Holidays are over, the future is almost here

My re-awakened interest in history was indulged on a trip to The Trossachs last week. As well as lots of fresh air on some not-too steep hill walks, we also visited Stirling and Doune castles which couldn't have been more different from each other, as well as the towering Wallace Monument which can be seen across a huge area. We used the very informative audio-guides on visits, but still came away with questions which need to be followed up., so Neil Oliver's History of Scotland should be a good starting point. If I still want more, Christopher Winn's I Never Knew That About Scotland, sounds entertaining and Nigel Tranter's The Wallace, though old now, sounds as if it would satisfy my need for fiction.

I was delighted to find a copy of the brochure for Manchester Literature Festival on my desk this morning. Saturday 16th October is going to be a very indulgent day for anyone who loves reading history. You can find full details of the readers' day, the historical & literary pub walk and the visit by Bernard Cornwell here. Book now to be sure of your places.

Warrior of Rome

Harry Sidebottom isn't the most glamorous name a best selling novelist or senior academic classicist could have, but Harry is proud of his name and was determined that it was the one he wanted on the cover of his books, when offered a 3 book deal by Penguin.

This was just one of the personal asides offered during 2 talks given yesterday on a visit to Macclesfield and Bury Libraries to launch no 3 in the Warrior of Rome series Lion of the Sun. Harry spoke with honesty and humour about the apparent ease with which he got published, the downsides of academic life (yes, even at Oxford), some of the plotting and character decisions he took in planning this series and some of his literary heroes ( Patrick O'Brian and Mary Renault are top of his tree). All of this underplayed his expert scholarship and facility with language, which has so obviously contributed to making his books into the best sellers they are. Lion in the Sun has gone straight into the top five best seller rankings and is the current Waterstone's book of the week.

The Warrior of Rome novels are set during the great crisis of the Roman empire in the mid-Third Century AD and Harry admitted that this period has not had much written about it. Easy therefore to write what he wants without fear of contradiction. However, Harry is a serious historian and gets deeply annoyed if he discovers that he has made a factual error, as he did in No 2 King of Kings with some Eucalyptus Trees which he has since been told would never have been found anywhere but the Antipodes at this time.

In Lion of the Sun, the series' central character Ballista is facing up to threats to the survival of the Roman Empire- from an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman! Yet, while Harry can't resist these moments of playfulness, these are hard-hitting books tackling serious subject matter, such as how far can the west go to protect its freedom before it destroys the very thing it is defending? He says on his own website All the novels seek to raise big questions, but each is driven by suspense and action.

Both audiences seemed enthralled by Harry's talks and had plenty of questions for him. While there were some existing fans in the audiences I think many people will have been introduced to this writer for the first time and inspired to go away and read his work.

Read this with Robin Lane Fox The Classical World: an Epic History of Greece and Rome

The Lacuna

I took The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, winner of this year's Orange Prize, away with me on holiday. I have enjoyed this writer's books before so was optimistic that this would be an engrossing read.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed at first; the swimming scenes at the start did not grip me and I struggled to keep reading, but once the central character Harrison Shepherd grew up and found his independence in Mexico, in the home of Diego Rivera the book really took off for me. The real historical background observing some of the life of artists Rivera and Frida Kahlo, followed by the arrival of Trotsky, opened up a colourful and eccentric world. Kingsolver's gift lies in not over-burdening us with fact, but in allowing us to know just enough of this real history to ground the story in reality, describing it through the eyes of an unusual and engaging fictional narrator.

This Mexican section of the book was satisfying in itself and at the end (roughly half way through the total length) I wondered how Kingsolver would keep my interest. I need not have worried. Now set in the USA, the narrative focused on the quiet writing life of the old-fashioned but very perceptive secretary, Violet Brown, who protects him from the outside world. Alongside this the relentless surveillance by the FBI seemed bizarre but full of suspense.

The novel is all about the mismatch between reality and public perception and
the constant shifts in tone as it unfolds through letters, reports and diaries, as well as vividly illustrating this 'lacuna', keep testing your own reactions as a reader. It forced me to think how important it is to read newspapers critically and never to take reports of events at face value. What would I have thought of this writer if I had lived through this period of extreme nervousness and political anxiety?

Its a long time since I felt I didn't want a book to end, but I certainly felt it with this one. Kingsolver has been criticised for being too didactic and she certainly came in for criticism for comments she made after the events of 9/11. But for me, the quality of her writing and the sympathy she has for her characters override any sense of being lectured. Reading this has also made me want to see some of the work of both artsists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo as well as read more factual history about Mexico at this time. It has opened my eyes. It is a perfect read for Pages Ago.

Image shows cover of American edition of The Lacuna which is more interesting than the UK cover, in my view

An heir was needed

On July 8th the final Trafford Wordfest ‘Pages Ago’ event took place when Dr Kate Williams gave a talk at Urmston Library on her book Becoming Queen about the young Queen Victoria ( see review from The Independent by Lorraine Fletcher here) . Her description of the events of the family strife behind Victoria’s birth, childhood and accession to the throne was vivid and humorous.

George III produced 15 children who had 56 children of their own between them, not one of whom was legitimate. The Prince Regent’s unhappy marriage did produce an heir, Princess Charlotte of Wales , but her death giving birth to a still-born son in 1817 led to an unseemly dash among George III’s remaining children to produce an heir. This was won by Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son, who fathered the future Queen Victoria, but died less than a year later leaving the young heiress to be brought up in a strict and unhappy childhood.

This was an absolutely fascinating talk, very much enjoyed by its audience.

Vintage Penrith

Penrith Library Assistant Rae Lusby says she has enjoyed putting together a display of history books with a Victorian and Edwardian theme, ready for the 'Vintage Penrith' festival at the end of the month. The library will be hosting several talks and a display of old photographs so we thought that it would be good to connect this to a Pages Ago display. She has initally displayed about 30 pairs of titles, but may have to put some more together depending on how well they issue. It was hard to include talking books and large print, but have managed one set of each and Rae says she will keep looking for more!

Rae had a beautiful a jacket dating from 1886 that belonged to her Great Grandmother and thought it would make a good focal point for the display and tie in well with the 'Vintage Penrith' theme, so this is on top of the display along with a photo of the family.

Time To Read particularly likes the way that Cumbria Libraries are literally tying together fiction and non-fiction titles, leaving readers no option but to take them together. The service has created a feedback form which goes out with the books, asking readers to tell us if they have read something out of the ordinary for them as a result of this. If they do, the displays will have been a big success.

Radio discussion and other news

The Radio Lancashire Book Club supported by the Blackburn with Darwen Library Authority, is currently reading The Red Necklace: a story of the French Revolution by Sally Gardner, to tie in with Pages Ago. Although ostensibly a teenage book, it can equally be enjoyed by adult readers - 'the drama moves from Paris to London and back, as the Revolution gathers momentum, and the hope of liberty and the dream of equality are crushed beneath the wheel of terror. Too many secrets, too many murders, and the blade of the guillotine is yet to fall .....'

Radio Lancs broadcasts across Lancashire and Blackpool as well as Blackburn, so other authorities may have some demand for the title. Some of our reading group members go along for the live broadcast and the discussion of The Red Necklace will be on Tuesday, July 20 from 11am - 1 pm so there is still time for readers/listeners to go along to their library for the book.


On 1st July Access Trafford Libraries were very pleased to welcome Anne O’Brien to Timperley Library to give a talk on her new historical novel as part of Trafford’s Wordfest and Pages Ago. Her book : ‘Virgin Widow: England’s Forgotten Queen’ is the story of Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick (the ‘Kingmaker’). Caught up in the shifting fortunes of the Wars of the Roses, Anne was married first to Edward, the Lancastrian Prince of Wales, and then to the Yorkist Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III).

Anne O’Brien talked about her experiences as a writer – how she started out, getting an agent, as well as why she chose the subject for this novel. She gave background to the lives of women in powerful families at this time, and highlighted the careers of some particularly formidable ladies in the fifteenth century.

Anne is an excellent speaker, measured, informed and thoughtful, who provided our audience with an enjoyable and instructive event. We look forward to her next novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Pages Ago makes Flikr

Warrington Libraries wanted to widen access to the Pages Ago promotion and bring in an Equality & Diversity dimension. So, working with an ESOL tutor, we set up a session at Warrington Central Library to look at our local studies photographs on Flickr. 4 women attended – 2 Indian and 2 Bangladeshi. The session focused on developing IT skills, speaking and listening skills, reading (through looking at comments posted) and writing (through search terms and posting comments). We also talked about library use and looked at some local history books with lots of illustrations.

They took back photos and history books to use as inspiration for writing in class and to read for pleasure. 3 of the women were already library members, but the fourth one joined. We are now looking at turning their favourite pictures and their comments into a book, which we will add into our Quick Reads section for future use by adult learners.

Another legacy outcome was an offer by one of the learners to take photos of her community eg festivals, dress, and give copies to us for our archives. She also offered to set up an event at which I could come along to talk about reading and the library with members of her community. We also got good feedback on what sort of books they’d like to see in the library.

The tutor was thrilled and all the women said they really enjoyed the session and learnt a lot. One said “ I’m going to go back and share everything I’ve learnt today with my community”.