In Review

21 November 2008 16:23 BST

Shire Hell by Rachel Johnson

Published by Penguin, out now, 307pp, £6.99.

In a nutshell...

Insider's take on the countryside's super rich.

What's it all about?

Shire Hell is the follow-up to Notting Hell, Rachel Johnson's novel about life in west London's seriously trendy and wealthy Notting Hill. In the first book readers saw Mimi, her husband Ralph and their three children ensconced in their London lifestyles but Shire Hell picks up after their move to the Dorset countryside.

Rather than the laid-back, rustic idyll, life in the south-west county is as competitive as London but in a different way: how many acres your land has; how good riders your family are; whether you run your own farm shop; and how close to the pages of Country Living your house looks like.

While Mimi and Ralph deal with surprise news, her new best friend Rose is becoming increasingly frustrated with her husband and increasingly keen on handsome eco warrior Jesse.

Californian-turned-aristo Cath's sickeningly perfect life, disputes over a planned wind turbine and village secrets add to the naughty (watch out for the odd cringeworthy sex scene) but ultimately rather nice tale of country life.

Who's it by?

Rachel Johnson is a newspaper columnist and journalist for the Sunday Times and is perfectly placed to spill the beans on life in the super-rich lane, having both homes in Notting Hill and Somerset.

As an example...

Mimi on the trials of going to dinner parties in the country:

"We drive for hours in rain like stair-rods and then drink like fish to get through it, and plough our way through soggy quiche followed by damp apple tart with cries of 'You are clever, what wonderful pastry' (no way of staying carb-free let alone carbon neutral in the countryside) and stay at least four hours, three of which are consumed with conversation about hunting or who's not speaking to whom or the reclassification of roads used as public footpaths."

What the others say

"There are some choice phrases — 'atrophy wives' is one — and a tight accuracy to the observations, which are all very current (it's David and Samantha this, Daylesford Organic that); so, presumably the underscoring bitchiness ('I know that telling Clare I might be pregnant is perhaps inadvisable given her ten-year struggle to conceive but I simply can't resist it') that makes you so pleased not to be part of it is all true as well." - Daily Mail

"Johnson writes fluidly and has a sharp ear for dialogue, especially for the ghastly patois of English children, whose every sentence is prefaced with "like" and invariably delivered to their parents in tones of resentment. She also has a keen eye for detail – whether she's describing a toile de jouy curtain lined with cashmere, the latest spelt-based spa therapy or a gluten-free polenta cranberry shortbread, she's bang on, every time." - Scotsman

So is it any good?

Witty, warm and funny, Shire Hell has its laugh-out-loud moments and is a real eye-opener for people without the millions in the bank and the connections to live the lifestyles Johnson depicts – ie the vast majority of people.

Johnson isn't a patch on Jilly Cooper or even Wendy Holden and Shire Hell could leave some readers longing for a character who isn't a stereotype of the aristocracy/bored housewife/eastern European nanny – any non-country folk reading the book would be forgiven for thinking the entire countryside is teeming with seriously wealthy, well-connected, semi-famous people.

But Shire Hell is a fun take on life outside of London and its release is timed perfectly for the search for easy-reading summer holiday books.

8/10

Rachel Johnson