Alerted by neighbours, police arrive at a house in Croydon and an elderly woman is taken into hospital. The police also find another resident, a man with hair and beard down to his knees and unable to speak. No one recognises him and there are no records of him living there. The man is William Tapping and his identity and how he came to be in the house are the central pivot of the book.

Helen is an art therapist at a mental institution. She is besotted with her colleague, Gil, and has been having an affair with him for 3 years by the time William Tapping is admitted.

This is a twin timeline narrative, with Helen relating the present (1960’s) and William, the past. This is a well written, moving story that captures your attention as it gradually reveals the answers. It is a touching and sad but not maudlin story and I was fascinated to read that it was based on an imagined backstory of a real historical news item.

With thanks to NetGalley, Claire Chambers and the publisher for an arc of this book.

🐱 Favourite Quote

"Perhaps if he had offered her a glass of wine instead, the day would have unfolded quite differently, but it is by these small acts that relationships are made and unmade."

🐈 My thoughts:

I chose this ARC uniquely because of the cover. At first, I thought it was going to be a DNF, but quickly the characters grabbed me and didn't let go.

This is very character-oriented, with Marion and Helen being my absolute favorite characters. The "Hidden Man" mystery plot is slowly explained, and this is why it kept my attention until the end. I normally don't enjoy slow-paced books, but Clare Chambers has a way of making it work perfectly.

It made me think about the influence that your family has in dealing with your traumas, especially if they happen at a young age. Such a powerful influence that will set you up for a great recovery or ruin your life. And how the perception of your relationship with someone can change drastically once you step out of it and start analyzing it from a distance. Sometimes, a little step back is all you need to move in the right direction.

I do love books that make me think!

Shy Creatures is set in Croydon in 1964 where Helen works as an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital and is having an affair with Gil, a doctor at the hospital. After a home visit they meet 37 year old William Tapper who is admitted to the hospital and engages in art therapy with Helen.
I have adored the novels of Clare Chambers for years and I was so pleased to see the acclaim she received for her last novel. She doesn’t write many novels and this makes her writing all the more special, Shy Creatures is beautifully written with gorgeous and insightful writing that flows so well and I was completely immersed in it. Clare Chambers really brings the 1960s to life - the atmosphere , the attitudes and Helen’s life as a single woman in her 30s. William Tapper is portrayed with extreme sensitivity, The narrative moves backwards and forwards through his life and although there is so much sadness there is ultimately hope.
What a wonderful novel, I would highly recommend it and felt bereft when I’d finished it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC,

In the 1960s, clinical psychiatry made great advances from the still prevalent Victorian treatment of mental illness. This story is based on newspaper snippets of the story of a forty-something-old man from Bristol who was found as a recluse living in squalor with his aunt.
“
The protagonist, William Tapping, is then brought to Westbury Psychiatric unit. Art therapist Helen Hansford is interested to find out about his past and help him heal.

A well-rounded story, maybe a bit “biscuit tin” in places, but well worth reading.

Unfortunately it has taken me until now to discover the joy and marvel that is the author Clare Chambers, I would strongly urge readers who have never experienced her writing to try her latest historical novel which she informs us in her end notes was inspired by real events. Helen Hansford is a teacher who has shifted to living in Croydon and becoming an art therapist at Westbury Park, a mental health facility, a move not approved of by her conservative parents. Her life becomes complicated when she begins an affair with Gil, a charismatic married psychiatrist who sits at the radical end of the profession in his approach to patients.

This relationship is to have repercussions on her life that isolate and leave her lonely as she dare not make close connections with others, feeling shame and fear of being condemned and judged by others. However, her eyes are opened sufficiently for her to slowly start changing her perspective and moving away from Gil when the Hidden Man, 37 year old William Tapping comes on the scene in 1964. William arrives, mute, neglected, pale, underweight with long nails, and long unkempt hair and beard, shut up for at least a decade in a dilapidated home, living with his elderly aunt, who dies soon after. Helen is impressed by his artistic talent and intrigued by how William has ended up where he is.

In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, providing and illuminating fascinating pieces of the puzzle that comprise William's life, his family, and a long ago friend with a family went on to have a transformative influence on him. Chambers is remarkable in her observations and insights, whilst her exquisite prose is captivating, and I particularly loved the character of Marion Kenley. She has painted an accurate and well researched portrayal of the state of mental health thinking in the nation in this period, the ideas and the differing practices, through her various characters.

This is a wonderfully enthralling and uplifting read from start to finish, and left me thinking that I should read all the author's previous work! Hugely recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Clare Chambers has produced another thoughtful, compulsive mystery about dysfunctional families in post-war Britain. Shy Creatures is a meditation on love, coercion and the limits of freedom in different eras of the past. The book's 196os (and earlier) settings are subtly evoked and the characters, who are not entirely likeable but always believable, draw you in. Attitudes of the time relating to mental illness and sexual relationships are conveyed in a way which is authentic without being condescending, and the twisty, heart-rending plot will have readers racing for the end. A sure-fire hit of a novel which can be confidently recommended to a wide cross-section of readers. Very grateful for this advance copy!

I really enjoyed reading this book. William has lived with his Aunts most of his life and is a recluse at the age of 37. An altercation at home sees him throwing clothes and such out of the windows and the police are called. The story then follows his admittance to a mental Health Facility where Helen works. The rest of the story intertwines Helen, her colleague and lover Gil, Helen’s niece Lorraine and William’s stories. William’s life story is told in flashbacks and although it is sad in many parts it does explain why William has lived in the manner he does. An old school friend is unearthed in an attempt to bring William through his mutism.

Some of the treatments given in the facility are described and are nothing more than barbaric but were the perceived “cure” back in the early 1960’s.

There is so much going on in the book and lots of characters that there is no chance of it getting boring or dull

Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers is a gem of a book, beautifully written. Set in the 1960s, it links the stories of Helen, an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital, and William who is admitted having been discovered in a nearby house along with his aunt, who dies almost immediately. He has scarcely left the house in twenty-five years and Helen takes it upon herself to unearth his history. We discover his life-story backwards through Helen's digging and a series of flash-backs. The books is also Helen's story and considers the nature of family and belonging and what normal is. I was delighted by it.

A newspaper article is the inspiration for Clare Chambers’ new novel, Shy Creatures, much like it was for Small Pleasures. It’s amazing how inspiration from a news article can bring about a many-faceted, engrossing story. In this instance the article is the springboard : neighbours report loud arguments and clothes being thrown out a window and when the police arrive they find a “wild man” who hasn’t been seen out of the house for twenty years living with an elderly aunt. He’s admitted to a hospital for schizophrenia.
In the book, William Tapping has an interesting backstory that is developed and secrets are gradually revealed. There is also another couple of storylines linked to other characters - Helen, the art therapist, who is having an affair with a psychologist at Westbury Park and Lorraine, a teenager who is having mother / daughter conflict.
My favourite sentence relates to William at school after a master humiliates him: “at a stroke he became Tapping, a name that was also a sound - of a blind man feeling his way with a white stick or a prisoner trying to communicate through a solid wall.”
Another triumph for an author who just gets better and better.

What an absorbing, interesting, beautifully written story of oddness, family, forbidden appetites and hope. A satisfying tale with a proper cast of characters and pitch perfect in time settings. Wonderful.

I found Shy Creatures well written with some interesting characters. It illustrated the multi facets of love and relationships with Gil the self-absorbed and selfish family man, Helen the dutiful spinster, waiting for her life to begin and William, brought up in a chaotic situation and made to feel terrified of life outside.

Set in the 1960s, 'Shy Creatures' is an original and interesting story centred on a mental hospital. The novel's central character is Helen, an art therapist at the hospital who is having an affair with a charismatic, married psychiatrist. Together they become involved in the care of William, a middle aged man found to be living with an elderly aunt in complete isolation, not having left the house since childhood. The story alternates between Helen's perspective, as she tries to help William and also deals with her own complex romantic life, and William's, as his history unwinds in chapters that run in reverse chronological order so gradually revealing how he came to be 'shut in'.

Initially I found Helen very hard to like or sympathise with, given her behaviour and her apparent inability to realise that Gil the psychiatrist was a total prat. She did eventually grow on me, although quite late in the novel. William's story was much more compelling and the 'backwards' chronology worked really well. Maybe the contrast of the two makes William's tale seem even more tragic and gripping.

It is an achingly sad story, and even with an ending that tends towards hopefulness it can't redeem the underlying sadness of William's situation. If you enjoy moving, sad and nicely written books, this is a must read. But it's not one to choose if you're looking for a pick-me-up or something a bit lighter to enjoy.

I adore Clare’s writing, always so perceptive, but with a lightness of hand which allows her to tackle some very sensitive subjects, and Shy Creatures was no different. Set predominantly during the 1960s, the setting of a psychiatric hospital allows her to explore all the social mores and stigmas of the time as she navigates the main character’s love affair with a colleague at the hospital, while at the same time exploring the life of a man who has come to be in the hospital’s care. It’s clear from the start that William has had a very unusual upbringing and as the narrative swings backwards and forwards in time she gently reveals the reasons for it. There is a very dark aspect to Williams story, but it’s balanced deftly by moments of humour and the warmth of Clare’s writing as she weaves a tale about love, duty, and perhaps above all about kindness and friendship. I really enjoyed Shy Creatures and would have no hesitation in recommending it.

Shy Creatures is a novel written by Clare Chambers and is utterly absorbing. It begins with Helen Hansford, an art therapist entangled in a passionate affair with the married doctor, Gil. Her world shifts when the hospital receives an emergency phone call.

This call is about William Tapping. William is a mute man with a waist length beard. He is discovered in a derelict house wasting away along side his elderly aunt.
As Helen unravels William’s story, the novel explores the delicate layers of ordinary lives, the liberating joy of freedom, and the transformative power of kindness. Initially, Helen and Gil strike me as self-centered, but William’s arrival changes everything. His childlike innocence and vulnerability instantly endear him to readers.
This is my first Clare Chambers novel, I’m already hooked. She manages to shed light on the therapies within Westbury Park’s psychiatric walls without descending into darkness. And Marian, another character, adds heartwarming depth. “Shy Creatures” lingers—a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

I'm grateful to Netgalley and Orion Publishing group for the eArc.

Set in the 1960s, we follow the lives of Helen - an art therapist, and her lover Gil - a married psychiatrist who both work at the same mental hospital, Their lives change forever upon meeting the "Hidden Man" William, a reclusive man in his 30s who was hidden from the world by his aunts for a mysterious reason.

While I'm all about a mystery, this one began really slowly and didn't pick up the pace until at least two thirds into the book. I couldn't get behind either of the two main characters, each of them equally as bad as each other, and instead invested in William's story. Sadly, William's narratives were too far and few between.

A beautifully written book filled with kindness, love and hope. Helen is an art therapist in a psychiatric institution, where the arrival of one particular patient William, opens her mind and her eyes to her own life choices. Told across two different timelines the reader discovers Williams story and how he reached his present situation. Told at a gentle pace we learn more about the characters and how one act of kindness can transform lives.
This is the first book I have read by this author, but I am already looking to read more.
Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC of this book.

Set primarily in the 1960s and featuring dual timelines, this book follows the events related to the discovery of William Tapping, a 37-year-old man who has apparently been a shut-in for some years, living alongside his elderly aunt in a house.

William's appearance - unkempt and rundown as he looks - has unexpected consequences in the life of Helen Hansford, a 30-something woman who works at the nearby Westbury Park hospital and has been carrying on a love affair with one of the doctors there for quite some time.

Interestingly, it turns out that this "hidden man" is a talented artist. Helen herself is an art therapist, and her conviction about the value of this work, and her approach to the treatment of patients, is exemplary - showing how compassion and generosity can yield enormous dividends in the life of those who need mental health services, as well as those who provide those services.

This is an insightful piece of writing that brings the past alive, something that Clare Chambers is very skilled at doing. The two main characters are fascinating, and the reader is swept along in Chambers' storytelling. It gets 3.5 stars.

I'm really not sure what to say about this book. I finished it because I wanted to know what happened to William and Helen yet all the time I was reading it I was thinking 'I'm not sure if I'm enjoying this book'! I don't know if this is a compliment to Clare Chambers' writing or not! I have read some of her work before but can't recall feeling so ambivalent about it. I did like the way the chapters of the book alternated with one being set in the present and the next going further into the past eventually explaining why William was the way he was and her character development was brilliant. The characters just jump off the page. I suggest everyone give it a go. It's certainly something different from the usual fare on offer.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

From The Cover📖

In all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park.

Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her thirties and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with Gil: a charismatic, married doctor.

One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance from a derelict house not far from Helen's home. A thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, with a beard down to his waist, has been discovered along with his elderly aunt. It is clear he has been shut up in the house for decades, but when it emerges that William is a talented artist, Helen is determined to discover his story.


REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Clare Chambers weaves a captivating spell in her writing. Her ability to bring kindness and compassion to the lost and vulnerable is truly remarkable. Shy Creatures is a beautiful story that is utterly absorbing. The main characters are well-developed, and I found myself fully immersed in their lives, wishing them well as their stories unfolded. It so tenderly written it is almost magical. Truly beautiful writing with style and class

Told in third person the story has a dual timeline. We follow Helen in the 1960s, an art therapist who works in a psychiatric hospital and is having an affair with a doctor. The second character is William, who is discovered in his aunt’s home unkempt and mute and transferred to the hospital. When William is taken to Westbury Park there a clever unravelling of William's past in a series of scenes working backwards to 1938 that explain how he has come to be a hidden man. In the present we see Helen tackle many issues for woman in the 1960's and start to see her find herself as she helps William find himself. Both characters are so well
formed I found myself truly invested in them. They both stayed with me long after finishing the novel.


I loved reading about the positive aspects of Westbury Park, very often books that are centred on psychiatric hospitals are dark and morose but Clare Chambers has given us an enlightened look at the many therapies that assist the residents. I adored how Helen viewed her job and power of art, she showed rightly so disgust at the old ways and with her character we saw the positive impact of a new approach to mental health treatment had. There is a big focus on mental health and psychiatry of the time—institutional care—an area of medicine which was taboo and scary and yet you can see progressive thinking is starting to have an impact with Helen and how she thinks about treating her "patients"
Chambers writes about this in a gentle, well- informed way. The afterward was added bonus in looking at this it was truly interesting and added another dimension to the book. I suggest you read it.

As is always with Chambers the time, the place, the setting is pitch perfect she always manages to get it right with little nods to the time making the writing feel nostalgic in the most perfect way from the fashion to the food to the attitudes. She is truly talented at taking her readers anywhere at any time.

I have read all her previous and like all of the previous novels there is a sense of wit and humour even within the darkest of situation this is balanced perfectly and adds to you as reader investing into the characters. Furthermore this is as always unique in terms of plot I don't know how she thinks up such things, while each novel is very unique in plot, setting and time what is a common factor is the themes explored, the well written and developed to true to life characters. She always find light in the dark which is truly remarkable and make a joyous uplifting read.

She raises relevant questions we still face today about health inequalities, class, gender roles and does so with flair she is very accomplished writer.

In very personal note I loved how showed the relationships Aunts have with their nieces and nephews, it charming to read the love that can be created within that relationship and it was poignant in showing how you can be like a friend/mother to them.

There is a lot issues many people may find tricky to read but Chambers handles them with such delicate care so please don't be put off.


A poignant uplifting read that will stay with you.

Well worth five stars. I would say this her best work yet thank you so much for the ARC this book is in top 10 reads for 2024.

A complex, well thought out tale set throughout the twentieth century.
Some parts of this novel were excellent, others good, spoilt somewhat for me by the constant switching of focus from one scenario to another.
This is used by publishers and writers almost exclusively now, and enhances some storylines, some books just get away with it, but for me this tale would have been better told more traditionally.
There were some gems of writing in this tale. William was a brilliant character.
The 'triangle' between Gil, Helen and Lorraine was in my mind weak and the area most spoiled by the switching.
Still an excellent read, the author showing lots of knowledge of all of the scenarios,
Worth reading for the funfair chapter on its own, but there were quite a few other gems hidden there as well.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.