Lot's Wife - Softcover

Tom Wakefield was born of a mining family in the Midlands. His previous books include a collection of short stories, Drifters, novels, Mates, The Discus Throwers and The Variety Artistes, and a childhood autobiography, Forties' Child, also published by Serpent's Tail. Tom Wakefield died in 1997.

Marked annoyance with ageism and a touch of earthiness steer Wakefield's ( The Variety Artistes ) warm, humorous tale of love and revolt in a retirement home safely clear of sentimentality. Henry Checket and Peggy Thurston balk at playing along nicely in activities such as ``Reminiscence Therapy'' and potato block printing (``bloody waste of good food,'' grumbles Peggy). But such behavior sits ill with Mrs. Fairhurst, the supervisor and driving power of Restmore Haven, who tries to have her septuagenarian rebels shipped out to a psycho-geriatric ward. They respond by joining forces: they'll get married. Mrs. Fairhurst, contemplating the ``nitty gritty'' side of marriage, is appalled. Yet Henry and Peggy build a generous and affectionate relationship in which present and past intermingle. Henry occasionally confuses Peggy with his memories of Charlie, a lover from his youth, and when Peggy thinks she's chatting with Larry, her longtime lesbian friend and companion, Henry kindly assumes that role. And as the story develops it becomes clear that indomitable Mrs. Fairhurst has created a fantasy world more elaborate than that of any of her charges.

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.