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    Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars: A Novel
    Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars: A Novel
    Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars: A Novel

    Written by Miranda Emmerson

    Narrated by Luci Christian Bell

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In this sparkling debut novel imbued with the rich intrigue of Kate Atkinson’s literary mysteries and the spirited heart of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, a disparate group of Londoners plunge into a search for a missing American actress.

    In the dreary days of November 1965, American actress Iolanthe Green has become the toast of the West End. Charismatic, mysterious, and beautiful, she brings color and a sprinkling of glamour to the scuffed boards of Soho’s Galaxy Theatre. But one evening, after another rapturously received performance, Iolanthe walks through the stage door, out into the cold London night, and vanishes.

    All of London is riveted as Fleet Street speculates about the missing actress’s fate. But as time passes and the case grows colder, the public’s interest turns to the unfolding Moors Murders and erupting political scandals. Only Anna Treadway, Iolanthe’s dresser at the Galaxy, still cares. A young woman of dogged determination with a few dark secrets of her own, she is determined to solve the mystery of the missing actress.

    A disparate band of London émigrés—an Irish policeman, a Turkish coffee-house owner and his rebellious daughter, and a literature-loving Jamaican accountant—joins Anna in her quest, an odyssey that leads them into a netherworld of jazz clubs, backstreet doctors, police brutality, and seaside ghost towns. Each of these unusual sleuths has come to London to escape the past and forge a new future. Yet as they draw closer to uncovering the truth of Iolanthe’s disappearance, they may have to face the truth about themselves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 28, 2017
    ISBN9780062676542
    Author

    Miranda Emmerson

    Miranda Emmerson is a playwright and author living in Wales. She has written numerous drama adaptations for BBC Radio 4 as well as highly-acclaimed original dramas. Miss Treadway & The Field of Stars is her first novel.

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    Reviews for Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars

    3.5/5

    30 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Set in London during late 1965, Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson is mystery about an American actress who disappears after her performance at a local theater.

      When Iolanthe "Lanny" Green fails to show up for work Monday afternoon, her dresser, Anna Treadway, is concerned but she is certain Lanny is just running late. However, when she misses the next day's performance as well, she is reported missing and the local newspapers run with story. Detective Sergeant Barnaby Hayes is assigned to the investigation but he is making little headway as he searches clues that will help him locate the missing actress. When public interest wanes, Anna takes it upon herself to do a little amateur sleuthing on her own and she finds some very interesting details about Lanny but will the information she uncovers help her find the missing woman?

      The investigation into Lanny's disappearance is interesting and takes some very unexpected twists and turns. Unfortunately, the bulk of the storyline is not focused on the mystery surrounding the missing woman. Readers are instead introduced to a number of people whom Anna either already knows or she meets during her search for Lanny. DS Hayes is the only person in an official capacity trying to find Lanny and even he is facing prejudice from the people he works with. The unfolding story is a little convoluted and disjointed and feels more like social commentary for the diverse characters who are involved in the search for the actress. Each of the characters' issues are interesting and thought-provoking but the mystery element of the story quickly feels like an afterthought.

      Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson is a fascinating peek into lives of an eclectic and diverse set of characters in London during the mid 1960s. The mystery surrounding Lanny's disappearance is quite intriguing and all of the loose ends about what happened to the actress are completely wrapped up by the novel's conclusion.
    • 5/5
      While it took me a little while to get into this story, by halfway through the book I couldn't put the book down. It wasn't what I expected, but that's okay because Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is more literary and substantial than I thought it would be. It sounds like a mystery, and along the way a lot is revealed, but it’s more about the people in the story rather than a crime that needs solving. Characters are one of its strengths and they include Anna with her secrets, an Irish police officer trying to appear British and his unhappy wife, the Turkish family who run the restaurant Anna lives above, and a black Jamaican accountant who wants to fit in. It’s set in 1965 so there are references to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Carnaby Street, but it’s not a lighthearted swinging sixties story. Instead it explores themes like racism, classism, immigration, and repression. The writing is atmospheric and full of mood-setting description that's lush and gritty, heartwarming and heartbreaking. I read an advanced review copy of this book supplied to me at no cost and with no obligation by the publisher. Review opinions are mine.
    • 3/5
      This book turned out to be not what I was expecting at all. I think I had in mind a jolly 60s caper (partly because of the lovely cover) and what I actually got was a serious story about racism and family problems amongst other things.There's a lot going on in this story and quite a few different strands. The disappearance of Iolanthe Green, the missing actress, is what the story revolves around and yet in a way the focus was on everybody but her. We meet policeman Barnaby Hayes and he features a fair amount in the story, but I was left wondering what the point of him being such a main character was, and the conclusion to his story was sadly lacking.The ending was extremely abrupt and I kept pressing the button on my Kindle thinking that there must be more. I couldn't even remember who the final character mentioned was and had to go back and search through the book. Even then, I'm not sure what the relevance of mentioning them was.I liked many aspects of this book. I liked Anna Treadway and I particularly liked her gentle and kind friend, Aloysius. Theirs were the sections of the story that stood out for me. Whilst there isn't a major 60s feel to it, I did enjoy reading about the places that they visited whilst searching for Iolanthe. I thought the prejudices of the period were portrayed quite well and there were some sections that were very uncomfortable and shocking to read.This is a hard book for me to review. I did feel that all the strands didn't quite come together. The author is a lovely writer but maybe the level of detail and the number of characters was too much for me. I do think the book will be a success though and Miranda Emmerson has a fine way with words.
    • 4/5
      In 1960s London, Iolanthe walks out of the theatre where she is starring and disappears. Anna Treadway wants to find the woman she was working for as a dresser. Noone is quite who they seem to be on this compelling story, but I cared about all the characters. I liked how the author writes about assumptions, migration and discrimination (without losing sight of the story). This is not a whitewashed picture of Swinging London in the 1960s (though the fab four do get a nod)." By Stockwell...Anna and Aloysius fell again to comparing books they’d read and books they’d loved. Brave New World: Aloysius but not Anna. 1984: them both, though Anna honestly hadn’t ever loved Orwell. Brighton Rock: Aloysius hadn’t read any Graham Greene but yes, of course he meant to. Evelyn Waugh: Anna liked A Handful of Dust because it was human, Aloysius preferred Decline and Fall because the comedy was better. Then Anna pretended to have read Bleak House and Aloysius pretended to have finished Dombey and Son. Then they agreed that Shirley was a better novel than most people thought but only in the first half. They couldn’t agree on Austen and Aloysius found himself slightly embarrassed at being the one to champion her so they dropped it and both pretended to have read Tom Jones instead."