134 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Death on Lindisfarne , livre ebook

Lion Hudson - Fay Sampson

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

134 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

'She creates such a feeling of the atmosphere of this Northumbrian island.' Crediton Country CourierGrieving the loss of wife and mother, Aidan and Melangell visit the renowned spiritual retreat center on the British island of Lindisfarne so Aidan can share with bright eight-year-old Melangell one of the places that inspired Jenny to write her books.There they meet up with Jenny's friend Lucy, a Methodist minister, who is teaching a course on the local Northumbrian saints. Lucy has brought Rachel, a troubled teenager, to the Holy Island in hopes that the remoteness and peace of the location will help her.But when Rachel is found dead on the beach, everyone on the island is under suspicion. As investigators and Rachel's friends come to the island, Aidan and Lucy learn more about Rachel, and Lucy's past as a policewoman is revealed.And so Aidan is drawn into his second mystery. Masterfully told by award-winning author Fay Sampson, Death on Lindisfarne explores the complicated motivations of fallen people against the backdrop of ancient holiness.'A powerfully evoked sense of place and unfolding mystery is woven into a contemporary tale of tragedy turned sinister, on the ancient island of saints.' C. F. Dunn, author of Mortal Fire.

Informations

Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	19 avril 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781782640530
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

DEATH ON LINDISFARNE
Also by Fay Sampson
For adults:
The Land of Angels
The Flight of the Sparrow
A Casket of Earth
The Island Pilgrimage
The Silent Fort
Star Dancer
The Aidan Mysteries:
The Hunted Hare
The Suzie Fewings series:
In the Blood
A Malignant House
Those in Peril
Father Unknown
The Overlooker
The Morgan le Fay series:
Wise Woman s Telling
Nun s Telling
Blacksmith s Telling
Taliesin s Telling
Herself
Daughter of Tintagel (Omnibus edition)
For children:
The Sorcerer s Trap
The Sorcerer s Daughter
Them
Hard Rock
The Pangur Ban series:
Pangur Ban
Finnglas of the Horses
Finnglas and the Stones of Choosing
Shape Shifter
The Serpent of Senargad
The White Horse is Running
Non-fiction:
Visions and Voyages: The Story of Celtic Spirituality
Runes on the Cross: The Story of our Anglo-Saxon Heritage

Text copyright 2013 Fay Sampson
This edition copyright 2013 Lion Hudson
The right of Fay Sampson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Lion Fiction
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/fiction
ISBN 978 1 78264 025 7
e-ISBN 978 1 78264 053 0
First edition 2013
Cover design: Lion Hudson; waves GeraKTV/depositphotos
Agent: Joanna Devereux at Pollinger Ltd: www.pollingerltd.com
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Author s Note

This story is set on Holy Island, off the coast of Northumbria. It is also known by its Anglo-Saxon name of Lindisfarne.
Although the setting is real, the living characters are fictitious. There are several retreat houses on the island. I have warm memories of the hospitality of the Open Gate, run by the Community of St Aidan and St Hilda, and of the helpfulness of the warden of Marygate. But the guesthouse of St Colman s and the Fellowship of St Ebba and St Oswald are my own inventions for the purpose of this novel. James s True Gospel Church is not based on any real church, in Huddersfield or elsewhere.
I am very grateful to Joe Baynham for information about the Holy Island Coastguard and Rescue Service and about local tides and currents. Needless to say, any mistakes in interpreting this advice are my responsibility alone. No real-life members of the team, or of the Northumbrian police, are portrayed in this book.
The poem in Chapter 6 is from The Death of Urien in the Red Book of Hergest, XII. My warm thanks are due to the Northumbria Community for permission to quote in Chapter 8 from their liturgy for Compline, published in Celtic Daily Prayer (HarperCollins, 2005). It can also be found at www.northumbriacommunity.org. The prayer in Chapter 16 is from Carmina Gaedelica, that rich source of Gaelic spirituality collected and translated by Alexander Carmichael in the nineteenth century. He was told it by the Argyll crofter Ann Livingstone.
Further Reading

Bede s Ecclesiastical History of the English People , or A History of the English Church and People . Various editions.
John Marsden, Northanhymbre Saga (Kyle Cathie, 1992).
Janet Backhouse, The Lindisfarne Gospels (Phaidon, 1981).
Fay Sampson, Visions and Voyages (Lion, 2007).
Fay Sampson, Runes on the Cross (Triangle, 2000).
Historical Characters

Aethelfrith the Ferocious . Sixth- to seventh-century king of northern Northumbria. He gained control of southern Northumbria by killing the males of the ruling family.
Agilbert. Seventh-century French bishop of Wessex. Led the Roman party at the Synod of Whitby.
Aidan. Seventh-century Irish monk who became the first abbot of Lindisfarne.
Alchfrith. Seventh-century son of King Oswy and sub-king of southern Northumbria.
Bebba. Sixth- to seventh-century British princess. Married Aethelfrith, king of northern Northumbria. Gave her name to Bamburgh.
Bede. Seventh- to eighth-century monk of Jarrow and historian.
Benedict Biscop. Seventh-century warrior and monk. Accompanied Wilfrid to Rome. Founded the abbeys of Wearmouth and Jarrow.
Caedmon. Seventh-century worker at the abbey of Whitby. Composed poems in the English language.
Chad. Seventh-century pupil at Lindisfarne. Became bishop of York and Lichfield.
Colman. Seventh-century abbot of Lindisfarne. Led the Celtic party at the Synod of Whitby. Moved to Ireland after the Celtic Church was defeated.
Columba. Sixth-century abbot of Derry and founder of the abbey of Iona. Greatly revered by the Celtic Church.
Corman. Seventh-century monk sent by Iona as chaplain to King Oswald when he conquered Northumbria.
Cuthbert. Seventh-century prior and bishop of Lindisfarne.
Eadfrith. Seventh- to eighth-century bishop of Lindisfarne. Scribe of the Lindisfarne Gospels.
Eanfled. Seventh-century daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria. Brought up in Kent after Edwin s death. Married King Oswy of Northumbria.
Ebba. Seventh-century daughter of King Aethelfrith of Northumbria. Fled to Scotland when her father died. Became abbess of Coldingham.
Edwin. Seventh-century prince of southern Northumbria. Fled to Wales when Aethelfrith killed his father. Became king of all Northumbria.
Fiachna. Seventh-century king of Dalriada in Scotland and Ulster. Joined Urien s campaign to drive the Angles out of Northumbria.
Hilda/Hild. Seventh-century great-niece of Edwin. Abbess of Whitby.
James. Sixth- to seventh-century Roman missionary to the English and choirmaster.
Kevin. Sixth- to seventh-century abbot of Glendalough.
Melangell. Sixth-century Irish princess who became abbess at Pennant Melangell in Wales.
Morcant. Sixth-century king of the northern Britons. Joined Urien s campaign against the Angles but believed to be responsible for his assassination.
Oswald. Seventh-century son of Aethelfrith. Converted to Christianity on Iona. Returned to Northumbria to seize the kingdom from the Mercians.
Oswin. Seventh-century cousin of Oswald and king of southern Northumbria.
Oswy. Seventh-century brother of Oswald. Granted northern Northumbria by the Mercians and seized southern Northumbria by killing Oswin. Victorious over Mercians. Presided over Synod of Whitby.
Paulinus. Seventh-century Roman missionary. Accompanied Eanfled to Northumbria as bishop. Fled to Kent when Edwin was killed.
Penda. Seventh-century king of Mercia. Conquered Northumbria. Killed in battle with Oswy.
Rhydderch. Sixth- to seventh-century king of Strathclyde. Joined Urien s campaign against the Angles.
Taliesin. Sixth-century British poet, associated with the court of Urien.
Urien. Sixth-century British king of Rheged in northern Britain. Led an unsuccessful campaign to drive out the Anglian invaders.
Wilfrid. Seventh- to eighth-century. Went to Lindisfarne in Aidan s time, then travelled to Rome. Successful spokesman for the Roman party against the Celtic Church at the Synod of Whitby. Abbot of Ripon and bishop of York.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-seven

Questions for Groups
Chapter One

D ADDY, ARE YOU SURE this is a good idea? Melangell tilted her pointed face towards her father. Her eight-year-old voice had the patient reproach of one used to dealing with a wayward parent.
Aidan looked ahead at the line of slender poles which led the way across the glistening sands towards the eastern end of Lindisfarne. Blue sky was reflected in the pools left by the receding water. He glanced to his left. Now the tide was falling there was a steady traffic of cars crossing the modern causeway to the island. But even that would be submerged at high water. Lindisfarne - Holy Island - was only intermittently linked to the mainland.
Of course I am. Walking across the sands is the only proper way to come to Lindisfarne. That s how the pilgrims always came in the past. And the monks who lived here back in the time of St Aidan and Cuthbert. You wouldn t rather drive here in a car , would you?
He was pleased to hear the cheerful confidence in his own voice. He had got his calculations right, hadn t he? He had parked the car for a week on the Northumbrian coast. He had helped Melangell pack a small rucksack with spare clothes. He had shouldered a larger one himself and his all-important camera bag. And he had consulted the tide tables with considerable care.
The sea channel that separated the island from the coast had been falling for a while, uncovering pink-tinged sand. It was jewelled with shells and pebbles. He must try to resist the temptation to take dozens of photographs of the miraculous and unique patterns the shells and quartz revealed at every step. He needed to time this journey right, so that the water had retreated from the Pilgrims Way, but not leave it so late that the tide turned and swept back in over the sands before they could complete their crossing.
He gave a grin of delight and drew a deep breath of anticipation.
Come on, then. To Holy Island.
The wet sand oozed slightly round his boots and Melange