This Time of Dying

This Time of Dying (2007), a historical romance novel by Reina James, takes place in London in 1918, on the cusp of the outbreak of the Spanish flu. Undertaker Henry Speake and schoolteacher Allen Thompson’s lives are upturned as the epidemic rushes through the city. A romance blossoms between Allen and Henry, which is put on hold by the mounting number of bodies funeral director Henry is supposed to bury and the closure of Allen's school due to threat of illness. The novel is ultimately a portrayal of this moment in world history from the viewpoint of a few struggling Londoners, who watch as the death toll climbs into the tens of thousands.

Middle-aged undertaker Henry Speake, who is unmarried, manages the family business, providing for his sister, who relies on their profits. Based in part on his personality and his profession, Henry is a melancholy man. Generally reserved and stoic, he finds pleasure in music. During the First World War, which is rapidly coming to a close, Henry stepped in to play the organ for the local church. Through his organ music, he receives an opportunity to be the pianist for a school production, where he meets Allen Thompson.

A brave woman, also unmarried, Allen works as a schoolteacher in the city. She takes care of her sister, Lily, who is bed-ridden and filled with paranoia over their maid, Ada. Allen comes from an upper-middle-class family, but she enjoys Henry’s company, despite the derision of many of her family members and acquaintances. Though Henry is of a lower social class, they find solace in each other and in music. They frequently attend recitals together in the city and confide in each other about their struggles caring for family members, managing business, and other daily troubles.



The Spanish flu arrives, literally, on Henry's doorstep soon after he meets Allen. Doctor Thomas Wey suddenly drops dead outside Henry's funeral parlor just before the flu sweeps the city. The doctor had contracted the flu—he has the bloated, blue face and bloody nose of many victims of the epidemic. In his hand, Wey carries a letter addressed to the chief medical officer of London. Wey's letter insists that the ports should be closed and troops held back to avoid inundating the city with the flu virus. Henry considers mailing the letter, but suspecting Wey was deranged, decides against it. All too soon, Henry realizes his mistake.

The soldiers return, and the flu sweeps through London. Henry's funeral parlor is suddenly so full of bodies, they can barely manage. Sadly, the bodies are mostly young men and women, between the ages of 20 and 45. Samuel, Henry's nephew, dies of the infection, forcing Henry to stop ignoring the virus that has been plaguing his city. Meanwhile, Allen is closed off in her home with Lily. School has been canceled until further notice. Allen is subjected each day to the ravings of her sister, who is convinced their maid, Ada, is a German spy. Ada, for her part, is hiding something—she is keeping her sick girlfriend upstairs, where Ada can tend to her each day, and where she has a higher likelihood of survival.

Tensions grow as Henry begins to investigate some of the symptoms of influenza, and Allen refuses to give in to her sister's demands to fire Ada. James fills the book with images of the hospitals, orphanages, and streets where children and adults alike suffer and die. For Henry and Allen, who long for a late-in-life romance, a connection is impossible; as long as the flu rages, there is no way for them to meet.



The novel ends with a brief glimmer of hope, though the damage has been done—by the end of the flu epidemic, nearly 100 million people worldwide had died.

Reina James, a British author of two novels, has also worked as an actress, starring in the plays John, Paul, Ringo, George... and Bert and Blood Brothers. Her debut novel, This Time of Dying won the McKitterick Prize for best first novel by an author over 40. James's second book, The Old Joke, was published in 2009.