DEA HICKS LANGMEAD

Dea Langmead began life as a professional ballet dancer and actress and has been a published writer since an early age, with special interest in the post and antiques.  Later, after training as a nurse, she eventually became a ward sister in a psychiatric hospital.  Since retiring, she is now writing full time.  Dea lives in Cornwall and can trace her ancestry back to the Isles of Scilly.

SWING HIGH, SWEET BIRD

From prosaic pit stop in present day to profoundly disturbing memories of yesteryear this novel contrasts darkness & light, innocence & debauchery, openness & sinister secrets;  it is superbly crafted and totally readable, one cannot help but be absorbed.

One is aware that our modern mores are at odds with the codes of behaviour of the era as a newly qualified schoolteacher taking a summer job in the country castigates himself 50 years later over what might today be considered a passing episode in growing up;  the tale is complex and elegant incorporating a variety of pastiches including lost loves,  mysterious deaths and supernatural occurrences;  we are led repeatedly back to an intriguing painting of a girl in a yellow dress. 

As the book reveals itself we are witness to the vast gulf between the comprehensions of the youthful teacher & the intentions of the primary protagonist which intertwine with increasing dichotomy.

This is a heartrending confession in which the narrator denigrates himself for having been duped into an orgy but does not congratulate himself for having saved a tortured child’s life.  Even more poignantly the story is addressed to his only son, to be found after his death, clearly this has not occurred and we are voyeurs to its very personal revelations.

A book where there is more to be appreciated each time you return to it..

THE LADY OF LYONESSE

As sparkling and deep as the seas which now cover the fabled isle between the Cornish mainland and the Scillies, this tale is set in the last days before the inundation and has all the elements of great legend: the timeless struggle between good and evil, an eternal love quadrant, prophecy, sacrifice, the ancient gods and even threads of Atlantis are woven into the fabric.  The story is fast-moving with the beat of time-running-out drumming inexorably in the background as the characters hurtle to their destiny along paths as complex as the twists and turns between the Forbidden Place and the Priory on the Rock.

We are reminded that all that glitters is definitely not gold, we can smell the fish at the market place, hear the sea pounding the rugged cliffs, fear the terrible ‘priest’ of Poseidon manipulating a frightened flock who are suffering the first throes of the earthquake which precipitates the loss of Lyonesse.  We suffer silently with Lowenna as she is forced to choose between loyalty to her flighty sister and family solidarity; and which of us is not entranced by the thought of riding the white horse of the waves with the love of all our lifetimes.

Dea Hicks Langmead can trace her ancestry back to the Isles of Scilly and has clearly done a huge amount of research to produce this beautifully crafted book, working in different themes smoothly and effectively, resulting in a magical & mystical saga which yet has its roots firmly in the batholith beneath the waves.  And behind the enthralling narrative I wonder if there is not an allegory for the state of our world at the moment? You may find it un-put-down-able, I certainly did, not once but twice, lost in the beautiful prose creating places and people before my eyes.  This is a joy I shall return to over and over again.