Events - 23 Jun 17

Harriet Springbett’s debut novel, Tree Magic, was published by Impress Books earlier this year. A coming-of-age novel set in Dorset and the Charente, it has charmed adults and teenagers alike, as can be seen from the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. In Tree Magic we see how troubled teenager Rainbow comes to terms with her gift for communicating with trees. She must struggle to reinvent herself and piece together her broken family.

“Tree Magic is a beautiful and universal tale of loss, love and learning to find a place in a world without roots.” Storgy Magazine 

If you’d like to meet Harriet and get your copy of Tree Magic signed, come and meet her in the English language library in Angers at 10 a.m. on Friday 23^rd June. She’ll be reading from her book and talking about the journey to publication, which will be of particular interest for unpublished writers on the same path.

Harriet lives in Poitou-Charentes with her French partner and teenage daughters. She is working on her 4th novel and also writes short stories and blogs about writing and cultural events in France on Harriet Springbett’s Playground.

The June read for the bookclub is “Summer” by Edith Wharton.

‘Can’t you see that I don’t care what anybody says?’ Charity Royall lives in the small New England village of North Dormer. Born among outcasts from the Mountain beyond, she is rescued by lawyer Royall and lives with him as his ward. Never allowed to forget her disreputable origins Charity despises North Dormer and rebels against the stifling dullness of the tight-knit community surrounding her. Her boring job in the local library is interrupted one day by the arrival of a young visiting architect, Lucius Harney, whose good looks and sophistication arouse her passionate nature. As their relationship grows, so too does Charity’s conflict with her guardian; darker undercurrents start to come to the surface. Summer is often compared to Wharton’s other New England story, Ethan Frome, and it shares the same intensity of feeling and repression. Wharton regarded it as one of her best works, and its compelling story of burgeoning sexuality and illicit desire has a strikingly modern and troubling ambiguity.
For any enquiries about joining the bookclub please send an email by clicking here.