Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Book Review: The Trials of Arthur Whitty by Tim Walker

 




The Trials of Arthur Whitty
 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.


I have never read a book that takes you on such a journey of emotions. One minute you are literally laughing out loud, and then in the next, you are reaching for the tissues. 

Arthur Whitty, a retired accountant and now chief dog walker to their small dog, Max, is struggling to adapt to his retirement, as is his wife, Emilia, who must now share her house with him full-time. Emilia thrives on routine, whereas Arthur is more of a lucky-go-happy sort and somehow the two of them muddle together. 

Arthur has a wicked imagination and he constantly finds himself daydreaming, making mundane things such as driving a car or waiting in line at the pharmacy into epic adventures in his head, which are incredibly funny, especially when he crashes back to reality and remembers what he is doing!  The scene when he is imagining driving a rally car, and then his wife bringing him back to earth by telling him he was going over 30mph made me laugh out loud!

But as the story progresses, and Arthur grows older, his health begins to rapidly decline. First, it is arthritis, then cancer and finally dementia. Through it all Arthur remains surprisingly upbeat, and with the help of his imagination, and pretending he is somewhere / someone else, is an escape from his reality.

As the story progresses what is real and what is fantasy becomes muddled and it is difficult even for the reader to separate the two. 

I have to say that this is one of the most wonderfully fabulous books I have ever read. Even though it is only a novella, the story has the same impact as a hammer drill. And because of its length, it can easily be read in one sitting, which is a good thing as it is utterly captivating. 

I think the story will resonate with anyone who has experienced or going through or knows someone going through the illnesses mentioned in this book, and although the tone is kept quite lighthearted throughout, the gradual decline of Arthur's memory is certain to make the reader cry.

I would recommend everyone to read this book, as it is a real eye-opener as to how dementia robs the person and their families of life. 

*I was gifted a copy of this book by the author, I was under no obligation to leave a review.

If you would like to pick up your copy, and I highly recommend that you do, you can do so over 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.

Thank you for reading The Trials of Arthur Whitty. Please leave a star rating and review on Amazon and/or Goodreads so others can benefit from your experience.

Tim’s Amazon author page: www.author.to/TimWalkerWrites  




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Book Review: The Trials of Arthur Whitty by Tim Walker

  The Trials of Arthur Whitty  By Tim Walker This novella is the story of plain old Arthur Whitty, a man whose dreams are never dull and who...