Mabel Winston is a modern successful woman – clever, stylish, and dedicated to her work. She's the non-fiction publishing director of an international publisher. Tom Rutherford, tall, handsome lawyer, is her boyfriend. Kitty, Mabel's daffy personal assistant, jokes that she takes Tom for granted and is too comfortable about the parade of men seeking her favors.Raphael Cannane drifts back into Mabel's life after a ten-year break. Mabel and Raf grew up in the same street. Raf's twin sister, Rebecca, was sweet, but Raf sometimes a snarling tomcat. Mabel was often his victim. She could never understand why. Now he is back, troubling her, not in the same savage way, but with a disturbing irony.Mabel departs with her mother, Miriam, on a pre-planned holiday to England, part of which is a tour of the places in Jane Austen's two Bath novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. At the airport, they meet Dirk Howlett-Smit, a wealthy funds manager. Dirk invites Mabel and Miriam to stay at his sprawling Georgian mansion outside London.All is going well when Mabel abruptly packs up and flees to Bath with Miriam. Dirk and his daughter, Edwina, follow and join the tour, which swells to eight. Raf is unexpectedly among the new arrivals. The tour is torture for Mabel. Then, Tom appears. Worse is to come when she returns to her work. Bitterness, shock, and betrayal mark her relationships. After a lifetime working in the book business (mostly educational publishing) I now concentrate on my writing.
One of my formative experiences was living in Holland with my Dutch wife for two and a half years. On returning to Australia, I completed a major in Dutch Language and Literature before a master's degree in philosophy. My studies and immersion in another culture and language, together with my Catholic faith, form the biggest influences on my writing. But shaping those influences are my mother and father. One could not have more principled parents.
My master's thesis was on Edmund Burke whose thought permeates my writing. My preoccupations are social and cultural from a Catholic and (Burkean) conservative perspective. This reflects my acceptance of the Catholic idea of the reciprocal relationship between faith and reason.
My favourite fiction authors are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Evelyn Waugh. Evelyn Waugh's style and mastery of English have been my biggest influence – not in vain, I hope. My favourite modern non-fiction author is philosopher Roger Scruton. I spend my leisure time reading and occasionally walking along the nearby shores of Port Phillip Bay. I love opera, musicals, and the ballet (The Nutcracker is my favourite.) I enjoy fifties rock 'n' roll and forties big band. Mozart is my favourite classical composer, but I am acquiring a liking for Bach.
My novels are in the genre of the 'Catholic novel'. They are in the style of Catholic novelists Evelyn Waugh, Grahame Greene, and Morris West. I deal with similar political, philosophical, and moral issues. The difference from general fiction is the assumed philosophical framework. Most modern fiction assumes a materialist framework while the Catholic novel assumes a natural law framework (See the 'Catholic Novel' page on my website.) Finally, there is always a romantic content in my stories. Love relationships are an incisive way of exploring the human person.
