A Break in Time, by Margot Bish
LOCAL author Margot Bish has produced her finest work to date, part riveting historical novel and part call to arms to combat climate disaster.
The year is 2046 and warm words of being ‘carbon neutral’ by 2050 are found to be just that – the UK is already ravaged by winter floods and summer heatwaves leaving people battling to survive.
Enter Jemma, at 19 fast learning the skills needed to survive in this unwelcoming new world when she is suddenly catapulted back in time to 1601, a time when England is facing a different crisis in the final and difficult years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Rebellion is in the air, religious persecution is prevalent and the seeds of civil war are being sown.
How will the ordinary folk survive this tumult?
Just as in A Moment in Time – this work’s predecessor – the action is centred around Shurnock Hall near Astwood Bank and one of the great delights of this book is Bish’s use of local villages, sights and landmarks which really bring the area in times past alive.
Hence the plotters head for Huddington, Jemma and her faithful steed Cassie ride along Dark Lane, and look for work and shelter at Coughton Court and Inkberrow.
No Redditch back in 1601 then, of course, but the building blocks for the town as we know it today were there and thriving.
Will Jemma’s hiding place at Shurnock be discovered? Will the priests betray her? and what of her chances of returning to 2046?
Reading like a thriller, Jemma’s tale is a delight and within it is an impassioned plea for action to combat climate change here and now in 2022 before those floods and droughts really take hold.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, Break in Time is available from Amazon at £15 hardback, £8.75 paperback and £3 for the Kindle edition or from the author herself via Facebook and should arrive in time for Christmas.
Ross Crawford
