Soundings S.
2 primary works
Book 1493
There were many who said of Riley (as he was almost always known) that in his early life he appeared to be older than his years. With a harsh childhood behind him, he left school with little in the way of knowledge but brimful of optimism, and secure in the knowledge that one of his teachers, Fred Beardsley, had faith in him; although at the time neither of them could have envisaged how the other was to influence the course of their lives. Fred Beardsley, who much to everyone's surprise had become acquainted with and married Louise Barrington, a teacher at his school, within a matter of weeks, ran into Riley while they were on their honeymoon in Paris. Riley said he'd won first prize in a talent competition - hence his presence, with his uncle, in the city for the weekend. In addition, he told the happy couple that as a result of winning the competition he had been offered a 'position' at The Little Palace Theatre in Fellburn. Fred and Louise, who suspected that the 'position' was probably that of a dogsbody, nevertheless encouraged Riley, whom they knew to be an expert mimic.
After a time, however, it became clear to them that Riley had actually been appointed assistant stage-manager. And then he surprised them by forming a close friendship with the leading lady, thirty-something Nyrene Forbes-Mason, who he claimed was nurturing his burgeoning talent as an actor. What Riley hadn't told them, however, was that he had great hopes of the relationship developing into something more than friendship...Over the subsequent years, Fred and Louise observed with amazement the rise to fame and fortune of this remarkable lad, as did as did his parents and all those who knew him. As for his relationship with Nyrene, that did indeed change; although the manner in which it progressed was not quite as Riley had planned.
After a time, however, it became clear to them that Riley had actually been appointed assistant stage-manager. And then he surprised them by forming a close friendship with the leading lady, thirty-something Nyrene Forbes-Mason, who he claimed was nurturing his burgeoning talent as an actor. What Riley hadn't told them, however, was that he had great hopes of the relationship developing into something more than friendship...Over the subsequent years, Fred and Louise observed with amazement the rise to fame and fortune of this remarkable lad, as did as did his parents and all those who knew him. As for his relationship with Nyrene, that did indeed change; although the manner in which it progressed was not quite as Riley had planned.
Book 1919
Her major new novel, written in 1997 when the most remarkable author of our time was nearing the end of her life. The woman who presented herself at the offices of the respectable firm of London solicitors was, the receptionist decided, clearly a vagrant who had been sleeping on the streets. When she asked to see the firm s senior partner, Alexander Armstrong, she was at first shown the door but then the entire office staff were disrupted by Mr Armstrong s reaction when he learned his visitor s name clearly Irene Baindor was a woman with a past, and her emergence from obscurity was to signal the unravelling of a mystery that had baffled the lawyer for twenty-six years. What Irene the silent lady of the title had been doing, and where she had been, gradually emerged over the following weeks as Armstrong met the unlikely benefactors who had befriended her and helped her to build a useful and satisfying life in a sheltered environment. Now, at last, she was able to confront her tortured and violent past and find great happiness and contentment with the help of old friends and some newer ones. Displaying all the skills in plotting, scene-setting and characterization that made her Britain s best-loved storyteller, and drawing on her own first-hand experience of working-class life between two world wars and the 1950s, The Silent Lady is a fitting tribute to an irreplacable author."