Inspired by true events, The Warlow Experiment is an intriguing read exploring the affects of isolation on the human psyche.

Alix Nathan creates a compelling world with complex characters and commentary about the injustices of the social caste system.

I didn't expect to be engrossed by a novel about an 18th-century experiment by an unusual and eccentric botanist in the English countryside. But "The Warlow Experiment" is both different from what you anticipate and exactly what you expect (if that is possible).

The novel delves into the mind of both the scientist (Herbert Poywss; gentleman scholar) and the subject (John Warlow; peasant farmer) over the course of "the experiment" - seven years alone, with no human contact. The experiment changes not only the whole house (master + staff), but the entire village. The fallout is traumatic, insightful, heartbreaking. Overall an interesting subject to read about, if a little slow.

For a book under 300 pages, this book has taken me forever to get through. It is extremely slow paced, which wasn't at all what I was expecting based on the synopsis. I have seen other reviewers say that it would work better as a short story, and I have to agree.

You have three rooms to live in for seven years with only, books, paintings and an organ to keep you company, but you will have no contact with anyone at all, surely no one would want to take part in this experiment. But times are hard in the Welsh Marches for John Warlow and with a lifetime guarantee of £50 a year he can’t turn it down.
Set in the 18th century, Alix Nathan has written a novel of the highest standard, with an obsessive and self deluded character that was leave the reader emotionally seduced.
It’s a book that is very cleaver and I thought it was top notch. I highly recommend this book.

I was always curious about The Warlow Experiment but I thought it will just be a fun mysterious historical fiction, nothing special. I was pretty wrong.
We follow John Warlow who has answered an advertisement placed by Herbert Powyss in 1793 asking for a volunteer to live in solitary confinement for seven years, if they succeed they will get £50 a year for the rest of their life. Food, linen, water and requests are sent down to him so he never has to encounter another person throughout the experiment.
John is a very gruff semi illiterate land worker and is the only person to answer the mysterious advert, leaving behind his wife and children who I think deserve seven years away from the man.

There is so much to unpack in this short book. Explorations into madness, the civil unrest in England after the French Revolution, moral questions such as is one persons suffering worth 6 people’s happiness (which reminds me of The Good Place actually, if you’ve seen it I think you’ll know the philosophical question I’m reminded of!), obsession etc etc. So much to think of. I’d love to do a full blown analysis and comparison of Powyss and Warlow but it would be a big old spoiler so I think I’ll do that for myself for fun and if anyone else has read this, message me!
I’m not really doing the book justice but it’s definitely a favourite read of the year so far and my head is full of thoughts and ideas I can’t really write, which makes me empathise with John now I think about it.
It’s such a fascinating and gripping story and I can’t wait to read more by Nathan! Like ASAP have to get my hands on her other work

Herbert Powys is an affluent unmarried man who lives a secluded life, spending his time reading and dabbling in horticulture. He harbours a desire to be recognised by the Royal Society for conducting pioneering research.

Powys posts an advert offering £50 a year for life to any man willing to enter an  underground existence for 7 years. He wishes to explore the effects of isolation on the human mind.

Unfortunately, he fails to take account of the experience and needs of John Warlow, the barely literate labourer who agrees to be the subject of his experiment, and furnishes the suite of basement rooms with books, an organ and luxurious items that would appeal to his tastes rather than provide amusement or comfort to Warlow.

Things go drastically wrong.

Nathan shows how Powys' attempts to place another human being under the microscope and treat them as a sterile subject have huge repercussions. Isolation, darkness and the loss of references to time and the seasons cause Warlow to experience delusions and slip into mental illness. Meanwhile, Powys learns the deficiencies inherent in conducting a cold, clinical investigation on a human being, and is forced to acknowledge the elements that are missing from his own life: human companionship, family, and love.

Set against a background of rebellion in England with upper class refusal to understand the working class, publication of Tom Paine's The Rights of Man, bloodshed in revolutionary France and the clash of the traditional with The Age of Reason, Alix Nathan crafts a story that tackles guilt, penance, love, jealousy, mental illness and human progress. I loved this book! Great historical fiction!

This novel had a very gothic feel to it and the language was very in keeping with that genre - in fact, at times I felt like I was reading a much older book. As for the plot/subject matter - oh boy, there is A LOT to unpack here, making it an ideal book club book. I loved the exploration of Warlow's disintegrating mental state, the notions of scientific responsibility and the relationship between Warlow's wife and Powyss. Disturbing, thought provoking and tragic, this was a thoroughly intriguing read.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to our readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me! Love how different a read this was and definitely think I can convert some of our readers to explore a whole new genre with this compelling read.

The premise of this book sounded really interesting. Herbert Powyss wants to make his mark in science - specifically psychological studies.  He engages the services of a poor man living in his district and embarks on a experiment that will change the lives of everyone involved.  John Warlow is poor and uneducated.  For what Powyss would consider a small sum, but to Warlow is a fortune, they come to an agreement.  John Warlow will spend the next seven years sealed in Powyss' basement.  If he endures till then end, he will come into a salary for the rest of his life.  While he is imprisoned, his family will be looked after.  Warlow enters the dark basement and the door is locked.  His meals are lowered through the dumbwaiter and he is to have no human contact for the duration of the experiment.

I think we can all imagine all of the ways in which this experiment might go wrong ... and none of us will be disappointed.  I was, however a bit disappointed.

(NetGalley ebook -  I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

An interesting concept for a story, and I enjoyed the historical element and multiple narrators, but it just didn't quite work for me in comparison to other books I've read with a similar historical setting.

I requested this book originally because the setting was the Welsh Marches which I know.

The author based this book on a document she found . She then explores the experiment she discovered. Herbert Powyss considers himself to be a man of the Enlightenment. He is rich and chiefly interested in horticulture. He devises an experiment in which a volunteer is to live underground with no human contact for 7 years. The volunteer will be paid handsomely and be provided with clothes, food and drink , materials to keep warm and books.
Step forward the impoverished worker John Warlow who beats his wife and presents as an unsympathetic character.

The experiment has as a background the Enlightenment but also the French Revolution. Several minor characters are politically active and see John as a prisoner.

Herbert then "complicates" the experiment by starting a relationship with Hannah, Warlow's wife.

Things come to a crisis point and everyone's life unravells.

Like Frankenstein, the responsibilities of the scientist and the ethics of scientific experiment come to the fore. Other themes are freedom and what it means to be human.

I liked the way the plot gets turned on its head and roles are reversed in some ways. Although Warlow is a despicable man capable of rape and domestic violence, the author manages to make you pity him in some ways. He has the complexity of Shakespeare's Caliban in The Tempest and in many ways Herbert mirrors Prospero. I ended up with mixed feelings towards both of the main characters.

Minor characters are well drawn and drive the plot forward.

I thought this was an unusual and thought provoking book with modern resonances - Love Island, Big Brother in which we witness "volunteers" in "scientific" experiments.

I am grateful to netgalley for my ARC

This is a story of two men. One plays at being a god. The other grabs a chance to escape poverty. ‘The Warlow Experiment’ by Alix Nathan is about power, ambition, control, the disintegration of respect and vanishing of common sense. What a breath of fresh air this book is; it is so unusual. The country gentleman who conducts the experiment, Powyss, is an isolated character. He has no family and, when he has the idea of experimenting with the life of another man, thinks he is doing good by supporting the man’s family. In truth he seeks the approbation of the Royal Society.
Warlow is a farm labourer who scrapes a living at the edge of starvation, struggling to feed this family. When he sees an advertisement asking for a man to take part in Powyss’s experiment, he sees it as an escape. So what is the experiment? Powyss is a man who experiments with exotic seedlings and plants. He sources them from abroad and studies them, experimenting with conditions – soil, temperature, water – to see which flourish in the climate of the Marches climate. It is a short step for him to wonder how a man would fare without seeing a human face for seven years. A cellar is converted in Powyss mansion, furnished with carpets, bedstead and comfortable mattress, an organ, books, writing equipment and a dumb waiter lift which is the only means of communication with above. He is forbidden to talk to anyone; his needs are communicated by notes sent up in the lift. But Powyss forgets to vary Warlow’s conditions, whose surroundings remain the same. He is below ground with no natural light; the only sign of changing daylight and season is from the frogs that find their way into his cellar via a grating. At the beginning both men are happy with the scheme; both think they benefit. Powyss makes his observations; Warlow escapes his grinding life of work and poverty. He was knocked around by his father, and now knocks around his own kids. He longs for something better and decides that when he gets out, he will have earned enough money not to work and so will drink all day instead. Neither man realise what they have undertaken.
The story is told by three people; Powyss, Warlow and Catherine, a servant in the Powyss household. I would also like to have heard the first hand story of Mrs Warlow, who has quite a part to play. The beginning of Warlow’s viewpoint reminds me of Emma Donoghue’s ‘Room’; the repetition of simple detail as he studies his surroundings, he focuses on the functional. He is barely literate but, as Powyss impresses on him that it is part of his job to write a journal, Warlow begins to write. Nathan’s portrayal of the early attempts of this uneducated man to write, the bad spelling, the stumbling expression, are convincing; later I wanted his stream of consciousness ramblings to be more concise. The imprisonment represents only the first part of the story; there is more to tell than the experiment itself. The servants in Powyss household become uncomfortable with their part in the proceedings, they also observe Mrs Warlow as she visits the house to receive the payment from Powyss promised as part of Warlow’s contract. Unknown to her, Mrs Warlow becomes the subject of a secondary report into the ‘lateral effects’ on the man’s family.
A sub-plot sets this story in its time. Revolution rumbles on in France and there are demonstrations in London against the King and prime minister Pitt. Head gardener Abraham Price is a rebel who seduces housemaid Catherine with talk of improvement, of rights, of freedom without masters. This country mansion in the Marches reflects the class tensions in the country - rich/poor, vote/no vote. Powyss receives the latest information about politics and uprisings in letters from his London correspondent. In exchange for boxes of fruit, Fox is the only voice Powyss hears from outside his insular world. He questions the morality of the experiment but Powyss refuses to listen; he also fails to see how the servants observe the experiment with dislike. He is a naïve man who fails to understand he is destined to be part of the experiment too.
This is such an unusual subject and in an Author’s Note, Nathan explains where she got the idea. She read a report of a man in 1797 who conducted such an experiment as that of Powyss. She was intrigued and wrote two short stories, one from the viewpoint of each man. After that, she realised there was a bigger story to tell. I’m glad she did. It is an unusual, absorbing read. It deserves time to be read, so please don’t rush it.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

A reward of £50 a year for life is offered to any man who will undertake to live for 7 years underground without seeing a human face: to let his toe and fingernails grow during the whole of his confinement, together with his beard. Commodious apartments are provided with cold bath, chamber organ, as many books as the occupier shall desire. Provisions will be served from Mr Powyss’s table. Every convenience desired will be provided

Herbert Powyss, Moreham House, Herefordshire, January 1793.

***


The premise of this novel would have been incredible, were if not for the fact that it is based on facts which actually occurred. In an Author’s note at the end of the book, Alix Nathan quotes an extract from the Annual Register for 1797 which describes the terms of the experiment more or less as reproduced in the introductory quote and adds that “it appears that an occupier offered himself for this singular residence, who is now in the fourth year of his probation, a labouring man, who has a large family, all of whom are maintained by Mr P.”

This nugget of curious information is all the more tantalizing, because there appears to be no account of the aftermath of this real-life experiment. Nathan, intrigued by the narrative opportunities of this episode, wrote two related short stories: An Experiment, Above and An Experiment, Below, reflecting, respectively, the point of view of the ‘scientist’ and ‘subject’. These stories eventually formed the basis of The Warlow Experiment, in which a wider canvas allows the author to enlarge her cast of characters and dwell longer on the historical backdrop.

We do not know the motivations of the real-life “Powyss”. Nathan’s is a recluse who prefers the company of his books and music at his residence, Moreham Hall, to the idle entertaining which seems to be expected of him. With no family, a frosty relationship with his servants and just one more-or-less like-minded friend, his only dream is of being recognized in scientific circles. This is what he sets out to do with his unique experiment. Shockingly, he does not seem to take into account the fact that, his subject being a human being, this would raise ethical issues. Powyss’ dogged determination is not tempered with enough humanity to make him realize that the consequences of his actions could be tragic. This seems to dawn on him only when he gets to know better Mrs Warlow, whom he supports during the course of the experiment. Not unexpectedly, he becomes attracted to this woman, so different from himself in class, background, education and temperament – this, ironically, makes him question the correctness of the “experiment” whilst only complicating an already explosive situation.

Nathan has drawn a compelling story out of the bare bones of the Annual Register account. The three-part narrative arc of the novel is satisfying (although some of the scenes, especially the final one, feels contrived) and I particularly admired the different voices and points of view which are very well brought out. The contrasting ‘narrators’ obviously reflect the origin of The Warlow Experiment as two short stories, but the novel also includes the voices of other characters, including Mrs Warlow. The characterization is complex – in this respect, one of the figures I liked best was the housemaid Catherine, whom we see developing from a frankly rather unpleasant young woman to a steely, determined and big-hearted figure.

The novel also works wonderfully as historical fiction. The late 18th Century was a period of philosophical and scientific inquiry but was also – possibly for the same reasons – a period of social turbulence, with revolutionary ideas sweeping across Europe. This backdrop serves to highlight the ‘social’ themes of the book.

Indeed, the experiment brings out the inherent injustices of a classist and patriarchal society. Powyss seems to expect that a ‘gentleman’ of his background would be interested in becoming a hermit for science. He does not stop to consider that the only person who might wish to give up his liberty for a ‘pension’ of fifty pounds would likely be someone more financially desperate. Despite Powyss’s attempts at being humane, the nature of the experiment itself turns Warlow into a dehumanised subject, and only serves to accentuate the divide between classes.

Moreover, it is suggested that, at all levels of society, it is women who suffer most: the educated and enlightened Powyss, his ‘progressive’ friend Fox, the firebrand Abraham Price with his dreams of equality – all become selfish and rapacious where women are concerned. At the same time, woman are portrayed as the instigators of hope and redemption. In this respect, this is a worthy addition to a number of recent historical novels with a feminist streak

'Some time ago, a Mr Powyss, of Moreham near Prefton, offered by public advertisement, a reward of fifty pounds for life, to any man who would undertake to live for seven years under ground, without seeing a human face; and to let his toe and finger nails grow during the whole of his confinement, together with his beard. Commodious apartments were provided under ground, with a cold bath, a chamber-organ, as many books as the occupier should desire, and provisions were to be served from Mr P's table; on ringing a bell the recluse was also to be provided with every convenience desired. It appears that an occupier offered himself for this singular residence, who is now in the fourth year of his probation, a laboring man, who has a large family, all of whom are maintained by Mr P.'
- Annual Register, Chronicle, 1797 volume.

Based on a true story found by the author, the novel contains a magical ironic factor as it depicts the suggestion of a sole life without human contact yet is written in the third person and split into various perspectives. These perspectives span different lives and how they interact - the upper classes and their letter correspondences, the employer - employee relationships, male and female interactions, as well as how the upper classes interact and feel power over the lower classes in general. The power dynamics in these relationships are diminished by the multiple perspectives shown within the novel, as there is no significant weighting given to a particular character.
The novel highlights Powyss' own need for external stimulation through social interaction, despite his previous life as a social recluse, to some extent. The realization of Powyss need for social interaction is only discovered through the confinement of John Warlow. Warlow seems to swap places with Powyss, becoming the social recluse whilst Powyss inhabits important aspects of Warlow's own life - in particular, taking responsibility for Warlow's family in various ways.
The novel is an effective, and exaggerative, exploration of social identity through the mode of inter-personal interaction.
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback - thank you Serpent's Tail!

DNF @ 27%. I thought this was right up my alley. There are many days I think I would be really happy to not see another person for seven years. But I just can't get into the story. Actually I think it's the characters that are my problem. I kept wondering if the author wanted me to like them? Or had they just been drawn unsuccessfully. I understand Warlow was supposed to be uneducated and maybe not the smartest, but he was presented as if he was some kind of caveman without the ability to form complete thoughts. I found it almost insulting to read. And Powyss, who I do think I wasn't really supposed to like, came across so juvenile that I wondered if that had been the author's intent. I thought it made his character unrelatable and unbelievable. Great concept for a book just not executed in a way I found enjoyable. My thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy and provide my honest opinion.

Somerset, 1793. Imagine reading an advert to recruit a person that will spend the next seven years in solitary confinement, in relative luxury with the person’s family provided for and after the conclusion of this “social experiment”, this person will receive a lifetime payment of £50 per annum.
John Warlow, a farm labourer, is the only applicant to William Powyss’s advert.
This is a very different and fascinating upstairs/downstairs story. Warlow is settled into a well-appointed suite of rooms within the deep foundations of Moreham House with his umbilical cord to the outside world being a lift shaft by which supplies get delivered and waste removed. For company he has only books, a church organ, some pictures and a journal in which he struggles to write.
At the same time, there are demonstrations in London, revolt is in the air. The King has been threatened. Will this atmosphere if unrest spread to Moreham House? Are the seeds of resistance against the current order already germinating readily in Powyss’s perfectly tended greenhouses? Will a barely literate, wild-tempered labourer and his insignificant wife upend the carefully kept equilibrium of Moreham House?
Ethic and moral struggles, conventions and inner turmoil are cleverly contrasted in those two separate worlds of haves and have-nots.

Who hasn't occasionally wanted to get away from the world and everyone for a while? I know I have at times. In 1793 Labourer John Warlow is the only person to answer an advertisement for someone to take part in an experiment involving living underground with no human company or daylight for 7 years. The participant will live in comfort with good food, luxurious furnishings and there will be books and music to amuse oneself. On completion of the experiment £50 will be paid to the successful party each year for the rest of their life.

Herbert Powyss is the man looking for a person willing to take part in his experiment. A keen horticulturalist, and would-be scientist, Powyss prefers the company of his plants and seeds to that of fellow humans. Townsfolk think him an odd fellow for his reclusive nature, though they benefit from regular baskets of exotic produce from the gardens and glasshouses of Moreham House.

So John Warlow leaves his wife and children and is taken to the rooms below Powyss' main house, which have been fitted out especially for the purpose of the experiment. There he will have everything he needs to live comfortably for 7 years. Everything except daylight and human company. The door is locked and boards nailed across it. The experiment begins.

Naturally things don't go according to plan for Powyss or Warlow, but I am not going to spoil what happens here. This is a very engrossing story that has some extremely dark moments but also some light points too. I loved the parts with the servants, which are like a soap opera at times with all their gossipy shenanigans. I laughed and I cried reading this book. It is beautifully written and the characters are so real. This is most definitely one of my favourite novels of this year.

The Warlow Experiment is intriguing, odd and in some ways, a little irritating.

Intriguing - what writer or historian hasn't dreamt of that moment where you find something no one else has worked on? That bemusing advert like what led to this book - the deciphering of journals that lead to "Gentleman Jack" - the discovery of old diaries in a dumpster that leads to a memoir of an unknown individual.

Odd - the use of language seemed a strange conceit. Perhaps I've just missed the point.

Irritating - the characters, based on real people of which no real information exists (allegedly), remain as half-formed sketches of people. The characters flit through the pages but I don't feel I really engaged with any of them. There are some very big gaps in the narrative that can't be filled without the cast being more substantial. We never really learn any of the motivations for why anything is done. We know Powyss has dreams of joining a Royal Society but why does Warlow want to participate in the experiement (I know money but there has to be more than that). Why is Jenkins antagonistic? Why does Catherine make the choices she does? How does Powyss survive? Why is Tom Paine mentioned so often and held up by some of the characters as vitally important when only fleeting attention is given to his social position. What war are they talking about? I know but I'm a student of history. Will others know?

Overall, I did enjoy the story and I think it was well written but I honestly feel that there remains a massive scope for this story to be developed further. I also acknowledge that Nathan may have avoided filling the gaps so as to keep the focus on her main protagonists but ultimately, the details left out are the ones that would have really grounded it and made it feel like a complete work rather than a series of sketches and notes.

Good characters, gripping premise, page-turning handling of the plot. Enough history to give it solid context without being overbearing - Nathan kept it about the story. Some of the turns of plot - two coincidences of events at exactly the right moment - seemed too convenient to be believed even within the story, but I still read it quickly because I was interested and wanted to know what happened next. This will appeal to my shop's readers and I'm glad I read it.

My thanks to Serpent’s Tail for an eARC via NetGalley of Alix Nathan’s ‘The Warlow Experiment’ in exchange for an honest review.

In 1793 reclusive Herbert Powyss has aspirations of being recognised as a scientist by The Royal Society and decides that he wants to study the long term effects of solitude on another human being. Powyss is a big fan of Robinson Crusoe: “the supreme solitary. The book had haunted him all his life. How could such resilience be tested?”

So he fits out his three room basement and places an advertisement offering £50 a year for life for someone who will agree to spend 7 years in the basement with no contact with any human. The only respondent is John Marlow, a semi-literate local farm labourer with a wife and six children. John is a man of the land and being cut off from nature and the turn of the seasons soon begins to take its toll.

This fascinating work of historical fiction was inspired by an entry that the author came across in the Annual Register of 1797 that noted that a gentleman had undertaken the experiment as detailed in the novel and that it had been ongoing for the past four years. However, Nathan couldn’t find any further details and so wrote two short stories that were later expanded to create this novel as a fictional reimagining of the event.

It is quite a stark work and alongside the principle tale of the experiment it explores the rise of tensions between the working class and the landowners that had erupted in France as revolution a few years previously. The characterisations throughout are strong. Although Powyss and Marlow were both quite unsympathetic, the supporting character of housemaid Catherine Croft shined from her first appearance.

It proved a very unusual, multi-layered novel rich in period detail. I found it thought-provoking in terms of its psychological and socio-economic themes.

While my eARC was plain as digital editions usually are the photos that I have seen of the final printed edition show it to be quite stunning in terms of its binding and endpapers.