Musician turns hand to words

A Riverside woman who was one of Scotland’s top classical musicians has turned her hand to writing.

Carolyn Sparey Fox served as Principal Viola for both the BBC Scottish Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

However the 69-year-old has now written two books that are close to her heart.

The Half of it was Never Told is a historical piece that looks three men from different parts of the world who believed the Prophet from their respective religions would return, whilst A Question of Time examines the lives of Carolyn’s parents - Leslie and Joan Sparey.

“The first book was something I had done quite a lot of research on,”said Carolyn. “Academics had been saying to me you must write a book on it. I didn’t want to end up at the end of my life and think I should have written that.”

It looks at three men: William Miller, Joseph Wolff and Mulla Husayn, who lived at the start of the 19th century, and although they never met they all had the belief that a time of renewal was on the horizon and a redemptive figure would enable that renewal to flourish.

A Question of Time focuses on the lives of Carolyn’s parents during the first half of the twentieth century. Her father was involved with The League of Nations and studied to be a dentist in London, whilst Carolyn’s mother was a talented pianist.

“When my mother died 18 months ago, I was going through my father’s memoirs and it felt like they had lived in a time hundreds of years ago - so much has changed.”