This was a character driven read. It was a good deviation from my usual genres,so I appreciate the opportunity to broaden my horizons

Two years ago, on a hot summer's day, I went to Cookham in search of Stanley Spencer. Nestled around a high street, the village is small and probably rather peaceful under normal circumstances, but I'd managed to turn up on the weekend of Rock the Moor, a festival which had taken over the meadows down by the river. As I studied the pictures in the Stanley Spencer Gallery, a converted chapel at the far end of the village, my contemplation was underlaid by the distant, persistent throb of drums. It was all rather wonderful, in its own bizarre way. Stanley Spencer is an artist I don't know well, but I like what I've seen of his work. It has the kind of robustness, the rounded simplicity and simplified geometric flair, that I find in the works of other British artists of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, and which always appeals to me (think Laura Knight; Augustus John; or, in a slightly later period, the young Lucian Freud). It was inevitable that this novel would capture my attention, but I came to it with caution: all too often, art-historical novels disappoint. But not this one. In simple but evocative prose, Upson unfolds the story of the Spencer family and their maid Elsie Munday, in a story that spans thirty years and offers an absorbing insight into one of the most tumultuous and bizarre artistic marriages of the 20th century. Fascinating and beautifully researched.

Elsie Munday comes to work as a maid for the Spencer family in 1926, just as they're moving into a newly-built house in the village of Burghclere in Hampshire. Just over the fields is the strange boxy chapel which Mr Spencer is painting with scenes from the war, while Mrs Spencer works in the garden at home and writes lengthy letters to her fellow Christian Science members. Bohemian and untidy, the couple leave it to Elsie to organise the house (they seem to have precious little idea what to do with a servant), while they pursue their separate interests. As time passes, Elsie gets to grips with her new life. She begins to think of her employers by their first names, Stanley and Hilda; she grows deeply fond of their toddler daughter Shirin; and she gains an increasingly unsettling insight into their married life. For all is not well with these two. Hilda chafes at the rural lifestyle, longing to return to her native Hampstead with its colour and cosmopolitan life, where at least she had a sense of purpose. A gifted artist, she has now lost all motivation, a problem exacerbated by her uncomprehending husband, who nags her to paint again.

And Stanley? Elsie struggles to understand him. On one hand he is charming, charismatic and clubbable. He chats to her about meaningful things: art, faith, hope, love. He and Hilda unquestioningly embrace Elsie as part of their family and she, in return, loves them both fiercely, all the more earnestly because neither of them seems to realise how much damage they are doing to the other. For Stanley has many bad points, to which he is blind, and to which Hilda (to Elsie's indignation) is resigned. He is self-absorbed and selfish, unable to comprehend that the details of his personal and professional life aren't also at the centre of everyone else's concern. He wanders through life half-distracted, constantly occupied by the challenges posed by the chapel. For him, this represents a work of spiritual catharsis which transforms his own traumatic experiences in Macedonia during the war, and pays tribute to the men who never made it home. While he loves Hilda, he's too self-centred to offer her the support she truly needs, and Elsie watches as their tempestuous partnership begins to fray around the edges. Worst of all, the couple are so fixated on one another, so caught up in their own drama, that they don't have much space left in their lives for Shirin - their neglected and betrayed daughter.

Elsie remains with the family as the years pass and the relationships that hold the Spencers together fray even more. She is a thoughtful, compassionate presence, able to see the good in her employers even as they drive her (and each other) to distraction. Through her eyes, we watch the Sandham Memorial Chapel flourish into life - and Upton describes it so beautifully, so profoundly and with such poignancy, that I'm now determined to visit it as soon as possible. We follow her as she moves with the Spencers back to Stanley's native Cookham, a place that obsesses him and with which he feels a deep symbiotic connection. And it's through Elsie's eyes that we watch the growing friendship between Stanley and Patricia Preece, a fellow Cookham resident turned artist, who threatens to offer Stanley the kind of renewed energy and inspiration that Hilda, for some years now, has failed to provide. And yet the story is even more complicated than it appears, for Patricia isn't as footloose and single as she seems: her relationship with her housemate and 'friend' Dorothy Hepworth is in fact a long-term romantic connection. Elsie can only watch as the family she once loved begins to fracture at the seams.

I can't do this justice by simply reporting the plot, because the real charm of the book lies in Upson's prose. She writes with a sensitivity to small things, whether that's the gentle shift in seasons or the way that a loving heart buckles under one last, small, final humiliation. She's especially good at describing paintings and I found myself breaking off to look things up on the internet, adding another layer to the reading experience. And she has achieved that holy grail of historical-fiction writing, which is to have done her research and to be able to transform it seamlessly into narrative, so that nothing is weighed down by exposition, and everything seems to happen organically. Her characters feel entirely rich and real in their fictional forms, regardless of the fact that they actually were living, breathing people, and you learn to care about all of them (although my sympathies were strained by Stanley and Patricia much of the time). 

Can I just say how pleased I am that Upson didn't feel the need to invent a romantic relationship between Stanley and Elsie? It would have been very easy, and there are a couple of places where she teases us with the idea that it might happen, but instead she gives us a relationship which is much richer and rewarding: a strange sort-of-friendship, in which Elsie is watcher, conscience and confidant. This is the best kind of book, which leaves you with a list of things to look up and all sorts of new discoveries: I wasn't familiar with the works of Dorothy Hepworth or Patricia Preece before this (indeed, they may be one and the same, as Upson suggests that Hepworth actually painted many works that were then signed by Preece). They're rewarding to look up, but my favourite 'discovery' was Hilda herself, now known as an artist under her maiden name, Hilda Carline. To my delight, I see that there was a monographic exhibition of her work a few years ago, and I'll be seeking out the catalogue. Stanley and Hilda's younger daughter Unity also became an artist, and has recently published her autobiography, which promises to fill in more detail about this extraordinary menage.

Upson's Stanley and Elsie is a wonderful book, poised and knowledgeable, deeply engaging, and written with grace. Highly recommended to anyone looking for an absorbing piece of historical fiction in which to lose themselves, made all the richer for the wealth of extra material you can unearth online. One of the most successful novels based on art history that I've read.

This review will be published on my blog on 24 April 2020 at the following link:
https://theidlewoman.net/2020/04/24/stanley-and-elsie-2019-nicola-upson/

I found this book enjoyable but rather odd. Not knowing anything about Stanley Spencer I couldn't work out quite how 'fictionalised' this story was.

It felt that nothing really happened and I wonder why the author chose to tell the story through Elsie rather than through one of the other MCs - it gave a certain distance to the artists and their lives.

An absolute must read. This book takes you back in time to the life of Stanley Spencer and the women who were in his life. He was extremely self-centered and seemed to care little for those around him. This book gives you a great insight to some of his most famous paintings and it gives the reader an idea on what was happening in his life at the time.

Having really loved Nicola Upson's series of crime novels featuring Josephine Tey, I was intrigued to see how she would bring another historical figure to life, in this case artist Stanley Spencer. I was not really aware of much of his work or his personal story before this book, so it was a learning experience for me.

The story begins with a young maid servant, Elsie Munday, joining the household of the artist Stanley Spencer. He is working on a huge commission, the biggest of his career, painting a memorial chapel with scenes from his own Great War experiences in Salonika. He lives with his wife, Hilda, also a painter, and their daughter. It's rather an unconventional household and one Elsie grows to love as well as become very important within. However, a later move to Stanley's childhood home of Cookham deepens the rifts within the Spencers' marriage and creates further complications for the family.

There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book, especially the character of Elsie (a real person) who was a charming and lively narrator for much of the novel - indeed, when the focus shifted to Dorothy and Elsie took a backseat, I'll admit to feeling a bit disappointed. The descriptions of the paintings and family life were also engaging, as were the different perspectives on the function of art - I found it all quite thought-provoking. Upson also writes historical fiction beautifully - as with her Tey novels, the time period is beautifully evoked.

However, I just really struggled with the character of Stanley. To have had the relationships he did, he must have been charming and appealing in real life. I just found him really quite unpleasant and my sympathies lay with the women in his life, which was probably Upson's intention, but doesn't explain why they stayed with him!

Overall, this is a beautifully written book as can always be expected of Nicola Upson. It will make you laugh, cry and Google all the characters! It might, however, not explain Stanley's appeal to the women in his life.

What a lovely, lovely story. Beautiful and melancholy. Based on the real painter, Sir Stanley Spencer and his wife, painter, Hilda. The story is narrated by Elsie who is hired to be their housekeeper, but ends up as friends with both. It covers the period of time when Stanley is painting the Sandham Memorial chapel, through his marriage with Hilda and his infatuation with another woman that will come between them all. Hearing and seeing through Elsie's thoughts and conversations, the reader gets a very intimate and real look at their lives.

The prose is gorgeous, the novel flows seamlessly. This is one of those quiet novels that brings the reader inside of the story. Stanley is a rather selfish, but kind man, who doesn't see anything wrong with his needs and wants. He is sometimes brutally but unknowingly cruel, but despite that it is hard to dislike the man. Nor any of these characters, who are just trying to find security in life. The descriptions of the various areas are also beautifully described. I wish I could post pictures of the chapel and other painting, but my computer knowledge doesn't stretch to that length.

The ending of the book is perfect, brings things nicely together. But of course thAt isn't the end of the story, as the authors note at books end will take the reality of the story is little further.

ARC from Netgalley.

My knowledge of English artist Stanley Spencer was sketchy to say the least when I started reading ‘Stanley and Elsie’ by Nicola Upson. This is a biographical novel that walks a difficult line between true fact and imagined conversation and walks it with skill, delicacy and drama. Definitely a novel for anyone who loves art.
Upson takes us into the Spencer household at Chapel View, Burghclere after the Great War when Elsie Munday starts work as a housemaid. Stanley Spencer has been commissioned to paint the inside of a chapel; his wife Hilda, also a painter, minds their young daughter Shirin. Through Elsie’s eyes we see the lives of this family, their ups and downs, the artistic differences, the selfishnesses of Stanley and Hilda, smoothed by the tact, diplomacy and efficiency of Elsie. The title could make some people assume Stanley and Elsie were romantically attached but theirs is a master/servant relationship that deepened into mutual respect and friendship. Stanley, selfish, focussed, is a difficult master, a difficult husband, and Elsie finds herself caught in the middle of disputes between husband and wife. Often she is exasperated with both of them. Instead she becomes indispensable to the household.
Upson gives us an insight into the lives of this family, their daily tasks, the squabbles, the unexpected joys. She combines small inconsequential details of painting with, through Elsie’s growing appreciation of art, the big picture destruction, grief and lasting devastation of war on Stanley’s generation of men. Upson is excellent at portraying place; the Spencers move between Burghclere, Cookham and Hampstead Heath as their marriage disintegrates, a separation complicated by Stanley’s obsession with another woman. No one could have forseen the consequences of this obsession. Stanley is selfish and self-absorbed, Hilda also but to a lesser degree; both can be loving with their children one minute and dismissive the next. At times, neither are particularly likeable; Elsie is the one who picks up the pieces.
Elsie is the core of this story. As narrator we not only see the Spencers through her eyes, we also see her grow from young girl to competent, confident young woman.
The ending was under-whelming but I see it must have been difficult to know how and when to end the novel.
A delightful read. I particularly enjoyed picturing the paintings in my mind as I turned the pages. Reading ‘Stanley and Elsie’ makes me want to visit Sandham Memorial Chapel near Newbury, Hampshire, now a National Trust property, and also to explore Upson’s other novels.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

This book is written about real people and a real event; (from the description) Stanley Spencer is working on the commission of a lifetime, painting an entire chapel in memory of a life lost in the war to end all wars.

The characters were tragic and had so much depth to them that I found this book easy to immerse myself into.

My thanks to Netgalley and Duckworth for this advanced readers copy. This book released in May 2019.

Such an enjoyable read. This wonderfully compelling novel about British artist Stanley Spencer is intelligent, thoughtful and well-researched. Narrated by the Spencers’ housekeeper Elsie Munday, it’s both entertaining and informative, and feels completely convincing. With vivid depictions of the people, the places and the paintings, I really felt that I got to know Stanley Spencer and his family and friends, and also gained an insight into his art. Highly recommended.

Stanley and Elsie is a story featuring artist Stanley Spencer and is set in a small Hampshire village just after the First World War- it is a fictionalized version Stanley's life. The writing is this book is beautiful and .the author really brings the characters to life. I enjoyed the book and felt connected to the characters though I did feel it moved rather slowly at times. Thank you to Netgalley and Duckworth for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did not know much about the artist Stanley Spencer, but I enjoyed learning from this book. I would love to see some of his work. I thought the author did a great job depicting his life and marriage.
Many thanks to Duckworth and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I very much liked the perspective of the story, that was also the reason why I wanted to read it. The life of two artists from the point of view of their maid is a bit unusual, but interesting. Why I learned that Elsie really existed it was even more the reason to read the book. This perspective was kept in the first and last parts of the book and was as I expected very interesting. I've learned a lot about Stanley's art, through Elsie's eyes and the way he tried to explain it to her. It was very usefull for somedy like me, who had no idea about him and his art.
The second part of the story was only partly from Elsie's perspective and I didn't like it that much. I can understand, why Elsie couldn't be the person, she couldn't explain certain decisions or situations, but I missed her voice and opinion. It was quite a setback for me and my enjoying of the book.
Overall I would anyhow recommed this book.

It is my first book by Nicola Upson, and I was surprised by the story. I love historical fiction, and this is a very good book about the life of Sir Stanley Spencer (1891-1959). I must admit I didn’t know the work of Sir Stanley Spencer and this book gave me the opportunity to discover a painter and his works. It left me with the wish to I to go and visit the Sandham Memorial Chapel.
I loved more the first part where it is well described the life and the relationship between Elsie, the Spencers’ housemaid and Stanley. It is a beautiful description of everyday family-life with its ups and downs.
The second part of the book was interesting but, because it was a quite detailed description of the conjugal struggles and of Stanley relationship with Patricia Preece, I didn’t like much.
I recommend this book to readers who loved “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain because it describes the marriage life and troubles of an artist and to the readers who love to learn more about artists.
Thank you to NetGalley and Duckworth for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I posted this review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2836911104?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
and on my blog: https://doppioforno.blogspot.com/2019/06/stanley-and-elsie-by-nicola-upson.html

Review
I fell in love with Elsie Munday as soon as I started reading this book. Elsie goes into service as the housemaid for famous painter Stanley Spencer, his wife Hilda and their daughter Shirrin while Stanley has been commissioned to paint war paintings in the chapel at Burghclere. She quickly becomes a part of the family, speaking her mind and becoming confidante to Stanley and Hilda in their volatile marriage.

When Patricia Preece and Dorothy Hepworth come onto the scene, things change for everybody, but Elsie remains the backbone through everything.

I enjoyed Part 1 of the book most of all, due to learning how the family establishes itself. And seeing Stanley through Elsie's eyes. Throughout the book I felt a frustration with Stanley, yet I also felt pity for him as well. The way that Nicola Upson manages to put this across is so cleverly written.

This book took me longer to read than usual due to all of the researching I was doing. I now know so much about the lives and paintings of all those involved and can't wait to visit Sandham Memorial Chapel to see the paintings for myself.

I loved this book and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I stopped reading it; I'm missing Elsie and Stanley!

Thanks
With many thanks to the author Nicola Upson, Publishers Duckworth and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

I loved this book! Stanley Spencer is an artist, who has been commissioned to paint murals on the walls of Sandham Memorial chapel, in Burghclere, Hampshire. Told through the eyes of Elsie Munday, the long suffering maid,cook, nanny and general go- getter, this is the story of Stanley, Hilda, his first wife and Patricia, wife number two.
Elsie is the best character. She tries to placate Stanley when he is annoyed with his painting, and befriends Hilda, who is unhappy being buried in the countryside, away from society. Elsie encourages Hilda to enjoy her gardening, and then gradually, Hilda becomes content and settled enough to resume her painting, at which she is very skilled, and possibly more adept than Stanley.
Stanley seemed a difficult, yet highly driven character. Hilda felt overshadowed and neglected at times.
Seen through the eyes of Elsie, we come to understand why the paintings in the Chapel, were not expressions of triumph, but were full of people, being content in their lives and jobs. They knew they were all important in their own small way, each was part of something better for the future. His figures seem lonely, and they are engaged in humdrum tasks, all cogs in a great wheel. The colour palate is described as being muted, shades of greys, Brown's and whites, almost sepia like. Even the most humble man has a role to play in life, and that seems to be the message of this book.
I have seen paintings by Spencer a few years ago, but never knew the meaning of the colour schemes. I am visiting the New Forest in September, and have already earmarked a visit to the Sandham Memorial chapel. This book was so informative , I'm sure I will appreciate the art work all the more for reading this, and as a member of the National Trust, repeat visits may be made!!
I will send a copy of this review to Goodreads with a five star rating. Thank you for my advance copy. I will read more books from this author.

This book caught my eye, as a novel based on real people and events. I find it fascinating to see how novelists represent the narratives of real lives: blending fact and fiction, the real and the imagined!

Seeing the artist at work was one of my favourite things about this novel. Stanley has undertaken an epic task of painting a mural in honour of the war in Sandham Memorial Chapel. Stanley’s eccentricity as he worked, his self assurance and his reverence for what he was trying to create, held real magic for me. These are also the moments he was most endearing to me – rushing inside the house to wet his hair or grab props like bacon (both cooked and uncooked rashers!) to recreate exactly. Upton’s descriptions of the artwork itself are also quite spectacular – looking up the works afterwards, I feel she has captured their spirit perfectly.

While I found the choice of narrators (who are often characters on the ‘outside’ of the story) interesting, it seemed to me to Stanley was always the central character, often the focus point and driver of the story. Sometimes this bothered me – I wanted things to centre more around Elsie, or Hilda, or other interesting characters around Stanley. I found the second section actually quite difficult to read (from a sort of emotional perspective) – I longed for the charm and spirit of the Spencer family we see at the beginning of the novel. At the time, I found some of these aspects a bit frustrating, but looking back now, I realise that this exasperation is perhaps what Upton intends us to feel as readers. It is testament to Upton that she was able to place me as a reader within Stanley’s world so completely.

A n interesting complex read.told from the point of view of the maid living in the household of a well known painter.The characters come alive jump off the page Nicola Upson nia a terrific story teller.#netgalley #duckworth

I was very keen to read this book seeing that I know a fair bit about Stanley Spencer and his life and work I was interested to see where this would take me. I wasn't disappointed. The novel is a well researched, well described piece of work and I loved the way the author wrote about it from the maids point of view. Alright it’s a work of fiction but it’s stands up well and I enjoyed it.

This book charts the story of artist Stanley Spencer’s 2 troubled and volatile marriages, largely through the eyes of the families maid/housekeeper/confidante, Elsie. I just loved this book, I am a huge fan of Hilda Carline s art and as such have read a lot about Spencer. This book quite brilliantly bought to life their world. Every character was unique and multi faceted, I adored some Elsie and Hilda in particular whilst was infuriated by Spencer but I felt the best characters were that of Patricia and Dorothy. We see them through Elsie’s eyes so are not inclined to be sympathetic to them but the author made them real, flawed people with their own motives and deep passions at a time when such passions trapped them utterly.
The debate as to how much must be sacrificed for art is one Spencer muses on endlessly and I liked the way the author avoided mawkish cliches but still true to life, gave him what he deserved.
I can’t recommend this highly enough.
I was given a ARC by NetGalley. All opinions are my own,

I never heard about the artist Stanley Spencer. Here the author reimagines his turbulent life although I suspect most of it is true. Elsie, the housemaid holds it all together, both for Stanley and his wife Hilda. It did make me want to learn more about him.