Amanda Hodgkinson returns with her second success

Amanda was a real hit at last year’s festival when she talked about, and read from, her debut novel 22 Britannia Road.  This year she will be discussing her second novel, Spilt Milk, published in February to critical acclaim.

The Guardian said it was “expertly paced”.  The FT concluded that “Spilt Milk will be enjoyed by those who like family sagas but it’s much more than that:  Hodgkinson’s thoughtful writing demands careful reading”.  And The Independent called Amanda a “fine fictional chronicler of women’s lives in the mid-20th century” and praised her for knowing the “right words to crack open a woman’s heart and reveal the tenderness within.”   The review concluded that “with its strong storytelling, haunting characters and beautiful, supple prose, Hodgkinson’s fiction deserves a wider audience.”  So if you haven’t read it already, pick up a copy and become part of that wider audience.  And then come and discuss your reactions with Amanda on the Saturday of the festival.

How well do you know your classic novels? Answers revealed!

Match up the opening line with the classic novel
1	Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know	E	The Stranger, Albert Camus
2	Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way	F	Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
3	In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since	D	The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
4	It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.	B	Love in the time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5	It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity	A	The Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
6	It was love at first sight	G	Catch 22, Joseph Heller
7	Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug	H	Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
8	The primroses were over	C	Watership Down, Richard Adams

Tracey Warr – new novel out this week

Tracey Warr will be talking at the festival about her first novel, Almodis: The Peaceweaver, which is set in this region. Her second novel, The Viking Hostage, is published this week.

Set in late 10th century France and Wales, The Viking Hostage tells the intertwining stories of three women living through turbulent times of Viking raids, Christian conversions, and struggles for power across Europe at the turn of the millennium. Sigrid is a Norwegian sold into slavery in the French Limousin, stubbornly clinging to her pagan identity. Aina is a rich heiress, betrothed as a child to a man who does not offer her the adventure she craves. Adalmode is the daughter of the Viscount of Limoges, whose father has forbidden her love for a young man imprisoned in his dungeon for a great crime. Their stories question and tangle with the nature of human nobility and of freedom in the highly stratified, unequal, and often brutal society of early medieval Europe.

Come and her Tracey talk at the festival about her inspirations for writing historical fiction – Sunday 12 October 16h30 – 18h00 in Parisot library.

How well do you know your classic novels?

How quickly does a book attract or repel you?  For some people it’s the very first words on the page that count and many great books have extremely memorable opening lines.  How well do you know them?

Take our quick quiz to see how many novels you can identify from their opening lines. 

Match up the opening line with the classic novel
1	Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know	A	The Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
2	Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way	B	Love in the time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3	In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since	C	Watership Down, Richard Adams
4	It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.	D	The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
5	It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity	E	The Stranger, Albert Camus
6	It was love at first sight	F	Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
7	Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug	G	Catch 22, Joseph Heller
8	The primroses were over	H	Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

Good luck - answers will be posted in a week!