Book Notes: Sophie Hannah’s No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done

Sophie Hannah’s new standalone novel is a love letter to England. The book will be confusing and weird to anybody who has not been steeped in the English culture. But for those of us who grew up reading and dreaming about the quaint English villages that gave rise to the most amazing civilization on Earth, the novel is irresistible. The characters are delightfully non-diverse. They are crazy about dogs and houses. They take their gardens and their Agatha Christie book clubs extremely seriously. Most importantly, they live as if Miss Marple’s England were still there.

No One Would Do What the Lamberts Have Done is a strange book. It’s an invitation to a club that only those who truly understand and love England can join. I’ve been reading Sophie Hannah for pretty much as long as she’s been writing, and this novel is both very much hers and quite unusual for her.