Random Things Tours: Matilda Windsor is Coming Home by Anne Goodwin

But until she is back home, there is a very long road to take, which crosses decades of change in terms of mental health policies and public awareness.

Books like Matilda Windsor is Coming Home by Anne Goodwin are a noteworthy literary contribution to a topic which deserves a serious reconsideration, not matter the country and the context: mental health, particularly mental health policies. 

However, the book is not a nonfiction account of various mental health policies in England. It has a story and lively characters and also a pinch of humour which makes both the story and the characters widely relatable. The book reminded me a lot of old good English literature, with old ladies stuck in the past or/and forced to isolate by their families since their early youth due to some random morality and emotionally misunderstood issues. 

Matilda Windsor, the once glamorous lady who is now rewinding over and over again her glamorous memories is one of the kindest and interesting characters in the book. Janice, the social worker who is not only doing a job, but also is involved emotionally in the fate of her patients, is another relatable character keeping the reader a good company alongside the story. The other important character in the book, the brother, Henry, who last saw his sister as a little boy, seems less profiled and is not necessarily a coherent presence into the story.

As the story takes place mostly in the very far away past, in the 1930s and in the 1990s, the context and the ambiance are very important. The book is well placed in the then social and political realm which gives authenticity and a specific life zest to the story.

Anne Goodwin writes extensively about topics related to mental health and I am curious to read out more by her. Matilda Windsor is Coming Home is a recommended read for anyone with an interest in such a sensitive and very painful social topic, seen from the perspective of a relatable kind story.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered part of a book blog tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own.