how Matty’s mental state changed over time. It had to be gradual and not the subject of this book which juxtaposed her before and after. Without this there is a sense of some sort of dramatic collapse somewhere in the intervening period. I suspect that to be my failing as the reader…
Overall a most engaging read
October 11, 2021
I found this book to be a beautiful story of love and determination but also a sadly poignant reminder of the past. I loved the gentle humour of Matty and really felt for Henry as his whole life has revolved around the loss of his sister.
Written in a sympathetic way, Anne Goodwin has brought these characters to life and has created a perfect balance between the now unbelievable reasoning for institutionalising a person and the care of people around them.
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is the first book I’ve read by Anne Goodwin and I am so pleased I did. I can only hope there is a second as I would love to know more about this beautiful lady who is Matilda.
Written in a sympathetic way, Anne Goodwin has brought these characters to life and has created a perfect balance between the now unbelievable reasoning for institutionalising a person and the care of people around them.
Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home is the first book I’ve read by Anne Goodwin and I am so pleased I did. I can only hope there is a second as I would love to know more about this beautiful lady who is Matilda.
May 26, 2021
This book will have you breaking your heart one minute and laughing out loud the next. If you've read and enjoyed Elizabeth Is Missing, you won't want to pass on Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home.
Matilda, (or Matty), is as strong and frail a protagonist as the indomitable Maud, with her own unique view on the tragic circumstances of her life and unfair incarceration. I'm still reeling from reading the closing chapters and think it'll take several pots of tea (without sugar) before I fully recover.
Oh, Matty...
Matilda, (or Matty), is as strong and frail a protagonist as the indomitable Maud, with her own unique view on the tragic circumstances of her life and unfair incarceration. I'm still reeling from reading the closing chapters and think it'll take several pots of tea (without sugar) before I fully recover.
Oh, Matty...
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