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Fergus The Silent has won the 2023 Creative Writing Award of the Association for The Study of Literature and the Environment, the body which represents teachers and scholars of environmental writing and eco-criticism. The chair of the judges, Richard Kerridge, leader of the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, said: “This is a wonderful novel. It combines a passionate and complex and at times disastrously painful love story, with a story about species loss and extinction, of a particularly ingenious and exciting kind.” Fergus The Silent by Michael McCarthy In 1983 Fergus Pryng, an idealistic young naturalist, was sent to survey Lanna, remotest of all the Scottish islands, which had never been surveyed before, and discovered there something so remarkable that it would have caused a global sensation – had he disclosed it. But Fergus did not tell the world of his discovery. Instead, he devoted his life to keeping it a secret, for 17 years, sacrificing his career, his marriage and his happiness – until the threat of nearby deep-sea oil development forced the astonishing truth out into the open, with ultimately catastrophic results. What made Fergus keep his secret, and whether or not he was right to do so, are the questions Michael McCarthy makes central to this extraordinary story, because they go to the heart of one of the key issues of our time – the increasingly tragic nature of the human relationship with the Earth. Fergus The Silent highlights this issue in a particularly acute way, in the story of one singular and solitary individual with an unquenchable love for the natural world, himself a tragic figure whose fate is unforgettable. |
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Michael McCarthy is one of Britain’s leading writers on the environment and the natural world, and has won a string of awards for his work as Environment Correspondent of The Times and Environment Editor of The Independent. As an author he has written Say Goodbye To The Cuckoo (2009) and The Moth Snowstorm – Nature and Joy (2015) both of which were widely praised, with the latter book shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and the Richard Jefferies Prize. Most recently he has written (with Jeremy Mynott and Peter Marren) The Consolation of Nature – Spring in the Time of Coronavirus (2020) which was chosen as one of The Guardian’s Nature Books of The Year. This is his first novel.. |
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Category Archives: fiction
Fergus the silent
Beyond the Sandbar
Nick Gosman
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The Great British Bookshop and Amazon |
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RISK Peril can become an addiction by Nick Gosman A tale of courage and fortitude from World War II. Based on true events, Beyond The Sandbar tells the contrasting stories of identical twin brothers. While George rescues downed pilots during the Siege of Malta, Fred suffers deprivation as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. The story follows both men through a series of intertwined snapshots in which the action unfolds in real-time to give a gripping, fast-paced narrative that captures both the horror and heroism of total war. | |
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After a career in the high-tech world of bioscience research, Nick recently took a chance to change gear and refocus his creative energies. Working from his home in the wilds of the Norfolk-Suffolk border, Nick divides his time between writing and running workshops promoting the mental health benefits of wood carving. |
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The Silver Bird
Suzanne Jones
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and The Great British Bookshop |
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The Silver Bird by Suzanne Jones Sarah, a young Jewish woman, is on holiday in the Austrian Alps, trying to come to terms with the death of her parents. She has an accident and her two handsome rescuers become rivals for her love. Eventually she must choose between them, but will she make the right choice? Hans, a successful silversmith and Max, a talented violinist, both live in Vienna. Sarah has a home in London and the story moves between the two cities. The characters are caught up in a passionate love triangle beset with overwhelming challenges: religious differences, conflicting morals, illness, betrayal, tragedy and heartbreak. Will Sarah eventually find the love she needs? |
The Aqad Sword
Conrad Carew
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The Aqad Sword The History of the Secular State of Isferin 1 by Conrad Carew Qerem must journey through a violent, ravaged landscape, spurred on by the mesmeric Qadar twins Raden and Daqel, who share his lust for revenge. Legend has predicted that in the blissful and remote northern forests of Lornilian he will discover how to combine the magic of the past with the science of the future to raise rebellion and defeat the forces of the Secular State of Isferin. But will his own doubts and addiction thwart his crusade and put an end to everything he holds dear? And will the Bali-flame end up destroying the world he seeks to preserve? Conrad Carew was born and brought up in Westmorland, England. He has worked as a teacher, university lecturer, education advisor and Research and Discovery consultant. He lives in Bristol where he manages an agency in partnership with his son. The second volume of his trilogy, Lornilian, will be available later in 2024, with the final volume, Valdiron, scheduled for publication in 2025. |
Nick Gosman
Presidium
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Presidium The face of evil has many disguises, the thrilling sequel to AMAZONIA by Nick Gosman A primal terror unleashed upon the world. A malevolent syndicate hiding within the corridors of power. As Humanity takes the first steps towards its place among the stars, can Brigitte Fassbender and crack Special Forces Marine Matthew Towers subvert plans set in motion by the Master of a diabolical conspiracy to exploit Earth’s resources for the benefit of a tiny elite? Presidium is a story of universal love and its power to confront evil in all of its forms. A born adventurer, Nick Gosman started rock climbing as a teenager finding excitement and solace in wild places. |
Birth of the Tiptons
Philip Davidson
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Birth of the Tiptons by Philip Davidson This first part of the Tipton Saga is a romp through Victorian England with the first generation of the extraordinary Tipton family. It follows the twin Tipton boys growing up in a Black Country orphanage seeing the industrial revolution taking shape. However it appears an external force is pulling the strings on the boys. Not one force, but two, and this is because of their highly unusual parentage which they are initially unaware of. In adulthood one brother joins the East India Company, the other a large industrial ironworks. They have a fallout and a near fatal fight in the half-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, but they come together for George's application to the Great Exhibition of 1851. After a brush with royalty it becomes necessary to escape to the new world and lay low for five generations as the enormity of the fantasy and the destiny of their task is revealed. Starting in 2019 it is encumberment on their descendants, two beautiful women, to secretly begin this task. |
Sight from Sound
Abeni Chopra
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Sight from Sound by Abeni Chopra Jumapili Mwangi was blessed with optimism and resilience. The two characteristics she needed to survive and then thrive, because she was born blind in the slums of Kibera. Orphaned at the age of seven, Jumapili was one of the chokora (street children) of Nairobi under the care of her twelve-year-old brother. While begging on the streets, but with the gifts of a harmonica and a penny whistle, this remarkable child taught herself to play music by listening to the radios being played around her. However, it was the purity of her singing voice which most captivated any audience. As she grew up, Jumapili developed another rare skill – echolocation. By clicking her tongue and listening to the returning echo, she was able to create an image in her brain of the world around her. This gave her a freedom rarely found by blind people. Triumphing over personal loss, Jumapili discovered her purpose in life: to build a successful career in the music industry in the hope that it would lead her to the precious gift she had lost. This burning ambition, driven by discipline and focus, took her to some of the world’s top concert halls allowing her to establish a school in Kenya teaching echolocation to young blind children. This wonderful, if harrowing, story is a joy to read. It is the epitome of hope and courage overcoming adversity. You will find it hard to put down. |
Poltwhistle’s Final Defeat – Fictional sequel to Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard
Malcolm Dunbar
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Available on Amazon |
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Poltwhistle's Final Defeat Fictional sequel to Gilbert and Sullivan's Yeomen of the Guard. by Malcolm Dunbar Poltwhistle’s Final Defeat is the sequel to Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’. Here Sir Clarence Poltwhistle is enraged at being thwarted over his attempt to claim his cousin Colonel Fairfax’s estate which falls to him if he should die without marrying. Poltwhistle makes one final attempt to thwart his cousin, but even this fails, leaving Poltwhistle desolate. In the end everything works out for everybody concerned, even the broken hearted jester Jack Point finds happiness and love once more. |
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Malcolm Dunbar was born and brought up in Edinburgh. Malcolm wrote a number of autobiographical stories about his war experience and later life. He also wrote several biblical essays. However, it was his love for Gilbert and Sullivan's opera “The Yeoman of the Guard” that urged him to write a sequel to the opera. He enjoyed writing the story and hopes that you will enjoy reading it. |