Patrick Gale has plenty of material that obviously has been painstakingly assembled surrounding one Charles Causley. The poet and his relationship with his laundress mother Laura is one that bridges two wars, the death of the father, and the fate of the son, who prefers his own gender. The book is ‘faction’, fact-based fiction, but woven so genuinely that you would think Gale was there during the time of the book. Subtle, well-paced, dramatic. One to savour. Well done Mr Gale!