When he wasn’t smoking cigars, winning wars and thinking up enough witticisms to keep gift book writers in business for decades, Winston Churchill was a rather introspective character and was prone to depression. Ever one to contribute to society, Churchill referred to his depressive episodes as his “having a black dog” [although, admittedly, he may have been inspired to this by Samuel Johnson] and thus a new phrase was gifted into the popular conscious. Now it stands to reason that if you give someone or something a nickname like that, then you must be fairly well acquainted with them [or, indeed, it] and so it’s no surprise that, upon waking typically early one morning in July 1964 to thoughts of his impending retirement, Churchill isn’t perturbed to discover a hulking, dark presence watching him with tortured concentration. It’s Mr Chartwell.

While Churchill is tucked up comfortably if not contentedly in his four-poster, in suburban London Esther Hammerhans is answering a knock on the door of her terraced house in Battersea. Esther was expecting the caller to be a gentleman who had expressed an interest in renting her spare room and so is mightily surprised to be confronted by the massive, furry visage of Mr Chartwell. Esther’s late husband had been very well acquainted with this particular malevolent black Labrador and it seems that Mr Chartwell is now hoping that he might lodge awhile with Easter. In her role as library clerk at the House of Commons, Esther is sent to assist Winston Churchill with the writing of his final speech to Parliament and the two come to recognise each other’s close association with Mr Chartwell.

Mr Chartwell, Rebecca Hunt’s highly unusual debut novel, is a truly unique story offering a bittersweet evocation of depression. While there are plenty of funny moments and even fair few heart-warming passages, the sense of menace that accompanies Mr Chartwell wherever he choices to visit is always hovering in the background. The gentle malevolence builds throughout the story as the true nature of depression is unleashed on the unsuspecting Esther and the weathered Churchill.

The three principal are all excellently drawn. There is a tragic fragility about Esther Hammerhans despite her stoical continuation of life and work following the death of her husband. The choices that she has to make and the way in which she veers backwards and forwards from mistrusting Mr Chartwell to needing his companionship rings tragically true. There’s also something delightfully quaint and English about the fact that she feels it would be impolite to question the fact that Mr Chartwell can talk and that he might be performing some kind of service for Winston Churchill. Churchill himself is an interesting mix of fact and fiction as Hunt has mixed real episodes from his life in with the fictional, fantastical aspects of the story. The descriptions of Churchill’s life and the characterisation of his wife Clementine are particularly well done, aided no doubt by the fact that they were quite extraordinary people who were well-suited to appearing in works of fiction. Perhaps fittingly Churchill gets most of the best dialogue.

While Esther and Churchill are great characters, it is Mr Chartwell who is Hunt’s real triumph. The device of having the famous “black dog” of depression being an actual dog who roams about the world preying on “certain specified individuals” could have fallen flat but actually works very well. The analogy of the Labrador works well here as, in the great tradition of “man’s best friend”, the attention that Mr Chartwell offers to Esther and to Churchill fights against their loneliness and his devotion to them is complete. However, while the depressive presence of Mr Chartwell can be seductive and almost fulfilling, his is still a menacing presence that ultimately weighs down upon his “clients” effectively paralysing them.

Mr Chartwell is a quick but satisfying read. For a book centred on depression, it is quite light and comedic, although when taken as a whole doesn’t shy away from the seriousness of the subject matter. While the darkness of depression is clear, in the meeting between Esther and Churchill Mr Chartwell offers a message of hopefulness that individuals can, with a little help, overcome even their greatest burdens.

Bookmark to