Mary Irvine's blog: Broken Threads by Mary Edward

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Mary Irvine’s blog: Broken Threads by Mary Edward

‘Who Belongs to Glasgow’

The Leven Litts Writers Group recently welcomed the author Mary Edward to speak on ‘Historical Research’ – with particular reference to her book, ‘Who Belongs to Glasgow?’, recently updated. We heard of primary and secondary sources and the caveats associated with ‘history’. Mary speaks very fluently and entertainingly with subtle humour and everyone present thoroughly enjoyed her visit.

Anyone interested in the origins and development of Glasgow’s diverse community should consider reading the history of welcoming immigrants to Glasgow. It is a well researched, readable history of the many immigrants who have chosen Glasgow as their home with their descendants adding to the rich diversity of culture of this city.

For anyone who enjoys crime thrillers with a local setting try Mary’s book ‘Death Goes to School which has Helensburgh as its backdrop whilst ‘The Search for Roberto Dias’, is very current being set in Rio de Janeiro. Although wholly fiction it does reflect much of the situation still prevalent in Brazil and shows an unwelcome contrast to the colour and vibrancy of that country.

Broken Threads

But Mary’s latest book is the long awaited sequel to ‘A Spider’s Thread Across the Tay’ which left many readers asking, ‘What happened to…?’ It was well worth the wait to find out.

‘Broken Threads’ begins just after the Tay Bridge has collapsed and goes on to trace the lives of the main protagonists, Andrew and Beth, as they try to move on following the devastating results of the disaster.
We leave Dundee behind to travel to Calcutta, India at the time of the British Raj but the connection with Dundee remains as the true story of the jute trade unfolds amidst the fictional love story. Andrew discovers people are not so different in either place and tragedy seems to dog him.

Once again the historical accuracy of the book reflects Mary’s assiduous research into the era and the background to the jute industry. Not wishing to spoil anyone’s reading of the book suffice to say that I appreciated Mary’s non-judgemental approach to the people and reasons behind the demise of the jute trade. The Indian visit is similarly well drawn to give the reader a flavour of a country whose backdrop differs considerable from that of Dundee! Mary excels at creating believable characters, the story flows and we are led smoothly to its end, which, of course, I am not going to divulge!

Although ‘Broken Threads’ may be read as a ‘stand alone’ story readers may wish to begin with ‘A Spider’s Thread Across the Tay’. The two books are certainly worthy of your time.