Jane Rusbridge's Blog, page 6
January 14, 2013
ROOK is Novel of the Week in The Tablet
Happy New Year! I was thrilled to hear that ROOK is ‘Novel of the Week’ in The Tablet , the international Catholic news weekly, where artist and picture frame historian Lynn Roberts describes it as an ‘astonishingly vivid’ and ‘an utterly engrossing novel’.
Part of the review focuses on the 1066 scenes which, though only a tiny part of the novel in terms of total number of words, were key to the novel’s development and growth. The opening scene on the battlefield was one of the first to be written and, at the time, I didn’t understand why this scene felt so crucial.
Roberts says: ‘The scenes which bookend the contemporary narrative, dealing with the death of Harold in the Battle of Hastings and its aftermath for his common-law wife, Edith Swan-neck, are not only part of the inherited history of Bosham, but stand as an emblem of human grief and love.’
With ROOK also recently included in the Guardian Readers’ Books of the Year 2012, 2013 has got off to an exciting start!
You can read the full review below.
Buy ROOK Online from
or order it from The Tablet bookshop, price £11.70 Tel: 01420592974
January 8, 2013
Writing, Research and Rooks : Talk at Funtington & West Stoke Women’s Institute
photo by Natalie Miller
Funtington & West Ashling Women’s Institute celebrated its 90th birthday in 2012 and is one of the longest running groups in the country. The group meets on every month in Funtington & District Village Hall in West Ashling and all are welcome. I’m delighted to have been invited to join the group in February and talk to them about writing ROOK.
‘Rusbridge ‘s sympathetic and respectful handling of a sensitive issue conveys an emotional impact that resonates long after the closing pages’ Times Literary Supplement
Buy ROOK Online from
or order it from your local bookshop.
January 6, 2013
With the Three Sussex Writers at Festival of Chichester
Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm (aka the Three Sussex Writers) will be taking part in 2 author events during the exciting new Festival of Chichester this summer. The Festival runs from June 22 – July 14. Details coming soon.
With the Three Sussex Writers at Chichester Festivities
Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm (aka the Three Sussex Writers) will be taking part in 2 author events during the exciting new Chichester Festivities this summer. The Festival runs from June 22 – July 14. Details coming soon.
January 5, 2013
‘…a book to live in’ ROOK by Jane Rusbridge
‘…a book to live in and to feel in all its textures and layers. Jane Rusbridge can do this because her lyric writing is excellent – accurate, potent and evocative. Definitely a book for the connoisseurs of language. ‘
Victoria Best of Tales from the Reading Room literary salon reviews ROOK. December 2012.
ROOK is available online from Foyles with 30% off RRP (Jan 2013)
and from your local bookshop
November 27, 2012
Love affairs, secret burials and why ROOK begins with an intimate scene on a battleground
ROOK opens with an intimate scene between lovers, the savagery of a battleground shown in the aromas and textures of Harold II’s mutilated body. I didn’t consider writing about the fighting itself. Why? In this interview with Elaine Aldred I try to answer this and other probing questions.
Read the full interview here:
ROOK by Jane Rusbridge
(Bloomsbury Circus, 2102)
OPENING…
‘The battlefield was churned to mud, air slugged with the smell of charnel. Late in the day they found his two brothers and, thinking he might be close by, sent down to the nearby camp for her, with Gytha, his mother. Like the others he had been stripped, mutilated. Edyth knew him immediately, although there was no head.
She knew the swell of muscle in his shoulders and the splay of underarm hair, the beady knots tangled there; the thicket on his chest – a few hairs, straight and white, around his nipples – and the dark line that ran off-centre down to his groin, now black with blood. She fell on all fours, fingers in the gawm, to kneel astride him, to press her nose and mouth to his chest where his smell was strongest, but even there he was cold, where the beat of his blood had always warmed her, his flesh lardy as a dead pig’s. Her fingers kneading his shoulders slid away and she recoiled from the heap to face into the wind and lose the raw smell of blood. She thought of their children.’
Read more:
Opening Extract on Bloomsbury website
November 13, 2012
A Christmas Festival at Stansted Park House
I’ll be by the Christmas Tree in the Gift Marquee at the Stansted Park House Christmas Festival with fellow Three Sussex Writers, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm.
We’ll be chatting to readers, signing copies of our books and even gift-wrapping them for you for free!
Venue: Stansted Park
Times: Friday 23 Nov 12pm – 8pm
Sat 24 – Sun 25 10am – 5pm
Enjoy the festive fun in the beautiful historic setting of Stansted House and browse the extensive range of gifts and goods available.
For the younger members of your family, Santa will arrive on Friday evening to take up his place in the grotto. Carolers will add to the celebrations, along with delicious Christmassy refreshments. Read more.
We’ll be washing down a few mince pies with mulled wine - do come and join us!
November 12, 2012
Fundraiser in aid of the Eye Surgery at St Richard’s Hospital: Cream Tea with Three Sussex Writers
Live in West Sussex? Love Cream Teas? Then why not come along and get in to the Christmas mood as you enjoy a delicious Cream Tea chatting to three local award-winning authors – Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm – in the relaxed ambience of the restaurant? There are deep leather sofas around log burning fire and the decor is coastal-inspired. The family-run garden centre in Birdham also has a Christmas Grotto twinkling with fairy lights, hundreds of Christmas decorations to inspire you and gift ideas for all the family. The Three Sussex Writers will even gift-wrap their books, for FREE.
Time: 3.00pm
Price: £5 (Tickets available now from Russells to book your tea and table)
Venue: Russells Garden Centre
Main Rd
Birdham
Chichester
West Sussex
PO20 7BY
Map by Google Maps
Garden centre: 01243 512525 Restaurant: 01243 511156 Email : info@russellsgardencentre.com
Wheelchair Access
In Aid of the new Eye Surgery at St Richard’s Hospital: Cream Tea with Three Sussex Writers
Live in West Sussex? Love Cream Teas? Then why not come along and get in to the Christmas mood as you enjoy a delicious Cream Tea chatting to three local award-winning authors – Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm – in the relaxed ambience of the restaurant. There are deep leather sofas around log burning fire and the decor is coastal-inspired. The family-run garden centre in Birdham also has a Christmas Grotto twinkling with fairylights, hundreds of Christmas decorations to inspire you and gift ideas for all the family. Our books will even be gift-wrapped, by us, for FREE.
Time: 3.00pm
Price: £5 (Tickets from Russell’s)
Venue: Russell’s Garden Centre
Main Rd
Birdham
Chichester
West Sussex
PO20 7BY
Map by Google Maps
Garden centre: 01243 512525 Restaurant: 01243 511156 Email : info@russellsgardencentre.com
Wheelchair Access
Amberley Museum’s Christmas Fairytale Forest
The Three Sussex Writers will be signing books and meeting readers at Amberley Museum this Christmas where Father Christmas can also be found in his Fairytale Forest Grotto with a present for every visiting child.
Come and join us for a chance to buy gifts from various local craft stalls or to turn your own wooden stocking fillers. Nostalgic bus, train and steam traction engine rides, craft activities and seasonal performances will delight the whole family too.
Time: 10.00-4.00pm
Venue: Amberley Museum Station Rd, Amberley, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9LT
Price: £7.50, with Gift Aid, £8.50
Booking: Tickets available now from 01798 831370 (museum office).
More details: http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/
