Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Imagine finding a letter which explains your entire past….
The Secret
What you need to know before your trail
Beth and Michael are married and have a small son called Jake. They know he has serious health problems and now needs a kidney transplant. Time is running out and Beth is anxious to find a donor. The problem is that Beth’s mother has recently died and she has never known her father.
Michael’s father died in a crash years ago and his mother is an alcoholic so there are no immediate family members to call upon.
So, when Beth goes to clear out her mother’s possessions she finds a letter. She cannot believe what she reads. That her mother Mary made one life changing decision all those years ago. And that her son’s future now lies in her very own, painful, past.
Travel Guide
Manchester
The main section of the novel is set in Manchester. Whilst there are no real streets and settings to visit as such, the working class life of Manchester is firmly portrayed and the People’s History Museum in the city would be a good place to start any booktrail. Sadly the Taverner’s pub is of course fictional but there are many many pubs in the city which could give you the inspiration you need.
Gresford Mining Disaster
Thomas Roberts worked in a fictional colliery but the author explains in her author note that it is based on the very real Gresford colliery disaster. On Saturday 22nd September 1934, at around 2.08 am, one of the worst British Mining disasters occured at GresfirorDcolliery. This real tragic story helps explain the setting of the novel and the very real pain Mary suffers as many women did at that time, knowing that their loved ones were never coming home. Now the Mine is a social club but there are still traces of its history all around.
Blackpool
The fun of the fair doesn’t last long when the accident happens and lives are changed forever.The tower and the promenade might be common fixtures on postcards but it’s the fictional Claremont Villas guesthouse that will prove to be the landmark in this novel
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Secret
Author/Guide: Kathryn Hughes Destination: Manchester, Blackpool Departure Time: 1970s, 2016s
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
