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Shire Hell | 
 enlarge | Author: Rachel Johnson
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £0.64
You Save: £6.35 (91%)
New (27) Used (17) from £0.64
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 26999
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0141035692
EAN: 9780141035697
ASIN: 0141035692
Publication Date: May 15, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Not so impressed October 4, 2008
Mr. C. G. Leggatt
The Sloane Ranger died a death of many blows - sadly - including self-inflicted wounds from the family black sheep: "Hooray Henry." What a pity, therefore, that Rachel Johnson here brings "Hooray Henry/Henrietta" back to life (if with brains) in her cast of amoral, smug, super self-confident, brittle, insincere characters who are all strangers to true self-doubt (or any degree of niceness, despite the old solipsistic boo-hoo in the larder). Anything and everything louche - especially adultery - is of little import to them.
Furthermore, SHIRE HELL is peppered with construction faults that would surely have had the manuscript, if penned by an unknown name, consigned from Slush Pile to WPB faster than one can say: "Mayor of London/newspaper columnist." Is it not an absolute rule that all characters in commercial fiction must be cast with an individual voice? Here, Mimi and Rose are almost interchangeable. Equally, are not false scents only allowable if, ultimately, they have a contribution to make to the overall intrigue or forward movement of the plot? So why did the author note Jesse Marlon's preference for sex by the back door, rather than the front? What did that achieve or lead to? And the departure of the Au Pair to be replaced by an Australian hunk (sketched nigh invisibly)? What insight did that offer? Oh! thinking of insights - what was the relevance to the plot of the Hedge Fund Manager deciding to train in Psychotherapy? Was he anticipating the Credit Crunch, perhaps? Yes/No? Whatever; it came to naught.
Still, the seemingly endless references to Boden and Cath Kidson must have made their marketing people purr with pleasure. Not me.
 Plus ça change ... September 11, 2008
Ralph Blumenau (London United Kingdom)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mimi and Ralph Fleming have sold their house in Notting Hill and moved to Honeyborne in West Dorset. The population of that village is made up of a few people - gentry and lesser folk - who have lived there for ages and of a number of wealthy newcomers. The latter in particular bring with them all the competitive attempts at one-upmanship that characterized them in Town; and Mimi, ever fashion-conscious, now has to learn what is fashionable in the countryside. There is a lot about horses and horsy women, and a nice extended set-piece description of a country house shooting party.
Rachel Johnson ploughs much the same furrow as she did in her previous novel, Notting Hell. If you were amused by the recounting of what is chic in Notting Hill, you will be amused by this novel also; but if, like me, you wearied a little of this relentlessly sustained theme by the time you came to the end of the former book (see my review), your heart may sink a little at more of the same here. In Notting Hell there were some hilarious situations which made me laugh; but in this book, though it has some intricate plotting, the comedy of manners is not matched - at least in my opinion - by comic situations. It seemed to me that the author was for long stretches somewhat on autopilot. As in the last book, we have alternating female narratives: one by Mimi and the other by Rose, the only companionable friend and confidant Mimi has been able to make in Honeyborne. The situations are similar also: in Notting Hell a wealthy American outraged the other residents of the garden square by erecting an intrusive `garage'; in Shire Hell a (somewhat) impoverished local landowner plans to erect a huge wind-turbine on a beautiful hill-top, for which he will collect a handsome sum from an electricity company. There are the same erotically-described infidelities, though in the countryside this is apparently so natural that it is not a subject for gossip and side-taking as it was in Notting Hill, and husbands have to put up with it because, apparently, divorce puts you out of the loop in the countryside. Clare, whose narrative had alternated with Mimi's in Notting Hell, makes her appearance and towards the end fruitfully ties the two books together. Just how fruitfully emerges at the very end; but, in between, Rachel Johnson inserts a sensational revelation which, contrary to the notion that in a village community everyone knows what everyone else has been up without that being a subject of gossip, does create a buzz.
Mimi is involved in one heart-felt situation, and in the end I did rather like her.
Maybe I missed something... July 22, 2008
Lady V (London)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'd never read any of Rachel's books, but fancied something easy to read that would conjure up lovely countryside images - the concept of a blanket and cup of cocoa in a book. I don't know if I missed something, but I really didn't get that from this book. I found it confusing to switch between Mimi and Rose from chapter to chapter, I honestly didn't see much of a story emerging.....it was a teensy bit dull really!
 A Slice of the Good Life July 7, 2008
Emma Goss-custard (Dorset, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having raced through Notting Hell & loved every juicy minute of it, I was really chuffed to discover Shire Hell in WhSmiths, Waterloo.I had no idea it was out & what a luscious paperback to devour on the train back to Sherborne...Dorset.It was ace to be reunited with Mimi's quirky, eclectic wardrobe & to discover how she was coping with Latte withdrawal having moved from Notting Hill to Honeybourne.I love the "unsaids" that simmer beneath the highly competetive surface-the ongoing commentaries on how people fit into the county food chain.
Lots of things resonated with me on a personal level.From the designer sausages sold in the uber chic farm shop to the mega fierce pony club committee types - it was all proving majorly familar. My husband, Matt & I moved from glossy Guidford to deepest darkest Dorset 5 yeas ago. I can clearly remember the panic on learning that the nearest Caffe Nero was 20 miles away...gumpf! I can also remember being told we'd have to swap our car- only a moderatley flashy black sporty number, for a mud splattered "Disco" (Some kind of landy- rovey thing) if we wanted to fit in.Naturally, we asked ourselves if we did actually want to fit in, or would it be wiser to leg it back to Surrey?
Shire Hell, as well as being a witty & fabulously engaging romp also works as a "Rough (and posh) Guide" to Dorset.
We had great fun wondering if the "eco villagers" described were based in any way on an alternative tribe of Tinkers living in Somerset ( or Domerset- ie right on the border).
My ego was also stroked when early into the novel our little bakery, "Honeybuns" was given a name check! How exciterous! Rachel Johnson has obviously observed Dorset's quirks & foibles at close quarters & had a great laugh puting it all to paper. It's all here- from the dusty aristos to the designer foodies and Boden clad equine "Hauhty haws".(Difficult to phonetically capture howthey do speak).
A highly recommended read. My only fear is that the hidden gem that Dorset is will now become more popular & morph into a wannabe Cirencester. Thank God we haven't got Jack Wills in Sherborne...yet!
Shire giggles June 19, 2008
Henrietta Black (London)
I adore Rachel Johnson -she is a witty and intelligent writer. The characters are spot on and as a West London and Dorset home owner they made me weep and wince at times. This is the sort of book you want to read in a Diptyque candle lit bath or snuggle up under White Company fresh linen with a bar of Green and Blacks. A gorgeous girly indulgence. But I think the story loses the thread at times- expect brilliant characters but not an edge of your seat plot.
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