Hello booklovers,

Advent is well and truly underway – I hope you all had a good weekend. Today’s Comfort and Joy instalment will certainly get your week off to a good start. We are delighted to welcome Nick Holland to our blog, as he shares what brings him comfort and joy at Christmastime with a wonderful literary twist…

Christmas is a time for loved ones and loved things, and for all the comfort and joy that familiarity brings, so at this time of year I like to re-read my very favourite novel: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. It was first published, alongside her beloved sister Anne Brontë’s debut novel Agnes Grey, in 1847 and has captivated readers worldwide ever since.

Wuthering Heights is a book that has everything but at its heart is a tale of thwarted love, and a desperate lifelong act of revenge. Its wintery opening make it a perfect Advent read, and is also contains a Christmas scene which tells us much about how the Brontë family themselves spent Christmas Day in Haworth Parsonage. The Earnshaws and Lintons are enjoying a Christmas party, replete with drinks, feasting and a visit from the local brass band, although Catherine’s mind is on an absent party: Heathcliff, who has been banished after bashing his love rival Edgar Linton with a tureen of apple sauce.

In this we can see a reflection of a Brontë Christmas – hopefully without the tureen on head incident. Christmas day itself would have been a joyous one for the Brontës; beginning with a Christmas service at their father’s church, they would then settle down to a festive meal and doubtless the Haworth Brass Band would have called at the parsonage too.

Contrary to the perception of some, the Brontë sisters loved fun and laughter, and they especially loved music, so we can easily imagine them gathered round the parsonage piano. We know that Emily was a brilliant pianist, indeed she briefly gave piano lessons in Brussels, and that Anne Brontë liked to sing along in a voice described as ‘soft, yet sweet’. Perhaps Anne had this in mind in the opening lines to her poem, ‘Music On Christmas Morning’:

“Music I love – but never strain

Could kindle raptures so divine,

So grief assuage, so conquer pain,

And rouse this pensive heart of mine –

As that we hear on Christmas morn,

                                                                   Upon the wintry breezes born.”

This year has been a strange one and this Christmas will find many of us separated from those we love and want to be with, but better times are rapidly approaching and until then we can find solace and escape in great books such as Wuthering Heights.

Happy Christmas and may God bless us, every one!

Nick x

Brontë expert Nick Holland is the author of Crave the Rose: Anne Brontë at 200. Throughout this excellent biography Nick examines the life of one of the most overlooked members of an astounding literary trio. A fitting celebration of Anne’s 200th birthday, Nick delves deep into the somewhat unknown life of a woman who was extremely talented in her own right.

Hello booklovers,

Next up in our Comfort and Joy series, author Sophie Green spreads some cheer and tells us about what makes her feel Christmassy…

For me, the festive holiday is conjured up by warm and delicious smells – citrus and spices, mulled wine, cinnamon and marzipan, represented here by a clove an orange pomander – I make a few of these a couple of weeks into December and they fill the house with good cheer and mix deliciously with the pine scent of the tree.

Merry Christmas!

Sophie x

Hello booklovers,

Our first instalment of our 2020 Christmas blog series is suitably bookish and comes from our Festival Director, the lovely Meg Reid.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without some new books waiting to be explored. My children and now grandchildren know to expect at least one book in their present pile.

I even have a treasured Christmas tree decoration which is a book, a tiny Santa shaped edition of “The Night Before Christmas”. I have no idea where I got it but it has hung on our tree every Christmas for years.

Another book which has been with me forever is “Christmas At Timothy’s” given to me by my mother when I was a baby. Turning the pages takes me back to childhood. It’s a story about a girl who goes to stay with her cousins at Christmas time. The children go to the market in the fog to choose a Christmas tree, they make paper chains, roast chestnuts and have a happy old fashioned time!

“The Snowman” is a family favourite. As well as reading the story all the pianists in my family know they must  play “Walking in the Air” when they visit. I’m chuffed that, despite Covid stopping the piano lessons I started last year, I’ve just discovered that I can now make a reasonable attempt at playing myself!

Of course there is a pile of Christmas books ready to read to the granddaughters (now via Facetime) My favourites are “The Jolly Christmas Postman” and “Mog’s Christmas” but there are plenty of others to choose from including a recent addition “Little Bear’s Christmas” about a little bear who sets an alarm clock to wake himself up from hibernation to try to see Father Christmas. (He does of course)

I hope you get lots of books for Christmas and if you are buying them as presents please do use our wonderful indie bookshops.

Meg x

Hello booklovers,

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been an unsettling, upsetting and unfamiliar start to the new decade. All traditional markers of the year, birthdays, weddings and family celebrations have been forgotten and the seasons have come and gone bearing with them more strange and disconcerting news. So many important festivals have been disrupted too: our thoughts and love go to all individuals and families unable to celebrate Easter in the Spring, Eid over the summer and Diwali earlier this month. Who knows what the situation will be like for Hanukkah and later on for Christmas.

Advent suddenly seems to be just around the corner – the tidings of the festive season, so timelessly conveyed in the ‘comfort and joy’ of God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen, hold even more significance this year. As the days get darker and colder we all need to pile on some comfort and joy, as humanity has done at the winter solstice for thousands of years.

What is it about the Christmastime that brings comfort and joy into our lives? Often it is the reunion with decorations carefully stowed away in the loft for the past year, all of which harbour memories of festivities past. Sometimes it is hearing a glimmer of festive music or breathing in that musky trace of cinnamon and zest that transports us to happy times. Books, baubles, even that much maligned Christmas jumper – in a time when it feels like everything is changing it’s a relief that these old friends at least stay the same.

As the candle in the window lights the street, the holly berries gleam amongst the hedges and frost brightens up an early morning, so shall the Felixstowe Book Festival Christmas blog provide some cheer for our festival fans.

With that in mind, we present you with our 2020 Christmas blog series, ‘Comfort and Joy’. Over the course of December, each week you can look forward to the books, music, decorations and other such items that bring comfort and joy to authors and other bookish folk of Felixstowe at Christmastime. The result will (hopefully) be a miscellany of festive treasures to make you smile and feel merry throughout December.

We hope you are looking forward to it!

Bookish best,

Imogen and the Festival Team x

Hello booklovers,

This week’s blog comes from a new writer we have welcomed to the Felixstowe Book Festival communications team, Elizabeth. You may have seen her name pop up before in various blog posts and in our November newsletter – you can look forward to many more thoughtful contributions in the coming months. This week Elizabeth shares her thoughts on the dark month of November and the light that can always be found, even during such adverse times. Enjoy…

I am writing this on the 5th of November. This time last year I was at a Halloween Party with friends, wildly dancing to Luther Vandross as we decorated their flat with tacky coloured cobwebs. Through the windows, fireworks could be seen going off above the North London streets. This year couldn’t be more different. I am living back at home in sleepy Felixstowe and we are heading into our second lockdown.

Unfortunately for us, this means we are unable to go to our usual Bonfire Night celebrations. Gathering on muddy fields, layered up in jumpers and woolly hats, children on shoulders clutching sparklers, gazing up into the sky in anticipation of a probably underwhelming display of a few pink and green explosions. However, what on reflection is a bizarre celebration commemorating the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, for many is associated with a nostalgic warmth and cosiness which provides an evening of jovial comfort, at what can be a bleak time of year.

Bonfire Night isn’t the only celebration of light that will be missed this year. Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, takes place between October and November. In India, this is at the end of the monsoon season, when the extreme weather simmers down to a mild and peaceful level. Streets are lined with oil lamps, candles, and strings of lights, and time is spent with friends and family. Fireworks, music, and dancing are all part of the vibrant atmosphere, celebrating the legend of Rama and Sita, joy, forgiveness, and the triumph of good.

Due to lockdown restrictions, celebrations in the UK this year will have to be considerably tame. There will of course be some traditions that people can still observe; decorating homes, cooking food, and spending time with close family, but it will be far from the colourful fun usually observed during Diwali. So much emphasis has been placed on locking down so we are able to celebrate Christmas, but other religious festivals have been overlooked. I am thinking of all those who won’t be able to spend time with their families over Diwali this year and I hope you can find some joy in small-scale celebrations.

It seems important to acknowledge that both Diwali and Bonfire Night, are celebrations involving light. Maybe by bringing light into our homes, even in the form of candles and oil lamps, sparklers in the garden, a zoom call with loved ones, we are providing a glimmer of hope for ourselves in these dark times. Sometimes, it is the smaller displays of celebration that are even more special and will stay with us the longest. Although at times I may wish myself back at parties with my friends, I plan to make the most of the cosy winter days in Felixstowe with my family. Chilly walks to the ferry, reading on the sofa with the cats and endless cups of tea.

My mum reminded me the other day of ‘The Bonfire Pudding’, from one of Dorothy Edwards’ ‘My Naughty Little Sister’ stories, beautifully illustrated by Shirley Hughes. Although not scared of many things, My Naughty Little Sister hates fireworks, so to take her mind off them, she stays indoors and helps her Granny make Christmas pudding. This story evokes everything that is warm and comforting about being indoors when what is outdoors seems frightening. Perhaps it will inspire you to make the most of the cosy evenings in that lay ahead …

Grannie’s big kitchen table looked just like a shop, there were so many things on it. There were jars and bottles and packets, full of currants and sultanas and raisins and ginger and candied eel and a big heap of suet on a board, and a big heap of brown sugar on a plate. There were apples and oranges and lemons, and even some big clean carrots!

There was a big brown bowl standing on a chair that had a big, big, wooden spoon in it. And on the draining board were lots of white basins.

Can you guess? My sister couldn’t. She didn’t know what all this stuff was for, so Grannie said, ‘We are going to make the Family Christmas Puddings. I always make one for every one of my children every year. And I always make them on Bonfire night. It takes my mind of the bangs.’

My sister was very surprised to hear this, and to know that all these lovely things to eat were going to be made into Christmas Puddings.

Grannie said, ‘You can help me, and it will take your mind off the bangs, too.’ …

… When all the things had been put into the brown bowl, Grannie began to mix and mix with the big spoon. She gave my sister a little wooden spoon so that she could mix too.

Then, Grannie said, ‘Now you must shut your eyes and stir, and make a wish. You always wish on a Christmas pudding mixture.’

And my sister did. She shut her eyes and turned her spoon round and round. Then Grannie shut her eyes and wished.

My sister said, ‘I wished I could come and help you next Bonfire night, Grannie’

And Grannie said, ‘Well, Missy, that was just what I wished too!’

Then my sister sat quietly by the fire while our grandmother put the pudding mixture into all the basins, and covered them with paper and tied them with cloth.

From When My Naughty Little Sister Was Good by Dorothy Edwards

Hello booklovers,

November is marching on and there is so much out there to read. You may be pondering which books you will be gifting friends and family for Christmas (don’t forget to make use of our fab local bookshops for your festive gifts- you can find out everything they’re up to here:  https://felixstowebookfestival.co.uk/9109/support-our-local-bookshops).

If you’re stuck for inspiration then look no further – we have compiled a selection of interesting book recommendations for your perusal (the eagle eyed amongst you will notice they also appeared in our November newsletter).

 ‘just kids’ by Patti Smith

Review by Elizabeth Carpenter

I have always been of the belief that I was born in the wrong era. I am encumbered with romantic notions that everything was more glorious in the past. But really, I just mean art and love. Take me back to a time when letters were exchanged and blurry photographs were developed. I often play a game where I decide which city and in which decade I would most like to travel back to. My most recent read makes a great case for New York in the late 60s.

If you are in need of being transported far from 2020, to a time of organic self-expression and art for art’s sake, then look no further than singer-songwriter Patti Smith’s tender, poetic, and lyrical memoir to love, youth, and fulfilling dreams.

In ‘just kids’ Smith recounts her first few years as a 20 year old in New York, where she met her soulmate, inspiration, and friend Robert Mapplethorpe and how together they became artists. Patti takes us on her journey from her home in New Jersey to nights living on the streets of New York, starving in bedsits, trips to Paris, and eventually to the artistic haven of the Chelsea Hotel.

Smith’s memoir is an ode to the New York artists of the ’60s and ’70s. (I wish I had been there). She recalls encounters with Allen Ginsburg and Janis Joplin, William Burroughs, and her dream of becoming Bob Dylan. It’s also a tribute to all that inspired her; Arthur Rimbaud, William Blake, Jean Genet, and the Beats. Lyrical and heartfelt, ‘just kids’ is an immensely moving read. Patti and Robert’s journey together, first as lovers and then as artistic partners and friends, is one which is both beautiful and painful. A quest in learning about each other, themselves, and art.

”There were days, rainy gray days, when the streets of Brooklyn were worthy of a photograph, every window the lens of a Leica, the view grainy and immobile. We gathered our colored pencils and sheets of paper and drew like wild, feral children into the night, until, exhausted, we fell into bed. We lay in each other’s arms, still awkward but happy, exchanging breathless kisses into sleep.”

Read on for some other fiction and non fiction titles you may enjoy getting stuck into this November…

In Love and War by Liz Trenow

This immersive novel follows the lives of three women as they travel to the battlefields of The Somme and Flanders, seeking both reconciliation of the events that had befallen them and any news of their loved ones involved in the conflict. A timely and emotional story, not to be missed. Don’t miss Liz’s latest novel Under a Wartime Sky . Set in our own town of Felixstowe and at Bawdsey Manor during the second world war, Liz gives us a fascinating insight into our local history and the involvement of Felixstowe locals and the residents of Bawdsey Manor in the war effort.

The AI Economy by Roger Bootle

In this fascinating book, acclaimed UK economist Roger Bootle discusses the realities (some uncomfortable) of a society permeated by artificial intelligence. Roger explores the effects of the age of the robot on global distribution of wealth and power and what this means for humankind, our work and our leisure time.

 DI Ben Kitto series by Kate Rhodes

Set on the beautiful Isles of Scilly, the series so far compromises of four books (yes four!) including Hell Bay, Ruin Beach, Burnt Island and Pulpit Rock. Scillonian D.I. Ben Kitto returns home after ten years spent working in London. His hopes for rest and relaxation are marred when it is revealed that the Isles are rife with crime. These expertly plotted and totally absorbing stories are well worth getting your teeth into!

Faber and Faber: The Untold Story by Toby Faber

Published to celebrate the 90th birthday of the publishing house, Toby Faber takes us on a fascinating archival journey through the story of this iconic publishing house which has brought so many different names to our bookshelves and our libraries over the course of the 20th and 21st century. Crammed with diary entries, letters and other documents, this will prove to be a truly fascinating read to get your teeth into.

Plenty of inspiration to tickle your literary taste buds here – enjoy folks!

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team

Hello booklovers,

It’s the start of a new week. How are you? What a barrage of news and announcements!

It can all feel quite overwhelming at times, particularly as new restrictions inhibit our normal lives once again. We are surrounded by news of what we can’t do… so I’ve decided to start this week off thinking about what we can do.

One such activity is going for a walk. Felixstowe is a microcosm of all sorts of varying environments – within a relatively short walk you can encounter beautiful countryside, coastline and rivers, as well as some fascinating urban spots too. On top of that, Autumn is a beautiful season. The ethereal light and warming colours of the trees always create a certain feeling of melancholy and  reflection much needed before the hustle and bustle of winter festivities. Our town certainly lends itself to some picturesque Autumnal views: so why not sit back, relax and  enjoy a photographic tour around Felixstowe?

Do you feel inspired to head out on a stroll to find some of these delightful spots for yourselves? (Don’t worry if your preference staying put in an arm chair with a brew, these pictures aren’t going anywhere!)

Without further ado we would like to say a huge thank you to photographer supreme Andrew Tink for providing us with these beautiful local shots. I hope this has set your week off to a soothing start. It serves as a timely reminder of the steadily beautiful sights that we continue have on our doorsteps, despite all the other changes and uncertainties that we are currently enduring.

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team

Hello booklovers,

I hope you are all coping with the strange and unsettling week that we are enduring. Another lockdown sadly means that many of our wonderful local shops have closed their doors to the public… including the excellent bookshops that we are so lucky to have here in Felixstowe, Treasure Chest Books, Stillwater Books and Poor Richards.

Now I don’t know about you but if the last lockdown taught me anything, it’s that I simply cannot bear to be without something to read. So booklovers, I urge you to RESIST the lure of impersonal online shopping and make use of the brilliant facilities our locked down bookshops can offer.

You can see what each shop will provide below:

POOR RICHARDS BOOKS:
You can browse the Poor Richards Books collection via Abe Books here:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/poor-richards-books-felixstowe/366925/sf

STILLWATER BOOKS: offering FREE local delivery and can post books anywhere. You can get in touch via email hello@stillwaterfelixstowe.co.uk or give them a ring on 01394 548 010.

Browse their website here:

https://www.stillwaterfelixstowe.co.uk/

TREASURE CHEST BOOKS: offering FREE local delivery, click and collect or postage from £2. You can contact Treasure Chest on 07837067998, on Facebook or via email bottsbooks@btinternet.com and the staff will let you know the brilliant books of many varieties that are in stock. Browse their website for non-fiction titles here:

http://www.bottbooks.com/

All our brilliant independent bookshops have worked so hard to make book shopping safe and enjoyable for us all over the past few strange months: they more than deserve our support over the coming 4 weeks and beyond.

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team x

Hello booklovers,

Half term is upon us! As with so many things this year half term will be a bit different and a bit disconcerting for children on their school holidays. To top it all off, it’s now dark at 4.30pm! In order to fight off the Autumn blues, we’re hoping to provide you and the kids with some welcome distractions and activities – and what better way to do so than by heading back to the hot summer of 2020 and our fab virtual children’s programme?

All videos are still available to watch – so why not kick back with some pens and paper and cartoonist Kev F Sutherland?

Or how about a tune in to Debbie Bartlett’s wonderful story ‘Just One Child’? Debbie is a familiar face in Felixstowe and wrote this brilliant book to highlight the impact of plastic pollution on our beaches. Follow the link below to read along with Debbie…

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1004471263340614

You could also learn how to draw a bear with lovely Alex Willmore, illustrator of the lovely ‘Things I Love by Bear’ and the hilarious ‘The Runaway Pea’ which was Booktrust’s Time to Read choice for 2020. Just click the link below and see if you can draw a bear too!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3873844506019474

We hope these videos have put a smile on some young (or old!) faces and that our young festival fans are having a fun half term break.

Take care everyone.

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team

Hello booklovers,

The nights are well and truly drawing in and there is an Autumnal tang in the air. If you fancy getting into the spooky spirit why not take some inspiration from our recommendations below?

The Corset by Laura Purcell

Review by Anna Tink

If you’re in the mood for some seasonally spooky reads, I would recommend that you look no further than the novels of Laura Purcell, who with her wonderful blend of Gothic horror, historical detail and creepy sense of menace has had me captivated over the last few months.

The Corset was the first of her novels to catch my eye, with its stunning cover, the peacock feather thread curling seductively across the front of the book. The two heroines, Dorothea, wealthy, well educated and engaged in charitable work, and Ruth, a very young, maltreated seamstress, poor and in prison; the object of Dorothea’s interest as a self confessed murderess with a dark secret.

The Victorian world of pseudo scientific thought, through Dorothea’s interest in phrenology, (the possibility that bumps on the skull can predict mental traits), ghostly superstition, witnessed in Ruth’s relationship with the eponymous corsets she stitches, and the macabre outcomes of her work, move forward the stories of the protagonists, both feisty, intelligent and passionate, despite their different backgrounds and situations. Classic Victorian themes of madness, murder and betrayal are all evident here, and make for a riveting and malevolent read. The Corset, that most imprisoning of garments tightens it grip to the final stitch…..

Since then I have read The Silent Companions and Bone China by the same author; more great heroines in creepy gothic tales with fascinating historical detail to add to the chilling mix, and more eyecatching covers too. I look forward to Laura’s next novel, The Shape of Darkness in 2021. I thoroughly recommend these eerie tales as the nights draw in. Move a little closer to the fire and prepare to be just a little bit spooked.

Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins 

This deliciously dark offering from Lucy Atkins takes us into the shady lanes and old creaking houses of Oxford. Complete with priest holes, ghosts and dark pasts, this psychological thriller is riveting and disturbing in equal measure.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’  was first published in 1892 in the New England magazine. This powerful short work tells a story based on the author’s own experience. A woman living through an enforced ‘rest cure’ following the birth of a child starts to see shapes moving in the walls and is slowly driven mad by it. You’ll never look at patterned wallpaper the same way again…

There is plenty to get your teeth into here and we won’t judge you if you want to keep the light on as you read…

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team