Paperbacks
At last they really are available! The first three of the quintet (A Load of Old Bones, Bones in the Belfry, Bone Idle) were released on January 19th 2012 by the publisher Constable & Robinson and are available in the UK and on Amazon and from The Book People. The standard retail price is £6.99. If these go well I like to think that the remaining two, currently in hardback, will also be re-formatted.
Book Signing
I shall be at Waterstone's in Hereford (18-20 Commercial St) on Saturday 25th February 2012 between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. to sign books, chat and parry criticisms!
Bristol Crimefest
This year the event is held between the 24th and 27th May at the usual venue of the Marriott Royal Hotel on College Green. This is a most congenial environment in which to browse books, attend panels and talk to authors. The website is: www.crimefest.com
Wolfhounds!
Readers my recall that in two or three of my novels an Irish wolfhound called Florence briefly features - a kindly soul who exercises considerable tact with Maurice and Bouncer. She is there simply because I like wolfhounds. Therefore when a friend of mine self-published a delightful little book on the breed I was eager to write a review. For anyone equally besotted with those splendid creatures, here is what I wrote:
Irish Wolfhound Companions of the Past by Julie Hughes (ISBN 978 955 210983)
If you love wolfhounds (or for that matter any sweet natured dog) then Julie Hughes' book about these gentle giants will not fail to delight. The photographs themselves are captivating; but it is the text which really lifts this study into a class of its own. This is not just a book extolling the qualities of wolfhounds, but is the product of extensive research into the breed's history, and contains fascinating glimpses of some of the illustrious past owners both in Europe and the United States. Who would have thought, for instance, that Valentino (that dashing 'Sheik of Araby'), the poet Tennyson, the glamorous film star Douglass Montgomery of 1940s' fame, and the Empress of Austria (victim of anarchists and mother of the ill-fated Prince Rudolf) would have anything in common? Well of course they did: wolfhounds! Each had his or her own special companion. The lady was dogged by her beloved Shadow; Tennyson was actually a 'Borzoi man' but made an exception for the kindly Karenina; while Valentino's hound Pendragon accompanied his owner on plane and set; and in the portrait of Montgomery and Padraic on p. 93 it is difficult to decide which of the sitters has the more entrancing profile!
But poetry, royalty and the silver screen apart, the book is filled with other besotted owners - less celebrated perhaps, but distinguished and influential in the wolfhound world and who had contributed greatly to the development and preservation of this remarkable breed. In this respect one of the most absorbing sections deals with Judge William T. Dammerall of Ohio (whose elegy on the death of one of his hounds could well rival Tennyson in its poignancy!) and whose family were the happy playthings of no fewer than ten wolfhound guardians - all siblings and all bearing Irish names beginning with C: Caitlin, Ceol, Cormac etc., etc . . . Being a man of letters, the judge clearly had a penchant for alliteration!
Not surprisingly the Hibernian link features strongly, and in particular there are charming anecdotes and photos relating to the Talbot dynasty of Castle Malahide. Here, as elsewhere, the author was fortunate to be able to interview members of the family and later generations; and it is this personal contact which helps to bring the owners and their dogs so palpably alive. One is reminded too of how wide-flung the wolfhound fraternity was, and is: America, Australia, Scotland, England, Hungary - the author draws on all these countries, and more, for her material, and there are splendid vignettes of the lives and times of these noble shaggy canines with their cosmopolitan, often redoubtable human companions. Two things especially struck me about Hughes' subjects: the distinctiveness (and often affability) of the owners, and the benignity of their pets. For literal illustration of the latter trait it is worth comparing the photograph of Sir Eric Palmer's Donegal on p.39 with one of Judge Dammerall's alliterative brood on p.105. Evidently there is a special affinity between hounds and infants! Innocence?
Yes, this is a super little book: seriously researched and charmingly presented, its text alive with detail, gossip, humour and well placed quotation. The photographs are not only enchanting but contribute substantially to its sociological value. Read it from cover to cover or keep it by your bedside to dip into for pleasure, fun and enlightenment. You won't be disappointed.
Suzette A. Hill
(NB. Bookshops may be able to order this but I suggest that enquiries be made to the author Julie Hughes who lives at Chirnside near Duns. Tel: 01890 818012)
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