Why a Booktrail?
Meet Arthur Pepper, he finds his wife’s charm bracelet and searches for the meaning of each charm
The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper
What you need to know before your trail
Present day, Yorkshire, UK
Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper gets out of bed each day at precisely 7.30am, just as he did when his wife Miriam was alive. He dresses in the same grey trousers and mustard tank top and waters his fern, Fredrica.
But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam’s death something changes. Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet in her wardrobe. He’s never seen it before and sets off on a journey to discover, charm-by-charm, his wife’s secret life before they met. It’s a surprising and transformative adventure that takes him away from the comfort of his Yorkshire home to London, Paris and as far as India.
Along the way, Arthur encounters extraordinary characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, who all help him to learn to live and love again.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
York
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper begins with Arthur in the self-imposed prison of his Yorkshire home, carrying out the strange domestic routines he’s devised for himself since his wife Miriam died. He can see the tip of York Minster from his window but he has no desire to go into the city. He’s clinging on to the past and he doesn’t want to see or speak to anyone. Even his big-hearted neighbour, Bernadette, can’t win him round with her home-baked sausage rolls and pies.
Bath (fictional Graystock Manor)
When Arthur finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet in Miriam’s wardrobe, the first charm he finds out the story behind is a small gold elephant. The elephant, in turn, leads him to discover that Miriam once lived in Bath, in a manor house owned by an eccentric lord and where tigers roam free in the grounds. Here, Arthur has to uncover his own determination and braveness, especially when faced with a ferocious tiger. The nearest place to see tigers is the Safari park of Longleat.
London
Arthur has always avoided London, deeming it too noisy and large, yet he’s surprised to find the city exciting and vibrant, rather like a foreign land. With his new walking sandals and rucksack, he meets an arrogant novelist and his illegal immigrant housekeeper, a lusty businessman and a kind homeless man. He visits a jewellery shop and finds out a little more about Miriam’s gold charm bracelet.
Paris
Arthur and his estranged daughter Lucy reconnect in a Parisian café over coffee and croissants. In a small wedding boutique Arthur also meets his wife’s old friend, Sylvie. She introduces him to the simple delights of Paris, from a walk along the Seine to eating juicy olives in the street. After they drink wine and dance together in a small bistro, Arthur finds out the biggest clue yet about the mystery of his wife’s bracelet.
India
Goa marks the final stop in Arthur’s adventure. It’s here that the story of Miriam’s charm bracelet begins and ends. But although Arthur’s physical journey is over, his personal voyage of discovery continues. Reunited with his family and at peace with his wife’s past, Arthur finds that life is truly made for living.
Booktrailer Review
Clare: @thebooktrailer
If this novel were a drink it would be a hot and frothy caramel coffee on a cold day – to warm you from the inside and out. Something you have to put down from time to time to enjoy it and think about what’s just happened before picking it up and taking another sip. I love Arthur and I love Miriam and I love the idea of a charm bracelet to give meaning to someone’s life. Arthur starts the trail of a lifetime by searching countries and cities for clues as to his wife’s history and the more he finds, the more enchanting this story becomes. The start of the novel had me in tears – this poor man is so desperately lonely and talks to his plants, only gets up at 7.30 as that’s what he did when Miriam was alive. Oh he misses her so desperately and your heart will weep with him.
Having said that Arthur has some gumption. He gets out there and finds each clue behind the charm bracelet he’s found. And the stories he hears will melt you, make you laugh, cry and everything in between. I wanted to give Arthur a lovely warm hug at many points in the book. Each clue is cleverly linked to something in Miriam’s past which made her the woman Arthur knew and loved. I don’t want to spoil your journey of finding out what so read this and luxuriate in a warm bath when reading – soak it up and the water will hide your tears when you’ve finished.
Where Next?
