A ROOFTOP VIEW
First in the Cornish chronicle of the Nankervis family.

Cover Photo: Dave Martin

A Review:-

A Rooftop View is the page-turning story of an artist, Matthew Sutton, whose experiences in the Second World War have haunted his mind and blunted his creative talent. Caught at an emotional crossroads, Matt accepts an offer to teach at a college of art. It is there that three students’ tangled lives weave a thread of circumstance and emotion into Matt’s own, which results in romance, tragedy and regret.

Set largely in Cornwall, a county with which author Jane Hatton has had a love affair since she was nine years old, this is a book whose chapters are much like the sea itself, sometimes calm, sometimes angry, but always with a wave of emotion rising to the surface.

The main character of Matt is well written and his relationship with Anona is filled with passion. Also, the characters of Jerry Nankervis, Helen, Giff, the dreadful Peachey and the dreaded Dot, are colourfully presented, their actions framing each other’s destinies and sealing their individual fates. A Rooftop View is an absorbing read by an author who paints a picture of an individual artist’s world, where the brush strokes are not always so soft.

Ben Gavan  

And for a second opinion…

Jane Hatton’s latest book is like a rich, dark fruit cake, currants and sultanas at every bite and the occasional cherry that brings you up with a jolt, then the sheer wickedness of the marzipan and icing. It is character-driven, the plot could not happen without the strengths and weaknesses and sheer quirks of the main protagonists, situations that seem settled and set in stone are completely changed by Murdochian ‘contingencies’. We are constantly reminded that however carefully we plan things, life’s banana skins will trip us up! It is how we deal with the contingencies that make the story. We are led inexorably to understand that to be alive must be enough.

If a book is about people, place and plot, then we have all three in A Rooftop View. I found it a riveting read and look forward to the next in the series.

Susan Sallis 

Read the First Chapterof this book

 Order A Rooftop View from any good bookshop or buy direct from Jane Hatton

ISBN 1-84294-107-0