Win 1 of 3 copies of Hangman’s Gap by Rachel Amphlett – QUEENSLAND, Australia
Novel set mainly in PRIMROSE HILL, North London
15th August 2025
This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page, novel set mainly in Primrose Hill, North London.
“The right book in the hands of the right person, at exactly the right moment can change their life forever”. Well, a novel that opens with a line like that is going to be a corker for bibliophiles.
Tilly (Matilda) has grown up surrounded by books, her family is based in Hay on Wye and she now works for Splash Books as an editor. Some time ago, whilst whiling away a rainy day in Foyles in London, she happened upon Joe. All the stars aligned, they were the happiest couple, they married and then their future together was shattered. Joe fell sick and died.
Now it seems that before he died and, although not himself a bibliophile, he chose a book for each month over one year for her to receive from her local bookshop “Book Lane” in Regent’s Park Road, North London. She would receive these after his death. Alfie, the owner, has the project covered. It is designed as a legacy to remind her of Joe once he had passed away. At first she is shocked, but then once she has had time to ponder, she is very much taken with his thoughtful plan.
His first choice is a children’s book (one might be able to guess, given her name) which is designed to get her out of her reading slump after his death. He anticipated that she would struggle to engage with literature after his passing. He then chooses a popular book set in Minnesota (can you guess the title?) and has bought her tickets for a very different destination, so she can spend time with her travel-writer sister.
As Tilly moves on to each new book, each chapter is prefaced with a list of books, chosen with a theme in mind. Within the text there is mention of further books that have proved popular over the last couple of years. And thus it is a real literary journey in more ways than one.
Their love of books draws Tilly and Alfie (whose look is “owns a fossil collection” vibe) closer together. Alfie is very much a man after our own, TripFiction heart: for a trip to Italy, he suggests titles like A Room With a View by E M Forster, Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati, Elena Pala (Translator), and Still Life by Sarah Winman…
Several years ago the author read Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and states: “ the setting left a lasting impression on me.. Even when the intricacies of the story faded from my memory, the sense of place remained…”. “I went in search of the locations from the stories I had read..” So there you have it, an acknowledgement of the wonders of literary travel!
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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