The Hour of Incense

When young would-be actor Michael Whistler meets eccentric Jewish artist Billy Zachariah and his consort Rose Tattoo in a London police station he is drawn inexorably into their life in Westwoods - a house where portraits are painted lessons are learnt and fears confronted. The rowdy and caustic Billy becomes a father to him and Rose a generous mother. Michael longs to uncover the secret history of the pseudonymous (and Catholic) Rose but he is not prepared for the final scene in this passion play - when Rose has to carry out a life-saving mission that may destroy her. A rich and unconventional three-way love story (with cameo appearances by a miraculous painting and a rubber duck) this novel re-tells the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice travelling through the complex heart of true love human memory stigma mental illness and God.