The Warlow Experiment A Novel

Set in 1793 in the Welsh Marches, 'The Warlow Experiment' is an historical novel inspired by a real-life advertisement. Herbert Powyss, a wealthy gentleman who longs to make his name in the field of science, devises a radical experiment: he offers a man a generous lifetime income of fifty pounds per annum to live in complete solitude for seven years in three fitted-out, subterranean rooms beneath his manor house. Meals are delivered via a dumbwaiter, and the subject is to keep a diary but have no social contact whatsoever. The only man desperate enough to apply for the job is John Warlow, a semi-literate laborer with a wife, Hannah, and six children to support. Cut off from nature and human contact, Warlow soon begins to lose his grip on sanity, while above ground, Powyss becomes increasingly obsessed with Warlow's wife, Hannah. The classic Enlightenment exercise in isolation quickly goes awry, resulting in mayhem, melodrama, and murder, leading to unforeseen and devastating consequences for everyone involved.

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