Minus One

An extract from a new novel named after removing one letter from a well-know book title.

Despite Irene’s concerns, Soames applauded the unusually generous dimensions of what would eventually become their kitchen at Robin Hill. ‘Excellent Bosinney,’ he said to the architect, ‘well done sir!’ Soames Forsyte, a man of foresight, saw kitchens as being the future in housing design. Times were changing. The kitchen would one day become the heart and soul of a house, a place where guests would naturally gather instead of the outdated parlour. All that a kitchen required was a focal point and for that he had an idea. ‘Imagine our guests,’ he said, ‘arriving and gathering around a modern oven with multiple functions, a new source of heat so intriguing and stylish that no one would wish to be anywhere else. Of course, I should have to coin a new name for it, something succinct like the Aga or even The Forsyte Aga since I would have been its inventor.