Cambridge Edition November 2019

BOOK CLUB

LOOK OUT FOR THE CAMBRIDGE EDITION BOOK CLUB STICKERS IN HEFFERS AND GET MONEY OFF OUR MONTHLY PICK HEFFERS IS LOCATED AT 20 TRINITY STREET, CAMBRIDGE BLACKWELLS.CO.UK

Also recently published is A MuseumMiscellany , written by Harston-based author Claire Cock- Starkey to celebrate the intriguing and fascinating world of museums (the Fitzwilliam is one of the many museums featured) by collecting together a โ€œcornucopia of museum- related facts, statistics and lists โ€“ covering everything frommuseum ghosts, minerals that can only be found in museum drawers, dangerous museum objects, the most popular exhibitions, and cabinets of curiosity to the Museum of Londonโ€™s fatberg.โ€ One for museum lovers, and perfectly sized for stockings... ON THE BOOKSHELF

โ€œFor me, the most important research โ€“ whether itโ€™s crime or not โ€“ is the sense of placeโ€

Nicola does have a track record of adopting this approach โ€“ she is also the author of a very successful series of crime fiction books where real-life Scottish author Josephine Tay appears as the central heroine and detective. โ€œThat series started out as a biography but eventually the gaps were just as intriguing as the facts,โ€ she says. โ€œAnd her life had a lot of gaps in it. It is that blankness โ€“ not to make them completely fictional, obviously โ€“ but yes, she can be her own person.โ€ Researching these books is a task Nicola hugely enjoys. โ€œI love it โ€“ itโ€™s always the best bit. And what was particularly brilliant about this was that I spent a long time looking at Stanley Spencer paintings,โ€ she says. โ€œBut for me, the most important research โ€“ whether itโ€™s crime or not โ€“ is the sense of place. To go to Burghclere for the first time, to walk into that chapel

โ€“ Iโ€™ve never quite forgotten that. Itโ€™s an incredible experience. Even when I went back after the book was published, it was as shocking and moving as it was the first time. Going to the places and immersing yourself in that atmosphere is, for me, the single most important piece of research.โ€ In November Nicola will be appearing at the Fitzwilliam as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival, talking about her work close to the spot where she first encountered the pencil drawing that inspired the book. โ€œThe relationship between Stanley and Patricia [his second wife] and Patricia and Dorothy is central to the second half of the book, and I did a lot of making notes, standing in front of that particular double nude that they have in the Fitzwilliam โ€“ so to go back and talk about it in front of those paintings will be very special indeed.โ€

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