the Mermaid and mrs hancock by imogen hermes gowar

1843 magazine 31 January 2018

Before Imogen Hermes Gowar was a writer, she worked at visitor services for the British Museum. There she came across a rare and hideous artefact, a mummified monkey stitched to the tail of a fish. Fascinated, she plunged into the story that became her first novel, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. Thanks to a feckless captain, Jonah Hancock -- a merchant -- loses a ship but finds himself apparently in possession of a mermaid. Gowar wickedly evokes the brothels and coffee shops of Georgian London, abuzz with talk of this extraordinary creature. The impeccable period detail is brought to life by the sheer joy of Gowar’s prose in this bawdy, witty tale. And she has particular fun with Angelica Neal, a spoilt, spirited and highly accomplished courtesan. Like all the best historical romps, this is a novel about appetite – for fame, money and better sex. Beneath the brio, Gowar is shrewd about the motivations of her self-interested cast. The result is a debut as appetising as the jars of sugar plums which seduce its heroine from a confectioner’s window

This review first appeared in the Economist’s 1843 magazine