Arthur is a light-hearted comedy set in the small market town of Duckford, Devon, during the summer of 1963.
Arthur Fredrick Cox, sixty, widower and life-long lover of opera, is the chief sub officer of Duckford's retained fire station.
Like all of Duckford's retained firemen, Arthur is employed elsewhere (he keeps a lodger) but is ready to respond to a fire call within minutes of hearing the wail of the old air raid siren on top of the station or the loud bell ringing in his house.
He's been doing this for thirty-five years - saving lives, serving the community, protecting the town, especially during the terrible years of the war.
However, Arthur's carefully controlled life is now beginning to unravel.
A new, fully staffed, whole-time station is being built in the nearby town of Kingsbridge, which could easily cover Duckford's area when it opens. And there hasn't been a fire in Duckford for almost nine months. The threat of closure is looming large.
In quiet desperation, Arthur begins secretly starting fires himself, in order to put them out.
At the same time, two things happen that will change Arthur's life forever, in spite of his efforts to hang on to everything he knows and trusts - he is diagnosed with a rare sleeping disorder, narcolepsy, and a beautiful young French woman (with a secret of her own) moves in and Arthur falls hopelessly in love.
Synopsis and
Sample Chapters
coming soon
(c) ben johncock 2007
