''Rebuilding Coventry'' is a 1988
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
written by
Sue Townsend
Susan Lillian Townsend, FRSL (née Johnstone, 2 April 194610 April 2014), was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole.
After writing ...
about a woman from
Middle England
The phrase "Middle England" is a socio-political term which generally refers to middle class or lower-middle class people in England who hold traditional conservative or right-wing views.
Origins
The origins of the term "Middle England" are n ...
who is accused of murdering her neighbour and goes on the run to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and captures the
zeitgeist
In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history.
Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F. ...
of England in the 1980s.
The protagonist is a self-described beautiful woman with the unlikely name of Coventry Dakin who is thoroughly fed up with her life, generally for reasons of ennui. Her neighbour has been spreading rumours of an illicit affair and whilst the neighbour is strangling his wife, she rushes over to his house, hits him over the head with her son's
Action Man
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe.
Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of Co ...
and he falls down dead. Coventry then escapes to London and lives as a down-and-out on the streets of the capital, encountering a bizarre series of characters from across the social spectrum.
As the novel progresses, it becomes clear through the writing and the protagonist's musings that Coventry has allowed herself to fall into the quagmire that she finds herself in. This is quite typical of Sue Townsend's writing and has become a running theme through most of her novels; a rejection of predestination and that circumstance is governed by the choices of the individual. The novel is also a commentary on
Thatcher's Britain and the hypocrisy of the middle and upper classes.
In a nod to Townsend's feminist beliefs, Coventry's actions stir feelings of independence in the other women who feature in the novel, emancipating some and causing rebellion in others. She is even able to help manipulate the diversion of four aeroplanes from
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
in her quest for freedom at the highest levels of government.
{{Sue Townsend
1988 British novels
Novels by Sue Townsend
Novels set in London
Methuen Publishing books