THE LOT OF THE model-slash-actor-turned-author is not a happy one. Think of poor Naomi Campbell, who reportedly had not even read “her” ghostwritten novel Swan when it was published in 1994. Comedians generally fare better at the novelling game than straight actors, the putting together of words being their stock-intrade. But Sophie Ward, best known until recently for Heartbeat, Holby City and Boots No 7, bucked the trend with her original and philosophical debut novel Love and Other Thought Experiments (2020), which was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Her second novel The Schoolhouse therefore carries expectation, and not just as a curio. It is less surprising than her debut but shows a similar restlessness — as though, having started late in the game, Ward is determined to write as many novels as possible each time.
This one is a coming-of-age story, a trauma narrative, and a crime thriller. The story starts out by cycling through
