Adele Geras at Oxfam Didsbury

First of the evening Oxfam Bookfest readings in the Didsbury shop last night: the prolific Adele Geras, who gave one her lovely relaxed, enjoyable and informative evenings. She opened by reading to us from the proof of her new novel Dido, which puts an interesting spin on the story of Dido and Aneas and is a really great read for young adults (I know, because I read a manuscript proof). There's Adele above with the beautiful proof cover - the colours are amazing, like jewels - and here she is reading from the text proof:


Then Adele asked for questions and, trust her, she got us all talking and a very interesting discussion ensued, which took us, via her impressive career, to the current monumental changes in publishing, such as ebooks and the demise of the mid list in publishing since the loss of the Net Book Agreement. Some interesting facts emerged: Oxfam's Wendy, who is in charge of a wonderfully stocked bookshop in Didsbury, said that even second-hand buyers prefer paperbacks over hardbacks nowadays, which surprised many of us.

Finally someone asked Adele for another reading, and she read from the American edition of her wonderful book of Jewish folk tales, My Grandmother's Stories. I had only ever seen the UK edition with its stunning mostly black-and white illustrations by Jael Jordan, and it was a great surprise to see the difference in this edition. As Adele pointed out, the illustrations in this edition, also lovely but by a different artist, were set in Russia rather than Israel, jollier and mostly in colour, and the effect was to create a very different kind of book - which shows the power of the image in creating a book.

And then the evening was over, which it was hard to believe - it had gone very quickly.



Tonight it's Nicholas Royle and Thomas Fletcher, and on Wednesday I'll be taking my turn. Readings at 7 pm. Further details in the sidebar here.

Proof copy of Dido by Adele Geras!

Don't you just love it when something really nice and totally unbidden pops through the letterbox?
Look what came through mine yesterday: a proof copy of Dido, the latest retelling of the classical stories by my friend and spinner of the most amazingly vivid, exciting and moving tales, Adele Geras. (To be published in May.) And isn't the cover really something?! And this sounds like a good one. Here's the press release:

Love can be deadly. Especially when two girls fall for the same man - one a queen, the other her serving girl.

Elissa knows she is playing with fire, but she can't resist. Queen Dido suspects nothing, until one fateful night... Secrets are revealed, hearts are broken and as dawn breaks, terrible tragedy unfolds.

A passionate tale of love, betrayal and revenge.

A Hidden Life by Adele Geras

Here's another book I read in Wales: A Hidden Life, the fourth of Adele Geras's vivid adult sagas packed with memorable characters and ancient feuds and secret histories. One day it rained all day, and I sat tucked up in bed with it for most of the day while the ash trees whipped and swirled outside the window and the mountains disappeared, and got transported by this tale of an unfair will and the shocking revelations that ensue.

There's a Dickensian vividness in Adele's treatment of her characters, and her ability to juggle a large cast while closely portraying the emotional predicament of each is impressive. The central drama of a disowned granddaughter and single parent coping with the machinations of her step-relatives is a truly modern Cinderella tale - with a satisfyingly contemporary resolution.

Before Wales I had begun the book on the train when I went to see my mother for the day, and took my paperback proof copy as easier to carry. Guess what, I came downstairs, and my mother was reading it and hooked - and I had to leave the proof copy behind!

Proof copy

A lovely parcel through the post - a proof copy of Adele Geras's new novel, A Hidden Life, to be published in August.

Proofs are SO exciting! Limited in number, the cover not yet finalized, the text not yet finally corrected - they come with such an exciting sense of the process of publishing, and of privilege at being included!

The author of numerous acclaimed children's books, Adele has already published three adult novels - luscious sagas in which characters are made to confront the secrets of the past. A Hidden Life, her fourth, looks to be no exception: the story of a family gathered to discover explosive secrets at a funeral.

And there's the proof copy, sitting enticingly beside my bed, waiting for me to begin!