The Truants is finished and printed. This is the title page with dedication and intriguing quotations.
The Truants
G. J. Martin
This book is dedicated to Sue and Ursula
Keen as a Truant or a Fugitive,
But as a pilgrim resolute, I took,
Even with the chance equipment of that hour,
The road that pointed toward the chosen vale.
The Prelude
William Wordsworth
And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass.
Epigraph to Lustra
Ezra Pound
I’m just returned from Germany and have seen a magnificent medieval hall in Luneberg where I hope to launch the novel next March. My partner Sue has been awarded a handsome stipend to spend twelve weeks in the beautiful Hanseatic town next year. She has been gifted a studio and an ancient house, renovated in 1646, to paint pictures of her choice. An exhibition will follow. She and her painter friend, Ursula ( also a recent major prize winner) held a joint exhibition in Luneberg four years ago. There is a scene in The Truants that describes the event. Beyond Luneberg the novel travels to Greifswald, the home of Casper David Friedrich and finally to the island of Rugen – the star of the show and everyone’s destination. There is a surprising interest in Germany in literary novels written in English. Most bookshops have an impressive section of contemporary English fiction. Our German friends have therefore encouraged the idea of a launch there.
Exciting times.
I hope to publish The Truants in England next summer.
Meanwhile, I will be offering readings from The Orcadian Trilogy at the magnificent Bromley House Library in Nottingham on Saturday, January 21st next year from 11am to 12.15pm. Have a look at the library online – it is amazing and a well kept secret.