230 pages
English language
Published April 10, 2014 by Faber & Faber, Limited.
The Hours Before Dawn (1958) was Celia Fremlin's debut fiction, and won the Edgar Award for novel of the year from the Mystery Writers of America. Over time Fremlin would earn the soubriquet of 'the mistress of psychological suspense.' Louise Henderson is a young housewife and mother, trying her best to tend to a husband, two small daughters and a constantly crying baby. Her fatigue is such that she fears she is nearing psychosis; and she can't help but feel that a new lodger in the house, a seemingly respectable schoolmistress, poses a threat to her and her family.
Content warning Slight spoiler
The author invites you inside the protagonist's exhausted and possibly paranoiac mind, and for most of the book you're wondering if we're all headed for the funny farm. The denouement celebrates the resilience and capability of an exhausted parent in very unexpected ways.
