The Primrose Path
Susan Giles
Lovereading Price £8.99
RRP: £8.99
Download Extract
Buy NowWhy I wrote this book
The primrose path incident and location are true ones. On a sunny spring day in the late 1950s, my mother took me there to pick the wild flowers. I grew up and started writing short stories, but I always knew that one day the memory would become the inspiration for a longer story. Then, three years ago, my mother died, the memory became more poignant and the novel started to take shape.
But I needed a core, a central theme around which to weave the memory – one that would have to be meaningful for me. There was a teacher at my senior school who was inspirational in that he was able to get his class interested in a subject – he made us want to learn. He was the only teacher who could ‘reach’ me. I suppose, to use the idiom of the time, I had a crush on him… and he liked me. If only he had stayed at the school longer I think that my life would have been entirely different. Nevertheless, it was the perfect scenario for the novel, and for the little girl whose mother once took her to a special place to pick wild primroses.Why is it different?
Given that the novel’s raison d’etre relies on the heroine travelling through time to resolve her dilemma, The Primrose Path is a different take on the traditional tragic love story.
Why should a reader buy it?
To see the heroine win back her romantic cake, and then to watch her eat it… every last delicious crumb.My writing has been described as an ‘unlikely’ blend of Jilly Cooper and Catherine Cookson.
It has also been likened to that of Audrey Niffenegger.
Synopsis
Eloise James was still in school when she met the love of her life, her teacher, Paul Bridgestock. With an age gap of twelve years between them, the couple faced separation. But against the odds, Paul successfully allayed the concerns of the school authorities, and the friendship was allowed to continue. Love flourished and Paul was eventually accepted by Eloise's parents as a prospective son-in-law. However, following the sudden death of his wife and facing the prospect of a lonely future, Eloise's father forbade her from further contact with Paul. Paul was killed in a car crash soon after, thus ending all prospect of a future reconciliation. There would now be no wedding, no children...Eloise's life seemed over. Now it's the future and no-one can match up, even her latest love Geoffrey. When a suicide attempt takes her back in time to the day Paul was killed, the two lovers meet again. But is she destined to save him from the crash...Or must she learn to let go? Susan weaves an intricate thread of history throughout the tale, creating a story that is both heart warming and heart rending, a tale of love and time travel reminiscent of Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife.About the Author
The proverbial ‘dreamer’ at school, my forte was my imagination. It was my daytime solace, my night-time retreat. I was a true young romantic, the girl forever awaiting her Prince Charming – and I was one of the last teenagers to elope to Gretna Green before the age of majority was lowered to eighteen. It truly was a flight of romance, and appealed to my sense of adventure: two star-crossed lovers set against a backdrop of family prejudice. But impetuous love, albeit often passionate, sometimes burns itself out, and sadly the marriage ended in divorce.Ironically for someone so in love with the romance genre, my first published stories were supernatural thrillers, appearing in successive issues of the London Mystery Selection. But it wasn’t long before I returned to my favourite topic, tasting success with stories published in various romance magazines.
But as everyone knows, writing fiction is rarely financially rewarding, one has to eat, pay the mortgage, and I obtained a post as a journal writer in a manufacturing company. I stayed there for twenty-three years, until, with a healthier bank balance, I returned to my first love.
During my time of ‘paid’ employment, and piqued by my dream-filled years at school, I took an honours degree in English and history with the Open University. I now live in Somerset, where I divide my time unequally between writing, reading, gardening, travelling… and trying to play the piano.
Book info
Loading other formats...
Genres
Format
Paperback
336 pages pages
Author
Susan Giles
Publisher
Matador an imprint of Troubador Publishing
Publication date
1st November 2010
Author's Website
ISBN
9781848764965
