Artist and poet Laurence Whistler tells the story of his life with actress Jill Furse, and of their five-year marriage, cut tragically short by her early death. Told in his own words, and through extracts from her letters and diary, this is beautiful, intelligent prose, capturing a brief moment of joy as, against a background of approaching war, the couple live a rural idyll deep in the Devon countryside.

For those interested in Laurence Whistler as an artist, there are occasional passing mentions of engravings made, but the events of this book take place early in his career. There are however insights into his influences, and there is a strong sense of his vision of countryside. His brother, Rex Whistler, does not feature heavily but, in one of the most moving passages of the book, Laurence recalls how he came to learn of Rex's death.

This is a book that mixes the joyful and the poignant, love and grief, and that tries to resolve the paradox of passing time, to find the location of a lost, joyful past. ( )