From the opening lines onwards it feels a bit like a toy world. Trustee from the Toolroom is a time machine that takes you straight to the fifties. And only Keith, the trustee, knows where to find the inheritance for their newly adopted daughter. With only a vague knowledge of where the pacific is situated, and clutching 100 Pounds and a home-made steel egg he embarks on a journey into the unknown. Unfortunately they are wrecked and die in the pacific. So, when the sister decides to make a new beginning in America, they go by sailing boat and leave their daughter in the care of Keith and his wife. After having been a chorus girl, she married up the social ladder and shares or endures her naval husband’s passion for sailing. He dedicates his time to develop new mini-machinery and kindly answers letters from strangers about problems they have building similar items. His sister is also fairly average. Meet Mr Keith Stewart, an presumably average citizen with an unusual hobby made profession: he is a world-renowned writer for a specialist magazine – about miniature mechanics. We were honoured to receive the following review of Nevil Shute’s recently republished Trustee from the Toolroom from Dabbler Barbara, who has only recently moved to Britain from her native Germany, so her terrific effort is to be doubly applauded! One of the best parts of running the Dabbler Book Club is when we receive reviews of the books we send out to our lucky winners each month.

Trustee from the toolroom review