A dark thriller set mainly in GLASGOW
Novel set in 1920s Ryhope, Sunderland
7th December 2022
A Mother’s Christmas Wish by Glenda Young. novel set in 1920s Ryhope, Sunderland.
Young Emma has been caught in flagrante at her home village in Ireland, with a man of the cloth, no less! Of course there are consequences on several levels. Her mother packs her off to stay with her sister, her Aunt Bessie, who runs a pub in the village of Ryhope. She herself is struggling as she lost her husband and is surrounded by friends but also by people who are perhaps taking liberties.
Emma is portrayed as a feisty and exuberant young woman, who has had to endure wagging tongues back in Ireland. The slightest mis-step in Ryhope, of course, could energise the gossips once again, so she has to try and be circumspect. Her teenage enthusiasm is hard to quell. But as she finds her feet she can charm even the most hardened mind but life is not simple and there are plenty of hurdles for her to overcome on her quest for some happiness. Life still has a few knocks in store for her.
Emma arrives in Ryhope from Ireland with an apple cake and the author includes a delicious recipe at the end of the novel for readers to try. I am all for recipes that say “…beat the heck…” out of the batter, and one which requires you to throw in all the ingredients at once (bar the apples). I made a batch and they are delicious as you can see on the left. The author also incorporates in the novel the lovely Irish tradition “Nollaig na mBan” which is a day in January is dedicated to easing the burden on women after all their graft over the festive period. This all makes for a richly entertaining novel.
If you follow this author on Social Media, you will see how much research she undertakes to try and get a really authentic feel for time and place, the hardship and greyness, and the innate spark of the people who have to eke out their lives in this mining community.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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My ‘speciality’ is one-pot cooking, so this recipe sounds perfect for me, especially if the results turn out as delicious looking as the batch you made!
A new to me author, however, given the location of this storyline and having read the premises of some of her previous novels, Glenda’s writing does sound very a la Catherine Cookson mode.
Nice Post, Tina 🙂