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Mr Mac and Me

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About this listen

It is 1914, and Thomas Maggs lives with his parents on the Suffolk coast. Life is quiet, shaped by the seasons. Then one day a mysterious Scotsman arrives, looking for all the world like Sherlock Holmes. Mac is what the locals call him as they whisper.

But Mac isn’t a detective; he’s the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and together with his red-haired artist wife, he soon becomes a source of fascination and wonder to Thomas.

©2014 Esther Freud (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Detective

Critic reviews

"An elegiac novel of art, war and friendship." ( Sunday Telegraph)
"It's undoubtedly her most accomplished novel yet. Freud is a modern literary rarity: a born storyteller." ( The Times)
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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Mr Mac and Me, I have had an interest in CRM for many years and I have also had many wonderful family holidays at Walberswick so this story was ideal for me. The narration took me straight back to the village by the sea as if I were wandering the lanes or dunes. Using the boy's memories of the stories he'd been told was a clever way to inform the reader of the area's history, CRM's plight and just the lives of Suffolk folk at that time. The narrator gave characters different voices without being silly and his Suffolk accent was spot on although Happisburgh was pronounced incorrectly but that's forgivable ( it should be haysbrah). A charming and clever book which I would certainly recommend especially if you have connections with Walberswick.

Charming story beautifully read

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We were holidaying in the Southwold/Walberswick area and this story was the perfect accompaniment. Told from the boy’s point of view as he went about his daily life just as WWII broke out - his school life, working to earn a few pence, and the friendship he developed with Mackintosh. The story was entertaining, and gave a fictional glimpse into how Mackintosh may have spent time in Walberswick. We very much enjoyed this.

Lovely story

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