His Mistress’s Voice

In her tenth and most powerful novel to date, Gillian Freeman vividly recreates the London theatre world of Victorian England and counterpoises this life of frivolity and artifice with the position of Jews - both rich and poor - in the wider society. ‘Jews! Murderers! Killers of Christ!’ There was no problem of interpretation. A small group of men and women, sombre in black, children amongst them, shouted abuse as the immigrants were jostled towards the gates, still being harried for their custom… Victorian England: Simon, a young Jewish widower with a small son emigrated from Warsaw to London’s East End, staying with his sister and her family until he takes up the position of cantor at a smart Reform synagogue off Lower Regent Street. His liaison with Phoebe Fenelle, a leading actress of the day, leads to dire consequences for her husband, a major in the Royal Household Cavalry - or does it?