Orion have very kindly sent me two new novels set in Cornwall:
A Cornish Affair
It begins in dramatic style when Jude bolts from the church leaving her fiancé waiting at the altar. "Guilty and ashamed, Jude flees to Pengarrock, a crumbling cliff-top mansion in Cornwall, where she takes a job cataloguing the Trevillion family's extensive library. The house is a welcome escape for Jude, full of history and secrets, but when its new owner arrives, it's clear that Pengarrock is not beloved by everyone.
As Jude falls under the spell of the house, she learns of a family riddle stemming from a terrible tragedy centuries before, hinting at lost treasure. And when Pengarrock is put up for sale, it seems time is running out for the house and for Jude."
The Obituary Writer
"Nick Donaghue, a handsome obituary writer for The Times, leads a charmed existence until he is caught up in one of Britain's worst ever train crashes. When he survives unscathed, his friends and colleagues consider him the luckiest man on earth. Only Nick knows the truth - that he is tormented by horrific nightmares. When they start to appear grimly prescient, his meticulously constructed urban life is derailed.
Escaping to the wilds of Cornwall strikes him as the answer, especially after he becomes captivated by a beautiful woman and a tempestuous horse playing carefree on a beach. But when his nightmares return, they threaten his fragile new world.
As Nick struggles to understand his dreams, his demons and - most dangerously of all - his passions, he realises that falling in love might come at a terrible price."
~~~~~
Both books sound like great reads, and their Cornish setting is an added attraction - that wild, dramatic place, romantic, dangerous ... you'll know exactly what I mean! From Daphne du Maurier to Winston Graham, Susan Howatch and Mary Wesley to Rosamunde Pilcher, writers have used that 'tempest-tost' location to great effect. Favourite Cornish novels, anyone?
I'm off to Cornwall in three weeks and need something to read. I'm not sure either of these sound quite my thing though.
My favourite Cornish book is a children's story Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. It's the first of The Dark Is Rising Sequence. A bit Famous Five and dated perhaps but I love it.
Posted by: Sue | 04 July 2013 at 04:59 PM
I've just looked it up and I love the sound of it - thank you, Sue!
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 July 2013 at 05:06 PM
Over Sea, Under Stone is a marvellous book, I agree! "Watch thou for the Greenwitch!"
I'm a novelist living in Cornwall. Hoping to set a book there soon!
Victoria x
Posted by: Victoria Lamb | 04 July 2013 at 05:18 PM
Do let us know when it's out, Victoria!
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 July 2013 at 05:27 PM
The second book in the series is the best I think -a good Christmas read.
Posted by: Sue | 04 July 2013 at 07:08 PM
Oh yes, I forgot Greenwitch which is book 3 and also set in Cornwall. I have them all as audio books read by Alex Jennings -bliss.
Posted by: Sue | 04 July 2013 at 07:09 PM
No question - Summer in February by Jonathan Smith. And the film, and the soundtrack, and the exhibition on earlier this year at Penlee House Gallery....
Obsessed, moi??
Posted by: Carol Norton | 04 July 2013 at 07:52 PM
That book is on my wish list, and I'd like to see the film too. Thanks for reminding me, Carol.
Posted by: Cornflower | 04 July 2013 at 08:12 PM
Always had a soft spot for Frenchman's Creek.
Posted by: Mary | 05 July 2013 at 12:59 AM
Oh, it's got to be Rebecca.
Posted by: Claire | 05 July 2013 at 06:36 AM
One I haven't read.
Posted by: Cornflower | 05 July 2013 at 10:35 AM
I saw the film again recently - marvellous!
Posted by: Cornflower | 05 July 2013 at 10:35 AM
Poldark, Poldark Poldark. Not that Im obssessed or anything!!Ive heard that there's a new BBC dramatisation on the horizon!
Posted by: julie | 05 July 2013 at 10:45 AM
Daphne du Maurier's 'Frenchman's Creek' because of holidaying in Cornwall as a teen with my Mum after reading it. Also 'Jamaica Inn' which we visited. This was early 70s. Here's a link to Daphne talking about 'Frenchman's Creek':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixg6XYbDYD8&list=PL9E89967E9459A603
Her book 'Vanishing Cornwall' is also a good read if you're heading down that way.
Posted by: Ann | 05 July 2013 at 11:45 PM
Oh my goodness! (I have all the books.)
Posted by: Cornflower | 06 July 2013 at 08:28 PM
Many thanks for the link, Ann, I hadn't seen that clip before.
Posted by: Cornflower | 06 July 2013 at 08:33 PM