Letting in the Light

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Oh, I’m so sorry!’ she said. She gave him a dimpled smile and lowered dark eyelashes over her hazel eyes. I fell in love with Letting in Light, hook, line and sinker. It’s such a gorgeous novel, filled with great characters and intriguing plot lines which are both light and dark. He walked around the gallery, studying the structure of the barn. It seemed sound and might be put to any number of uses, a ballroom or a place to hold weddings perhaps. He paused before a group of small watercolours depicting Spindrift House. His eye was caught by the perfect rendering of the copper beech against the azure sky, exactly as he’d seen it, but in the picture, the Virginia creeper on the sunlit stone was ablaze with autumnal colour. Leaning forward, he deciphered the discreet signature. E. Fairchild. There was something so captivating about the painting, he knew he would have bought it even if the artist hadn’t been Edith Fairchild, Benedict’s wife. A gentle light from an unseen source pours into the distilling simplicity of these poems. - Mark Oakley, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral Her productivity has shot up too. ‘I now make 150 chapatis per day and over 65 mandazis, up from 60 and 25 before I got solar,’ she excitedly explains.

Imagine having a boyfriend for twelve years, then telephoning him only to speak to his wife of eighteen months and finding out he has a six month old daughter.. This is what has happened to Ellie. From the award-winning author of The Apothecary's Daughter comes the next book in the Spindrift Trilogy - a beautifully evocative, family drama, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles . Edith Fairchild’s good-for-nothing husband, Benedict, deserted her when their children were babies. Now the children are almost adult, Edith and Pascal, her faithful lover of two decades, are planning to leave their beloved Spindrift artists’ community in Cornwall and live together in blissful sin in France.The best-laid plans are sometimes upset by surprising snags. We had planned for two municipal playgrounds on the East Side, where the need is greatest, and our plans were eagerly accepted by the city authorities. But they were never put into practice. A negligent attorney killed one, a lazy clerk the other. And both served under the reform government. The first of the two playgrounds was to have been in Rivington Street, adjoining the new public bath, where the boys, for want of something better to do, were fighting daily battles with stones, to the great damage of windows and the worse aggravation of the householders. Four hundred children in that neighborhood petitioned the committee for a place of their own, where there were no windows to break; and we found one. It was only after the proceedings had been started that we discovered that they had been taken under the wrong law and the money spent in advertising had been wasted. It was then too late. The daily assaults upon the windows were resumed.

Well, I tell you,” he said blandly, “no one here is taking any interest in that business. That is good enough reason for you, isn’t it?” Inside the barn, the soaring roof was supported by hefty oak beams and clerestory windows illuminated the paintings, pho- tographs and craftwork on display. Clusters of visitors perused the exhibits, whispering to each other, as if they were in church. Bottle Alley, Whyó Gang’s Headquarters. This picture was evidence at a murder trial. The X marks the place where the murderer stood when he shot his victim on the stairs. I realise now what I've found these past few months: joy, wonderment, admiration, honesty and friendship. And, more recently: passion, tenderness and love. All things I though I'd lost or that maybe I'd never had, certainly not for a long time. Ellie's cottage - The whole time I was reading, I just kept picturing the cottage in the movie The Holiday. I love when I can get a good mental image in my mind's eye.

I'll be really honest and say that you can tell it's a first novel - the opening section on the first aid course was a tad overlong I thought, although it's a necessary introduction to the key characters and their lives. But when Ellie moves to Rowan Hill the story really starts, the characters and setting come alive, and the writing gets into its stride too. Rowan Hill is wonderfully described - the lodge, the house, the outbuildings ripe for conversion, the woods and the rough bench on top of the hill with the magnificent view. The police took the square from a mob by storm twice in my recollection, and the commander of the precinct was hit on the head with a hammer by “his people” and laid out for dead.

Letting In Light is a beautiful story. Emma Davies has written an emotional novel with a lot of surprising elements. She's written about sensitive topics in a wonderful sympathetic way. Her story has a lot of depth and the main characters are all loveable and interesting. Ellie is a strong woman. She likes to bake and is always trying to make life better for the people she loves, which is an admirable quality. Will has his dark moods, but he's also sweet and caring. Finn is cheerful and charming. He's a kind man, but he also has things to hide and I couldn't wait to find out what his secrets were. Every main character in this book is fascinating, which made me curious to find out more. Her next door neighbour, Will, also seems to have his own secrets and past, and Ellie finds it difficult at first to read him, but the more time they spend with each other then the more they begin to understand their issues and why it maybe takes longer to gain trust with strangers. Titled “Letting in the Light”, the new show explores one of the most important elements in any artist’s toolbox – light: what is it; how it changes; how you can play with it and how it affects both the artist’s view of what they’re creating and the viewer’s perception of what they’re seeing? Hilary Barry – Turning Around (30 x 30 cm) Oil on board If you have not seen this performance of Anthem, I can assure you it is an absolute joy. Cohen first recites the chorus that has become such an inspiration for me. I hope it does for you, too. Lowestoft visual artists collective Easterly Artists return with another of their highly acclaimed pop-up exhibitions. Paul Zawadzki – Marsh Flight. Credit Paul Zawadzki

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Thanks for demonstrating just how amazing an imperfect life can be. Life is all about #ProgressNotPerfection and your commitment to sharing your story sheds light on the infinite possibilities waiting for each of us to discover! Letting in the Light”, will take over the disused Ladbrokes building in the Triangle Market on the historic High Street – transforming it into a focal point for some of the most creative and inspiring art in East Suffolk today. Letting in the Light is the eagerly anticipated final book in Charlotte Betts’ brilliant Spindrift Trilogy. This book opens in 1914, just before the Second World War, which has a huge impact on the community that Edith has built on the beautiful Cornish coast. As the War progresses, the men are conscripted to fight and the women volunteer in different ways to do their bit. Edith, Pascal, and the rest of the community must do their part, but are also living under the threat of Edith’s husband, Benedict, who wants to destroy the community and Edith and Pascal. What a charming story, it starts off with a great prologue that introduces you to both Ellie and Will in unusual circumstances, and then the story starts properly a year later, and by that stage I was already hooked and eager to know more about everyone.