Sarah Cohen reviews The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
Originally published in 1958 and recently reissued, The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin, is a psychological thriller which uses a beautiful writing technique, an air of immense creepiness and witty evocation of motherhood in the 1950s.
Faber & Faber have republished the novel and it strikes a chord even today.
The Hours Before Dawn follows tired mother Louise Henderson as she negotiates lack of sleep, family life and danger.
Louise’s family dynamic is outlined brilliantly in the first few chapters and, although based on family life in the 1950s, speaks true to the chaos so many families face in 2018.
As a harassed parent of two primary school girls and a screaming infant named Michael, Louise struggles to service the needs of her family, hold things on an even keel with her husband, Mark, turn the noise down for the neighbours and keep up appearances in middle-class London.
Michael’s arrival necessitates taking in a lodger, the respectable spinster and schoolmistress, Vera Brandon and, soon after her arrival, Louise wonders if her imagination is getting the better of her – is Miss Brandon creeping about the house and spying on them? Is she making a play for Mark?
The Foreword is written by Laura Wilson, who has a talent for creating intrigue.
Wilson explains that the tightly plotted fiction is characterised by precise observation and the inclusion of small, telling details – skills surely honed by Fremlin’s time working for the Mass Observation Movement during World War 2.
Her storytelling technique creates anticipation, with the early chapters establishing character and setting, while the mystery builds with gradual fluidity.
It is no wonder it won the 1960 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel. It is superb in both style and substance and makes for a thrilling vintage weekend read.

The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin is published by Faber & Faber..