My huge thanks to Fiona Brownlee at Muswell Press for sending me a surprise copy of Miss Veal and Miss Ham by Vikki Heywood. It’s my pleasure to share my review of this debut story today.
Miss Veal and Miss Ham was published by Muswell Press on 3rd July 2025 and is available for purchase here.
Miss Veal and Miss Ham
Public Companions, Private Lovers….
It is 1951 and behind the counter of a modest post office in a leafy Buckinghamshire village Miss Dora Ham and Miss Beatrix Veal maintain their careful façade as respected local spinsters. But behind their public façade is a story of passion; suffragist activists who fell in love at a rally in the 1900s, danced in London’s secret gay clubs between the wars, and comforted one another during the Blitz. Together they have built a life of quiet dignity and service in rural England.
Over the course of one pivotal day their carefully constructed world begins to fracture. Through Beatrix’s wry perspective we witness the severe impact of post-war changes on their peaceful existence. Changes that will lead to heart-breaking decisions for Miss Veal and Miss Ham
At the heart of this intimate, moving and witty novel is a story of resilience, the dignity of love that cannot be spoken, and the challenges that come when the future no longer feels safe.
My Review of Miss Veal and Miss Ham
The bailiffs are on their way.
What a magnificently ‘quiet’ book. Miss Veal and Miss Ham probably won’t have the reach and razzamatazz of a celebrity author’s work, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t truly magnificent. It’s a wonderful story.
I loved the dramatic unity of time and place as the events revolve around one day at the combined shop and post office run by Beatrix Veal and Dora Ham. This unity gives a completely satisfying and beautifully balanced structure. It would be easy to imagine Miss Veal and Miss Ham as a wonderful stage play because their voices and personalities are so clear. The writing is so effective. Dialogue is naturalistic and there’s a beauty in the quiet moments of the text that draws in the reader throughout. Beatrix in particular displays a sharp wit that provides dramatic light relief and serves to heighten the emotion of her memories of her childhood and her grief.
Whilst both women have had exciting pasts, living life to the full in the gay bars of London, being involved in the suffragist movement and maintaining the secret of their love over decades and through war, much of this present time in their lives is mundane and prosaic – apart from the fact they are about to lose everything. Dora struggles with her balance and walking and Beatrix tends her hens and goes on walks with great friend Oliver. However, it is this very ordinariness that is the huge success of the story. The concept of overlooking ‘spinster’ women and making assumptions about them, threads through the story. There’s a huge depth of feeling just beneath the surface and I found the book totally absorbing and very moving.
As Beatrix leads the reader through this one day, her conversations with Dora, her frustration at the impasse she and Dora find themselves in, and her stoic approach, feel all the more emotional as life begins to unravel. Set against the backdrop of love, Vikki Heywood weaves in the niceties of society, the control of the patriarchy, and the way post-war life impacted women, so convincingly that it is impossible not to be infuriated at the casual way events mean Beatrix and Dora are essentially discarded. As the day progresses, Beatrix’s life unravels like the wool from Mrs Hodge’s hand-knits, providing the reader with a vivid insight into how finely balanced and precarious life can be.
I thought Miss Veal and Miss Ham was one of those perfectly crafted stories that feel akin to drinking champagne in a world of rough cider. It provides insight into an historical era, whilst celebrating love and loyalty. It takes the reader by surprise in its ordinariness and, ultimately, in its drama. It’s a book I would urge readers not to overlook. I loved it.
About Vikki Heywood
Vikki Heywood was Executive Director of the RSC from 2003 until 2012 and before that Joint Chief Executive of the Royal Court Theatre. She has been an executive producer of many West End and Broadway productions, including Matilda the Musical. She was Chairman of the RSA 2012-2018 and in 2020 was awarded a Damehood for services to the Arts. This is her first novel.
For further information, visit Vikki’s website and find her on Instagram.
English (US) · 