The Trials of Arthur Whitty by Tim Walker
By Tim Walker
This novella is the story of plain old Arthur Whitty, a man whose dreams are never dull and whose vivid imagination and sense of humour carries him through a series of sometimes challenging situations. Arthur has retired to a pair of slippers and jigsaw table in a quiet cul-de-sac in Berkshire, England. He walks his dog, Max, and lets his mind wander to a series of dreams in which he is more daring, skilful and adventurous that his real-life humdrum self. He is an irritant to his orderly wife, Emilia, and has succumbed to irksome cancer treatment following a run-in with skin cancer.
Once a date has been set for corrective surgery, Arthur sets his mind on organising a real-life adventure – a bucket list trip to Machu Picchu in Peru where he finds peace and a calming of the spirit. Arthur’s bullish nature carries him through a series of situations but there is little the retired couple can do about the onset of dementia. But Arthur is well supported by Emilia and their daughter, Holly, as the family rally round to make his declining years as comfortable as possible. And there’s always escape to his secret world of risk, responsibility and danger.
The author has drawn on personal experience and observations of elderly men in a support group he helps run for Men’s Matters charity in Windsor, Berkshire. Half of all royalties from the sales of this book will be donated to Men’s Matters, who support older men by encouraging social interaction and connecting them to health and wellbeing support services.
Review
The Trials of Arthur Whitty by Tim Walker is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged read. Arthur has finally retired, but instead of being able to enjoy his retirement, age has caught up with him, and along with it comes poor health. Initially, it is the stiffness in his body caused by brittle bones, nerve damage and arthritis. Then, as the novel progresses, Arthur is diagnosed with cancer and then dementia, but through it all, Arthur has a fighting spirit, and when that fails, he can turn to the imaginative world in his head.
There are scenes in this novel that are truly upsetting and I was not prepared for the ending, but there are also many moments of lightness and comedy, where Arthur lets his imagination go wild and he makes the mundane into something fun, even if it is all in his head. There are laugh-out-loud moments in this novel and there were also times when I was reaching for the tissues.
The Trials of Arthur Whitty is a beautifully written novella that will certainly stay with me for a long time, if not always. The story is gripping, and it is a real eye-opening for those who have never had any dealings with dementia, and for those who have, they will recognise a lot of what is familiar within this story.
This novel is available on Amazon
Tim Walker
Tim Walker is an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. Born in Hong Kong in the Sixties, he grew up in Liverpool where he began his working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper. He went on to attain an honours degree in Communication Studies in South Wales before moving to London where he worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten years.
In the mid-90s he opted to spend a couple of years doing voluntary work in Zambia through VSO, running an educational book publishing development programme. After this, he set up his own marketing and publishing business in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, then managed a mineral exploration company before returning to the UK in 2009.
His creative writing journey began in earnest in 2014, as a therapeutic activity whilst recovering from cancer treatment. In addition to short stories, he researched and wrote a five-book historical fiction series, A Light in the Dark Ages. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to the story of Arthur in an imaginative narrative. It starts with Abandoned, then Ambrosius: Last of the Romans; Uther’s Destiny; Arthur Dux Bellorum and Arthur Rex Brittonum, the last two books charting the life of an imagined historical King Arthur.
More recently, he has written a dual timeline historical novel set at Hadrian’s Wall, Guardians at the Wall. His two books of short stories, Thames Valley Tales and London Tales combine contemporary and historical themes and are now available as audiobooks. Somewhere along the way, he co-authored a three-book children’s series with his daughter, Cathy, The Adventures of Charly Holmes.
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