By Emma Storr
I enjoyed the variety of these seven stories written mainly in the first person. In the preface to the book the author explains that none of the stories are autobiographical, a point that underlines their authenticity. They are easy to read and convincing because they are well written and move at a satisfying pace. The prose is sparse and the dialogue excellent. Sometimes Merryn Williams has used real life events as inspiration which may add to their credibility. This is not to detract from the skill needed to construct a good narrative around the facts.
It is always satisfying reading about characters with unsavoury qualities who are selfish, treacherous or murderous – traits we may recognise in ourselves even if we don’t act on them. Several of the stories are about justice and retribution. In Perish by the Sword, a mystery surrounds Captain Ernest Quilliam who died in the First World War during the great German offensive. There are no photographs of him and no grave. When the truth emerges after some detective work on the part of the narrator, it shocks both her and her husband, the Captain’s grandson. The nature of the shock should probably not be given away here; but we can reveal that it is partly alleviated when one of the surviving soldiers, the Captain’s lieutenant, marries the widow and brings up his son as his own, with great success.
In The Evidence, again based on a real event, a miscarriage of justice appears to have occurred in the 1930’s with the hanging of a vulnerable young man accused of murder despite the weak evidence. At the end of the story, we are pleased to think his name may eventually be cleared by the narrator’s determination to reveal the truth.
In some stories, we don’t regret the death of an unpleasant character. In others, we are shocked by the selfish motivation of the main protagonist who causes the death of another person by neglect, as in Driving through the Mirror. But in Next of Kin, the ending is left in the balance. A woman who has been in hospital and unresponsive for seven years, hears her husband discussing his proposed future marriage. She manages to signal ‘No’ to one of the nurses; and this is the first time she has made any clear communication. We don’t know what will happen next, only that her husband will not be able to divorce her and marry again because his wife understands far more than he had anticipated. It’s a chilling tale.
Merryn Williams is good at creating tension and suspense. In Mrs Robinson, based on Ellen Tierney’s relationship with Charles Dickens, she imagines what might happen if someone exposed the affair many years later when Ellen is married. The results are devastating and we sympathise with both Ellen and her shocked husband George.
My favourite story is the last in the book: Poetic Justice. Perhaps I like this narrative because I recognise the context. There is always the risk of breaking confidentiality by naming real people in a poem or story and hurting their feelings or others involved. In Poetic Justice, the thoughtless egotistical writer gets his comeuppance. The plot is extreme and very wittily written.
Merryn Williams has an excellent sense of humour, subtle and perceptive. I hope she will use this even more in whatever she writes next.
This review first appeared in London Grip on 11 April 2026
Seven Stories is available to order here
