MY LIFE IN BOOKS
Author Milly Johnson reveals which writers led to her moving house… and laughing on the train
All sorts of books have made an impact on me, and authors themselves. Catherine Cookson was well into her for ties when she had her first book published. That gave me hope that I hadn’t left it too late when I was in my late thir ties and was desperate to be a full-time writer. The Fifteen Streets was the first book I ever cried at. And I laughed out loud on the train reading Bridget Jones’s Diar y by Helen Fielding. It gave me great joy to realise my private neuroses were common to women ever ywhere. She presented me with a prize once, and I turned into fan-girl. I loved the film Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but the book blew me away even more. The fact that a woman never seen and a house could outshine ever y other character was fascinating. It’s a masterpiece.
I had teachers who were so inspirational, they made us fall in love with the classics. Like Persuasion by Jane Austen, which is a gorgeous love stor y, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. That book taught me heroes didn’t have to be handsome and per fect to be desirable. I fell heavily for him. On the strength of that book, I upped sticks and moved to Hawor th to live. Our teacher at school thought Stan Barstow was a god. I loved the
Nor thern, unsentimental way he wrote; ever y word counted. When I
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
By Milly Johnson
(Simon & Schuster, PB, £8.99) It’s nearly Christmas and it’s snowing hard. Six stranded people have an unexpected stay in the tiny hamlet of Figgy Hollow. Bridge and Luke had been on their way to meet to sign divorce papers, long-term par tners Charlie and Robin are hiding a secret hear tache, while Mar y’s lived in Hawor th, I became friends with Stan who lived there too. He came to my wedding and my schoolfriends were awestruck. A Kind Of Loving is the first of his Vic Brown trilogy, and it’s easy to see how it became so influential to modern day writers. His por trait of a claustrophobic marriage is brilliant.
I always pass on books to friends or give them to charity shops unless they are so precious that I couldn’t bear to part with them and I refuse to even lend those out: for instance, The Love Of My Life by Louise Douglas. It was so beautiful and af fected me so much, I had to go and seek out the author to tell her.
I read books over and over, especially Agatha Christie books. Presently I’m reading The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, coincidentally the name of a boy I used to sit next to at school. I remember whodunnit, but it’s the how that always fascinates me on future readings.
hopes for a romance with her boss Jack have hit an icy patch! Stuck inside a beautiful old inn, how long will it take before the joy of Christmas seeps into their souls and of fers them all a new beginning? A festive smorgasbord of fine food, sparkly decorations, parlour games, presents and more, coupled with Milly Johnson’s trademark warm and witty writing, make this the per fect Christmas read!