It’s been a while since I read a book I savored so much that I didn’t want it to end.

I get a lot of book recommendations from Bookmarks magazine, some of which are contributed by other readers, and while I don’t exactly recall which recommendation led me to checking out My Policeman from the library, it certainly hit the mark. Not only for the depth of the story, but also for how beautifully it was written.

Set in Brighton, a seaside town in England, the story alternates between two time periods, the 1950s and the 1990s. It tells the story of Marion, who is desperately in love with Tom, the brother of her best friend. It also tells the story of Patrick, a gay man who falls desperately in love with the same Tom that Marion loves. And Tom, it turns out, is also gay, and this is something he comes to realize because of his intense attraction to Patrick and the consummation of their relationship.

This love triangle is set in the 1950s, which was a time when homosexuality was considered both immoral as well as illegal, so most gay men (and women) were extremely careful not to publicize their sexual preferences. In the case of Patrick, while he couldn’t help writing about the object of his love in his journal, he referred to him as “my policeman,” which is what Tom did for a living. Tom, on his part, strove to maintain the veneer of respectability by marrying Marion, whom he was fond of, while still meeting Patrick in secret. And Marion was so much in love with Tom that she was thrilled to be marrying him, even though there were signs that Tom was not completely like the other men her friends were marrying. And she sticks with the marriage even after realizing that Tom is a homosexual and is having a relationship with Patrick.

Forty or so odd years later in the 1990s, Marion and Tom are still married, but Patrick has had a severe stroke and Marion, against Tom’s wishes, brings him home and nurses him, almost devotedly. Why she does this and why she has stuck with Tom despite knowing of his homosexuality is something we get to know only towards the end of the book.

Overall, it is a very sad story, very poignantly told. The blurb on the cover of the book called it “an exquisitely told, tragic tale of thwarted love,” and while I usually find such blurbs to be quite unbelievable and over-the-top, I found it accurate to the tee for My Policeman.  I can’t think of a better word than “exquisite” for this book and how it is written.

My Policeman
Author: Bethan Roberts
UK Publisher: Chatto Windus
UK Publication Date: August 2012
US Publisher: Penguin Books
US Publication Date: August 2021

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Contributor: Lachmi Khemlani is a fan of the written word.