Maureen Fry and the Angel of the North: From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, 3)

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THE AUTHOR: Rachel Joyce has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4, and major adaptations for both the Classic Series, Woman's Hour and also a TV drama adaptation for BBC 2. In 2007 she won the Tinniswood Award for best radio play. She moved to writing after a twenty-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, The Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl, winning a Time Out Best Actress award and the Sony Silver. She lives with her family in Gloucestershire. I admire Rachel Joyce's writing and how she creates living, breathing characters. Readers who loved her books about Harold and Queenie will want to read this one, also. Maureen is written as a novella and is about Harold's wife. I don't believe it can be read without benefit of having read at least one of the earlier books. ABOUT 'MAUREEN FRY AND THE ANGEL OF THE NORTH': Ten years ago, Harold Fry set off on his epic journey on foot to save a friend. But the story doesn't end there. Now his wife, Maureen, has her own pilgrimage to make. A few years have passed since Harold’s trek to see Queenie at the hospice, and since we heard Queenie’s story before she passed. AND-I also love what the author shared in the opening prologue-that once she turned in the final draft for this book-she went into her garden, and imagined a new set of characters and questions who had been “politely standing out of view”-ready to talk to her, when she was ready.

She gets lost early because of roadworks and asks a man for help. He gets out his phone and asks about her satnav – she doesn’t use it. She’s learned to do online shopping because of the pandemic, but she’s not comfortable with it. But she’s trying to learn to be kind, make a nice comment even when unnecessary. She has seen herself (as well as her mother) and vows to do better. Maureen Fry is an emotionally damaged woman who is grieving for David, her son who died many years earlier. The third book of the Harold Fry trilogy revolves around Maureen, Harold's wife. The trilogy started when Harold went on a pilgrimage to visit his friend, Queenie, in a hospice. Years earlier, Queenie had made a memorial garden by the sea using found objects washed up by the ocean in combination with greenery and flowers. One part of the garden was dedicated to David Fry because Queenie regretted that she was unable to help the young man who committed suicide. The main difference in this book from the other two is the length. This is a novella and although I thoroughly enjoyed this read, it did feel noticeably short. I wanted as much of Maureen as the author wrote of both Harold and Queenie. With that said, what was written about Maureen was both revealing and satisfying. Maureen has never forgiven herself that she did not see how deeply troubled David was before he took his own life. She makes a journey by car to northern England to visit Queenie's garden which is now maintained by volunteers, and has no idea of how she will react emotionally. Maureen is a difficult woman who always found it challenging to relate to other people, but her journey is one of forgiveness and hope for the future.When Harold gets a note from one of the new friends he made along his way which says she read that Queenie had made a garden with “a monument to your son”, Maureen knows she wants to see it. Harold tells her she must go. She must, to see what this garden has to do with David. Joyce treats the reader to a wealth of beautiful descriptive prose: “Maureen drove below snatches of sky where sunlight glinted on the road, steel blue, spun gold, as rich as the glances off a crow’s wing” and “Ahead, the skin of the sea heaved and waves rolled out of the dark” and “the kitchen was covered with Post-it notes, like small yellow alarm signals” are examples. This is a fitting and deeply moving end to the trilogy of Harold Fry. A portrait of a woman adrift in grief, it is as fragile as a songbird and just as beautiful. Sarah Winman Joyce gives her characters insightful observations: “a person could be trapped in a version of themselves that was from another time, and completely miss the happiness that was staring them in the face” in this novella filled with humour and heartache, wit and wisdom. The illustrations by Andrew Davidson at the start of each chapter add charm. Short, beautifully written: a joy to read.

This book was beautifully written, as are all the books in this series. I think it would be most helpful to read the other two books in the series before reading this one, as the context is important to the story.It was difficult to read in places, but I liked the growth Maureen experienced in the novel. Unlike her husband Harold who made friends along the way in his journey, Maureen finds it difficult to be kind to people and bristles at interactions with others. Hers is a very different quest from Harold’s, and her private nature makes it hard for her to ask for or accept help. Having a car means she can retreat, be on her way, take her leave without needing anyone. Now it's ten years later, and time to hear from Maureen, Harold's wife. She's about to take a journey of her own and, in the mix, gives her perspective of all that's happened before and after Harold's journey to visit Queenie.

After retirement, Queenie had settled in a small home in northern England. She liked gardening and poured all of her energies into forming a beautiful garden. After Queenie's death, it became a community memorial garden bearing homage to people's loved ones. Maureen is interested in visiting it to see a driftwood marker dedicated to David, Maureen and Harold's son. She’s off to see Queenie’s garden where there are tributes left for people… one of them in her garden is left there for Harold and Maureen’s son David who died by suicide.

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Rachel Joyce has a genius for creating the most damaged and difficult character and making us care deeply about their redemption. Maureen Fry and the Angel of the Northis a powerful finale to her classic trilogy of heartbreak and healing.’ Clare Chambers