Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
The narrative style tells the story of Margaret, a gentle woman of 75, mixing 'now' (2015) with revelations about her backstory from the age of 7. Her early life was fascinating, she is a fictional character but truths of the treatment of people who weren't 'the full shilling' is woven throughout; the beliefs of and treatment by the State and staff providing care make horrifying reading. Manipulative characters take full advantage of the institutional life in a realistic way and it was reassuring to read of Margaret's interactions with people now. The difficulties associated with not being able to read or write are emphasised sympathetically as she receives the mystery notes and visits local shops. This was such an excellent book it is hard to believe this a debut novel, I fully recommend it.

I didn’t get to this before pub day, so I actually listened to the audiobook through my library. Somewhere along the line (past 50%) it returned to my library and I straight up didn’t notice. I think that says all I need to say: I genuinely forgot I was reading it. The story was endearing and sweet, but lacked a hook. I never looked forward to reading it nor did I ever think about it after setting it down. Unfortunately I don’t think I will seek it out to finish. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Oh my goodness I enjoyed this novel and particularly it’s incredibly endearing central character, the 75 year old Margaret Small. Margaret lives in Whitstable, Kent and is a Cilla Black super fan. So, when she starts to receive sums of money through the post from someone who sign themselves C there is only one conclusion she can draw. However, her idol has recently passed away. To get to the bottom of this mystery, Margaret must investigate but this means going back, to places and memories that are long buried. Margaret doesn’t tell people, but 70 years ago she disappeared from her family and was taken into an institution for children with learning disabilities.

I loved that this book was based on real events, because so many families have these terrible experiences and long held secrets. He has taken these events and factual accounts from people who’ve experienced this in real life, then created Margaret to experience everything and carry the story, I defy anyone to dislike her, There’s a naïve charm here that fills you with joy one moment and then sadness, because you know how vulnerable and easy to manipulate she must have been. The mystery woven around these events is well put together, but seems incidental to the main purpose of the book, which is to tell the story for people who have really experienced the adversity Margaret faces. She has never been taught to read, leaving her at a disadvantage her whole life.and unable to read the letters that arrive with those £50 notes. Her relationship with support worker Wayne is wonderful This example of how care should be done, puts her experiences in institutions to shame. Despite her difficulties Wayne never takes over but respects Margaret’s agency over her life. Some of her early experiences of physical and emotional abuse are very difficult to read, but it’s important to bear witness to them because they did happen to many people in. Margaret’s position at that time. To put a six year old child into a psychiatric hospital is barbaric. She must have felt so alone. It reminded me of a person I once supported, when such long-term institutions were being closed and people with no life skills were simply left to cope in the community. I love that this author has created Margaret so everyone can Know and understand what happened to children like her.

A sad, but good read. It made you really think and certainly feel for Margaret and those like her. It took me a bit to get into it, but when I did I found it a worthwhile, if difficult read.

what an outstanding Debut book by the author I adored this book and would recommend it to everyone to read and Loved the setting being a place i know well

There wasn't anything I disliked about this book. the writing style and format was good and engaged me the whole way along, the storyline was absolutely riveting and thought provoking. I couldn't put it down and I can't stop thinking about it. I will never stop recommending this book.

Soon after the death of her idol Cilla Black, 75-year-old Margaret Small starts receiving small amounts of money through the post accompanied by notes signed simply ‘C’. Is it Cilla trying to get in touch with her? To unravel the mystery, Margaret needs to go back to the days that she spent at St Mary’s, an institution for people with learning disabilities, where she made and lost friends and love. Once again, it’s a book with a very memorable, fascinating heroine and a harrowing insight into 1950s/1960s views on unwed mothers and disabled people. There are some loose ends not quite tied up at the end and I really enjoy this ‘open to interpretation’ approach but I understand that can be frustrating for some readers. It’s a very heartbreaking story with a very heartwarming ending and I couldn’t put it down.

I read this book for my bookclub - it was my suggestion so I'm hoping everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Wasn't sure what to think when I first started the book - ended up putting it down and starting something else. But as bookclub night was looming I picked it up again. So glad I did as it was a delight of a story. Yes it is quite sad and a bit brutal in places - reminded me of the book and film Philomena. I guessed what the twist was going to be but it didn't spoil it in any way for me. I will admin to having something in my eye at that point in the book. It is heart breaking but ends on a hopeful note. Like Philomena I am so glad we no longer treat people in this way.

At times a heart-wrenching read, “The Vanishing of Margaret Small” was an astounding debut novel. Based upon interviews with ‘people with learning disabilities’, the author has created a fictionalized tribute to those people, while also reminding us of the dire treatment of these individuals just a few short decades ago.

While reading, I wondered if Margaret was really as ‘slow’ as they made her out to be. If her grandmother had shown her any real love and guidance perhaps she would have learned to read and write. Though, the sad truth was that the grandmother’s getting rid of Margaret as an unwelcome reminder of her daughter’s transgressions seemed inevitable in a way. The sadistic treatment of the patients at the long term care institution was distressing to read. Margaret lived there from the age of seven until she was forty-one years old! All the while being told she was incapable of learning – and she had no schooling.

Now, at age 75, Margaret is still illiterate, but gets by living alone in her flat with the aid of a support worker named Wayne. She loves listening to audiobooks on her discman, wandering around the streets of her beloved Whitstable, and she is an ardent fan of the singer Cilla Black. Her predictable life is shattered when she begins receiving letters from someone named ‘C’. The letters usually contain £50 and urge her to ‘treat herself’. Margaret is mystified as to who could be sending these letters.

When reading, the locations mentioned were very vivid to me – largely in part to the fact that just last week I binge-watched the second season of “Whitstable Pearl” on Netflix.

This poignant story tells of people whom life has denied any of the advantages that we take for granted today. People with few or no choices about their own lives. It speaks to the unfairness of life, while simultaneously being hopeful thanks in no small part to Margaret’s naivety and positive outlook.

I would definitely read another book by this author. Recommended!

A heart-breaking, yet hopeful tale of the abysmal treatment of “mental” women in the not-too-distant past. Readers can’t help caring for Margaret, as she finds her way through the difficulties she faces. As a psychologist who works with developmentally disabled adults, I can vouch for the overall accuracy of the treatments, hardships and prejudices depicted in this novel. I only wish I could say that those challenges have now been completely eradicated. Sadly, not so.

Margaret's story is told in two timelines, starting in the past when, at age 7, she was "vanished," institutionalized because of learning disabilities, and alternating with the present, in which she is having trouble coming to terms with the death of pop star Cilla Black and receiving notes from someone that she believes may be Cilla returning. This was kind of a sweet and sad book. I enjoyed it and read it very quickly. Margaret was a likeable character who deserved a nice ending. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

A superb debut that will tug at the heartstrings. The story revolves around the lovable Margaret and is split over dual timelines of past and present, tracing back to when Margaret was vanished into the care system as a child with disabilities. She reflects from 2015 at the age of 75years. An avid Cilla Black fan she is convinced that monthly money deposits arriving from C are from the legendary singer. Margaret broke my heart and made me laugh in swings and roundabouts. I absolutely love her. Superb characterisation. A story and a character that will stay with me for some time to come. #thevanishingofmargaretsmall #netgalley #neilalexander

If you follow my blog and reviews you will know I absolutely ADORE quirky characters and when I saw the blurb for The Vanishing Of Margaret Small I knew I had to read it.

Let me introduce you to Margaret Small, our narrator. She has spent most of her childhood and much of her adult life at St Mary’s – a home for children with learning difficulties and disabilities and now aged 75 she lives by herself in Whitstable with the support of Wayne, her care worker.

As a lifelong superfan of Cilla Black, Margaret is grieving deeply since Cilla died and unable to read, she listens to Cilla’s autobiography on audible constantly. When she receives a letter with £50 and an accompanying note signed “C” (which the man at Sainsbury’s kindly reads for her), she’s convinced her heroine is back from the dead.

With a heartbreaking dual timeline, the reader is taken back to 7 year old Margaret as her grandmother sends her to live at St Mary’s. Abandoned, alone, distraught and confused little Margaret is subjected to the most awful abuse at the hands of those who are meant to care for her and there are many uncomfortable scenes that literally broke my heart.

The Vanishing of Margaret Small is an emotional journey from her childhood to present day. Margaret may have been slower than others and unable to read or write but she has the biggest heart. Her sweet innocence, her kindness and compassion for others shines through.

This is a beautiful book about hope, love, acceptance, forgiveness and “anyone who had a heart” can’t help falling in love with Margaret and hoping she finally gets a happy ever after.

The Vanishing of Margaret Small is the first novel by British author, Neil Alexander. In 1947, at the age of seven, Margaret Small is collected without explanation from her grandmother’s home by a man she dubs The Rat Catcher.

Mr Grey is with the Board of Control and has done a bunch of tests on her: he deposits her at St Mary’s Hospital (for defectives), in Canterbury where she is kept, except for a short episode at another institution, for the next thirty-four years of her life. She never sees her grandmother, or the contents of the tiny suitcase she packed for her, again.

Almost seven decades later, Margaret, at seventy-five still cannot read, but manages to live alone in her cottage in Whitstable, with frequent visits from Wayne, her support worker. She’s always been a big fan of Cilla Black, has a wealth of Cilla facts stored in her brain, and consoles herself over the death of her idol by listening frequently to the audiobook of her memoir.

But someone is sending her notes with cash, signed with “C x”: she believes it’s Cilla but, except for the one read to her by the young man in Sainsbury’s, she has no idea what they say, and she’s reluctant to ask Wayne, because he will probably think she’s lost it. She likes the life she has now, her routine and the people in her life, and the last thing she wants is to be put away again.

Something the notes do have her thinking about is her time at St Mary’s, all those years ago: the nurses, always strict, some kind, others terribly cruel; the other patients, some true friends, others who claimed to be but weren’t really, one she loved (who loved her back, surely?), all eventually leaving her behind; the work, some of which she liked, especially when she was good at it, some of which it was wrong to make patients do.

And those tests that Mr Grey did? Her learning difficulties may have been recognised, but they were never addressed. Instead, Margaret was labelled as “incapable” and shoved away out of sight, and for a long time, out of mind.

Margaret is a protagonist with whom the reader can’t help feeling empathy. For all she endures, she’s resilient, and surprisingly lacking in bitterness (about cruelties inflicted on her she mildly states “it wasn’t right”) and wants, more than anything, just to be part of a family.

Alexander throws the reader a little surprise before a most satisfactory resolution to Margaret’s story. He gives his characters wise words and insightful observations. “Don’t judge yourself the way others judged you in the past.” Funny, moving and uplifting, this is an outstanding debut novel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Embla Books.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Embla Books for approving me for an ARC of this book.

Where do I even begin? Everyone and I mean everyone needs to read this book! I defy anyone to not fall in love with Margaret Small, she is the most loveable character you could ever meet and once you know her history you can’t help but love her more. This story is told in a dual timeline. We have present-day Margaret who is struggling to understand why she keeps receiving letters from someone called ‘C’ and Margaret as a child/teen/ young woman telling us her story inside the walls of St Mary’s.

I honestly found it so hard to hear what she had endured as a child in St Mary’s and I don’t think I can have hated a character more than Nurse Cunningham! The sad fact of the matter is that whilst this book is a work of fiction it is based on real stories and my heart breaks to think of what people with disabilities, physically or mentally, went through in the 1940s-1980s. As Margaret tells us her story I wanted someone to help her and give her the life she deserved. Whether it was Joan, Eva or kind Sandra, the people she trusted kept abandoning her and each time my heart broke a little more for her.

Present-day Margaret is a creature of habit and I love the simplistic life she lives. You have to admire the life she has built for herself, considering her institutional life. When the letters and gifts start appearing I immediately want to know who it is. This level of mystery grabbed me straight away and kept me listening. I had a few theories running through my mind and after one or two surprises we finally learn who the mystery sender is. I was pleasantly surprised and felt that this gave the story a lovely ending worthy of Margaret.

Whilst this book does deal with some very hard truths there are some lovely moments of laughter. From Margaret’s unwavering faith to Cilla Black to Charisma and her unladylike qualities, there are quite a few moments to make you smile. Wayne was a huge supporting role for Margaret and he too comes with his own quirky personality which is why I think he gets on so well with Margaret.

I’m not ashamed to say that this book brought tears to my eyes even before I got to the end. My heart ached for Margaret and the life she could have had but I was also proud of her accomplishments and her unwavering faith in human kindness. Everyone needs a Margaret in their life and I’m so pleased that I got the chance to meet her, even if it’s just in the fictional world. Her story and the untold stories that this book is based on will stay with me for a long time. Now all I need is for Neil Alexander to hurry up and write his next book, I need more of this beautiful writing in my world!

There’s something about a novel with an elderly protagonist that always draws me in. Perhaps because I’m getting on a bit myself, or because they remind me of a long-departed grandparent. Or maybe simply because older people, with the richness of a life lived, are just more interesting. And Margaret Small is most certainly that.

Margaret’s is a sensitively told story that’s in equal measure heartwarming and heartbreaking. Split across two timelines, we get to know her as a young girl ‘vanished’ into the 1960s’ care system, and as a woman in her seventies, now living independently but still under the supervision of a social worker.

Linking the two is the mystery of ‘C’, who is sending present-day Margaret notes and cash. Who is ‘C’ and what is their connection to entertainer Cilla Black, Margaret’s recently deceased heroine?

This was a hugely enjoyable book, made all the more so for author Neil Alexander’s meticulous research into the historic phenomenon of long-stay institutions for the mentally disabled. While this made at times for difficult reading, it lent a powerful authenticity to the narrative and elicited sympathy and admiration for the character of Margaret, whose stoicism has seen her through seven decades of rejection and abandonment. She cuts a sad, lonely figure but possesses a spark that refuses to be dimmed and a cheeky wit that disguises the hurt she carries deep inside.

Alexander writes with both authority and compassion, delivering a wholly absorbing tale of maltreatment, loss, courage and ultimately redemption. I found the unraveling of Margaret’s story deeply moving, and while the mysterious ‘C’ did not turn out to be who I wanted them to be, the ending was still very satisfying.

This was an encouraging debut and I look forward to reading more from Neil Alexander.

A book that is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. It is wonderfully written and was a joy to read. Margaret Small is a fabulous character you'll love to get to know.
If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant then I wholeheartedly recommend this one.
Huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc ebook.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5115509112It's a thought provoking and poignant story even if the tone is light, there's plenty of humour and funny moments.
Margaret is a woman with learning disabilities and she was "vanished" when she was 7, being institutionalised in a house for mental disabled people.
The dual time line story follow her since she was a child and the woman in the present, a huge fan of Cilla Black, receiving money from someone who only sign as C
I loved this story as Margaret is a strong character, an unusual one as there's not a lot of stories featuring a learning disable lady as MC.
Loved the style of writing and the storytelling, I look forward to reading another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Margaret Small lives a quiet life in Whitstable. Now in her 70s, she has enjoyed her last few years free from the home she was brought up in and remained in for much of her adulthood, due to being diagnosed with learning disabilities as a child. Her great comfort is the music of Cilla Black and she is still heartbroken over her death. When notes and money start arriving from a mysterious stranger, signed only C, Margaret has to face up to her horrific past.
The Vanishing of Margaret Small is told over two timelines, the near present day and the 60s and 70s when Margaret was incarcerated in St Mary’s. Margaret is a beautifully drawn character, one of life’s innocents, totally trusting and willing to deal with whatever life throws at her. Her treatment at St Mary’s and the other home she ends up in is so cruel and inhumane you can help but be utterly furious. That children and adults were treated this way only 50 years ago beggars belief.
Neil Alexander has taken 14 years to create this novel and his time and effort have paid off. This is a beautiful, tender novel which shows that the best people can win through eventually, even when they have be subjected to unbelievable cruelty. Definitely a writer to watch, I can’t wait to read his future work.

This one was fabulous and will give you all the feels!
Margaret Small was “vanished”—sent to a home for mentally disabled children in the 1940’s.

The Vanishing of Margaret Small ditches time between Margaret’s experiences in the home and present day, where Margaret is getting mysterious letters in the mail.

I couldn’t stop reading this one! Margaret’s experiences growing up were very disturbing, but watching her grow into quite a remarkable person is very gratifying.