What really goes on in the coastal town that they forgotto shut down? More than meets the eye, that’s what.
“Warfleet’s not an exciting town…” so says one of the many brilliantly drawn characters within. Wittily scathing and often surprising, these 19 stand-alone tales capture the vagaries of outlier living. Does anyone really belong here? Is the DFL guilty merely due to provenance? Can people who have moved to a town to get a slice of the (slow) good life really rub along together?

"Hayman’s stories are a hoot – and compelling reading for Deal residents, as well as for the identified category of DFLs (Down From London). Warfleet is very much a recognisable seaside community which includes a particular breed of engaging – if sometimes dark – English eccentric. These clever short stories are a medley of charm and menace, a mixture of the real and the surreal, and Ms Hayman has an almost Dickensian gift for characters’ names – Marsha Snelgrove, Arthur Mobberley, Scott Harvey-Dixon (the local Tory), as well as a sure sense of place. The collection is altogether a delight.”

MARY KENNY, JOURNALIST, BROADCASTER & PLAYWRIGHT

The Warfleet Chronicles are a mix of humour, piquancy, bitterness, caution, cunning and surprise. They may have a deceptively lulling beginning, but often an alarmingly macabre twist, or darkly comic ending. A community where we should feel safe has the unexpected power to startle and shock. A sort of Tales of the Unexpected meets Bridgerton.

About the author

Carole Hayman was born in Kent, and attended Leeds University and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She is a writer, broadcaster, actor and director. 

She has published many comic and satirical novels and written radio and TV series for the BBC, ITV and Channel Four. These include Ladies of Letters (co-written with Lou Wakefield), The Refuge and The Spinney (co-written with Sue Townsend) Her solo novels include Hard Choices, Missing and Greed, Crime, Sudden Death.

She is also an opera creator and librettist. Carol lives in Deal.

Supporting Deal Museum​​

This volume of Carole’s witty and surprising short stories is published in support of Deal Museum. "The fascinating artefacts in the Museum really do bring to life the travails of everyday Deal people as well as those trailblazers who made it into the history books," says Carole. "When researching for an opera I was working on, I was able to get lots of information about the über-corrupt local election of 1880 from the Museum’s archives – I’m always keen to help this sort of service keep going,"