The Man in the Wooden Hat

By: Jane Gardam

Narrated by: Bill Wallace

Acclaimed as Jane Gardam's masterpiece, Old Filth is a lyrical series that recalls the fully lived life of Sir Edward Feathers. The Man in the Wooden Hat is the history of his marriage told from the perspective of his wife, Betty, a character as vivid and enchanting as Filth himself.

They met in Hong Kong after the war. Betty had spent the duration in a Japanese internment camp. Filth was already a successful barrister, handsome, fast becoming rich, in need of a wife but unaccustomed to romance. A perfect English couple of the late 1940s.

As a portrait of a marriage, with all the bittersweet secrets and surprising fulfillment of the 50-year union of two remarkable people, The Man in the Wooden Hat is a triumph. Fiction of a very high order from a great novelist working at the pinnacle of her considerable power, it will be experienced and loved and recommended by all the many thousands who found its predecessor, Old Filth, so compelling and thoroughly satisfying.

©2009 Jane Gardam (P)2020 Recorded Books

I adore this trilogy

Fascinating web of characters. Flawlessly written. I reread it every few years and always find something new. Entire courses could be dedicated to this trilogy.

The Story

I loved this continuing story of Filth from his wife’s point of view. The writing is excellent.

So delicious

So delicious. I was sorry to finish it. I have now read all three in the trilogy.

An old world life and classic history of Hong Kong and English law and lawyers

The story was easy to follow, but I got confused about the men in the story.