CATHY MOORE , DIRECTOR OF CAMBRIDGE LITERARY FESTIVAL ,ON ISLAND SONG As Madeleine Bunting has always written non- fiction, I was intrigued to discover that she has turned her hand to fiction. Island Song returns to The Channel Islands, the subject of her first book, and draws on her detailed research. It’s a mature book which moves between 1994 and the Guernsey of the 1940s, and a fine piece of storytelling; you will care about the characters, who will draw you in and keep you there until the end. Madeleine Bunting talks about the process of turning historical fact into compelling fiction with historian Stella Tillyard on Friday 21 June, 2pm at Wimpole History Festival. wimpolehistoryfestival.com
NEW ON THE BOOKSHELF
LOCAL AUTHOR SCOOPS WIN
THE EVEREST FILES If your house is home to young adventurers, keep a look-out for the audiobooks from Cambridge-based Everest summiter Matt Dickinson. His young-adult trilogy follows 18-year-old Ryan Hart’s adventures on the world’s highest peaks, and is based on Dickinson’s own expeditions to the mountain; in 1996 he summited Everest via its treacherous North Face, alongside actor Brian Blessed. Blessed said that these books “bring the mountain to life in a fresh and wonderful way. I urge all lovers of adventure to read it!”
WHERE THE HORNBEAM GROWS Also out in hardback is the beautiful Where the Hornbeam Grows , by local author Beth Lynch, who has recently returned to Cambridge after spending seven years living in Switzerland. Beth’s book captures the process of making herself feel at home overseas by tending and growing a garden. Described as “subtle and moving” by acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane, this is a beautifully told memoir about loss, love, and finding one’s place in the world.
More awards for Cambridge-based writers: this time it’s the turn of Cressida Downing, who scooped the inaugural Lindisfarne Prize for Debut Crime Fiction with The Roll Bearer’s Daughter, set on Holy Island at the turn of the 15th century. The prize was launched by fellow crime author LJ Ross, to celebrate the North East and encourage new talent. Cressida, who lives in Cambridge with husband John and two children, won £2,500 cash plus free editorial and mentoring from Cheshire Cat Books.
37
C A M B S E D I T I O N . C O . U K
J U N E 2 0 1 9
Powered by FlippingBook