Join me and Gianetta Murray in ...

... the city of Doncaster.  Doncaster will be celebrating all things bookish next month.  Read on for more details …

A fabulous Literary Festival is coming to town on August 12th.  The many varied events will run across a full four days at various locations and times in Doncaster.  The full schedule is available Here

There will be author panels, writing workshops, a literary quiz, a story competition (which is currently running), a poetry and spoken word evening, along with lots more.  And I’m very pleased to be able to tell you that I have the great honour of being included along with fellow writer Gianetta Murray.

If you’re a fan of cosy crime, then come along to the Unitarian Church, Hall Gate (DN1 3PB), on Friday evening, August 14th, at 7.00pm.  Gianetta and I will be talking about crime writing and what makes it cosy… or not!  If you want to get to know some of the criminals that live on the pages in our books and stories, come along and find out how we create them. Interested in the history of crime writing?  We can cover that, too, so do make sure you book your place on the 14th.  There will be time for questions, and we are hoping for something of an interactive conversation with our audience.

If the discussion has piqued your interest in cosy crime, both Gianetta and I will have a selection of books with us at the event.  I will have all seven of my Jacques Forêt Murder Mysteries with me. The books are all set in France, and if you would like to chat about France, the Cévennes, the stories, or even Jacques himself after the event, please just let me know.

Gianetta Murray will have copies of her Vivien Brandt Murder Mystery series with her, and I’m sure she will be only too pleased to chat about how the work on book 3 is shaping up, and her inspirations for each of the novels.

Both of us also write short stories in various genres.  But some of those short missives also feature a crime.  We will have a selection of the multi-genre miscellanies of tales that form the Seasonal Paths Collection, and copies of Earth, the first in a new series of anthologies with the elements as a theme.

Other events and activities to look forward to during the festival are :

Sci Fi Short Story Competition (Under 16’s) submission deadline August 1^st

Neurodiverse Writers Discussion Panel 6.00pm August 12^th

Rhymes and Vibes Spoken Word 7.30 August 12^th

Zine Workshop 3.00pm August 13^th

Author Talk with Romance writer Jeevani Charika 6.00pm August 13^th

Well Spoken Poetry & Prose 7.30pm August 13^th

Fantasy World Workshop 5.30pm August 14^th

Criminal Behaviour 7.00pm August 14^th

Open Invitation to attend Doncaster Writers Group 10.30am August 15th

Blackout Poetry Workshop 1.30pm August 15th

Author Talk with Amy McCaw 4.00pm August 15th

Author Talk with Samantha Howe 5,30pm August 15th

Bookish Quiz 7.30pm August 15th

Sci Fi Author Panel 1.30pm August 16^th

Author Talk with Craig Hallam 3.00pm August 16^th

It would be great to see you there at any of the events …

I'm continuing my journey following the Granville-Paris Express ...

... and today I'm making a return visit to Argentan.  Read on …

The lively and historic town of Argentan is part of the region of Normandie.  And if that brief description seems a little familiar to you, it may be because there are already several other mentions and a blog post about this beautiful little town.  Want to catch up on that previous post?  Just click the following link: Argentan
I’m here today specifically to investigate the history of rail in this town.  But first I must make a trip to my favourite pâtisserie for my lunch which will be a tartelette-aux-fraises.  And I know exactly where I’m going to eat it – in the shade of one of the trees by the lake behind the lace museum.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Argentan sat at a major junction of rail lines – the north-south route from Caen to Tours and the then-proposed east-west route between Granville and Paris.  In 1851, Napoleon 3 oversaw the review and re-organisation of the 27 already existing rail companies in the west of the country.  He merged these into 5 other larger elements to create the Compagnie de Chemin-de-la-fer de l’Ouest.  The new organisations included Paris-St. Germain-en-Laye, Paris-Rouen, Rouen-Havre, Dieppe-Fécamp, Caen-Cherbourg and the creation of the Granville-Argentan-Paris connection in 1855.
The original station was constructed in the mid-1850s, with the first train arriving on February 1^st, 1858.  At that time the journey to Paris took about 10 hours.  By 1860 that time had been reduced to 6.
In 1858, the depot attendant to the station had room for 3 locomotives.  By 1870 that number had increased to 13 and, following subsequent expansions and extensions, the depot could house a maximum of 90 by 1935.  By then, the new company Chemin-de-la-fer de l’Ouest had run into severe financial difficulties in 1908 and had been merged with the sister company serving the east of the country, and subsequently became part of the national network with the creation of SNCF on January 1st, 1938.  In the 1970s, national management was reviewed, and the decentralisation to the regions began.
As I walk across town to the station, I wonder what I might find.  I’m certain, having already seen photos of the devastation of the town as a result of the Normandy landings in 1944, that there must have been some damage.  Nevertheless, I hold out hope that some vestige of the original station might still be here.
Argentan, like the rest of northern and western France, was occupied in 1940 and remained under German control until August 1944.  The city had become a very important rail hub and therefore an essential target for the Allies. On August 15th and 16th, the American forces attempted to take the town and the rail hub.  The enemy fought fiercely to maintain control.  The Allies responded with relentless bombing of the town and the rail infrastructure.  When the American infantry finally entered the town on August 20^th, it was decimated. The station, depot, tracks, and rolling stock were completely destroyed. Argentan was part of the battle for the Falaise Pocket, and at the nearby museum you can see a film outlining the battle plans and the progress toward routing the enemy.
The building that is the station today is very different from the one that stood here in 1944, and in October 1895 when the travellers on the Granville-Paris express arrived here.  There are old photos of the depot, the engines and the railway station which was very much in keeping with the style of building in the mid-nineteenth century.  What we see today is a clean-lined, modern building with all the facilities needed for 21st-century travel.  Outside, travellers arriving for the first time are met with a wide-open space that has been appropriately planted, and an easy walk into the centre of this fabulous little town.

There will be more from my journey following the Granville-Paris Express next month.
 
If you enjoyed this post, you can find the previous posts by clicking the links Granville part 1, Granville part 2, Vire, Flers, Briouze and my review of the book, The Paris Express, is Here

Read more from Meyrueis...

 ... book seven in the Jacques Forêt Mystery series.  In my post on June 23rd, I promised some more from Meyrueis, and if you missed that first post, you can read it Here.  But here's what happened next...   

thirty seconds later

 

Émile Caussignac, the baker, hesitated for a moment as he took in the scene. Madame Longchamp seemed to be transfixed as she stared at the river, her basket discarded on the bridge, its meagre contents strewn across the cobbles.

“Gabriel,” Émile roared at his immediate neighbour, the partially deaf owner of the bar and café next door. “I’m taking this for Madame Longchamp,” he said, grabbing a chair from the nearest pavement table. At a run, he crossed the bridge and, taking her elbow gently, slotted the seat behind his customer.

“Madame, please sit.” As he looked up, he saw his old school friend Mathieu, the maître d’ and owner of the restaurant just down the road, arrive to open up. “Mathieu, an Armagnac for Madame, quickly please.” He righted the basket and returned the keys and purse to their resting place.

Finally turning his attention to the cause of Madame’s distress, Émile took a couple of steps towards the side of the bridge. The body of a man was lying face-up in the water, unmoving. The actual cause of death was not easily visible from above, but the trail of blood gradually filtering through the water was a constantly refreshed marker.

“What’s happen—”

“Police,” barked Émile, taking the proffered small glass of alcohol from Mathieu. “Call the police immediately.” The baker turned to Madame and handed her the brandy. “Here, drink this,” he said, carefully cupping one of her hands, and then the other, around the bowl of the glass. Rose-Marie stared at him, her eyes seemingly vacant of any recognition. “It’s me, Madame. Émile the baker.”

Rose-Marie took a sip of the strong drink. “Thank you,” she stammered. She gazed at the people around her. Mathieu was on his phone, making a call. Gabriel was standing at the foot of the bridge, looking on. Madame Caussignac appeared in the doorway of the shop, and several other residents, a couple still in their night clothes, had wandered out onto the street.

“I think I’d like to go home,” said Rose-Marie after taking another sip of the alcohol.

“Of course.” Émile offered her his right arm. Still pale and shocked, Madame Longchamp attempted to stand. As she got to her feet, Émile felt her grip on his forearm tighten.

“Alright, Madame?” She nodded and handed him her glass.

“The police are on their way,” said Mathieu taking the glass from his friend. “I think they will want to talk to you, Madame.”

Rose-Marie nodded. “Yes, I suppose they will.” She moved forward a step. The baker, with Madame’s basket clasped in his left hand, escorted her to the far side of the bridge and shepherded her up the uneven stone steps to her front door.

“Don’t worry about your bread order, Madame. I will get everything together for you once I’m back in the shop, and then I will deliver it myself.” Taking Madame’s keys from the bottom of her basket, he opened the front door and led her inside.

Rose-Marie stood in the hallway and watched as Émile placed the basket on the chair that sat beneath the hall mirror. No, that’s not the right place, she thought.

“Coffee,” she said, still staring at the offending item as though it could somehow tidy itself into its proper resting place. “I’ll make some coffee.” Her voice had regained a little of its usual timbre and strength.

“No, Madame. You will sit down,” Émile said as he guided his customer into the living room. “I will make you some coffee.” Knowing the layout of the house that he’d visited often as a child to play with Madame’s youngest son, the baker made his way to the kitchen at the back to begin his task.

You can get the book Here