Frances Hardinge: A Skinful of Shadows
Blackwell's Oxford, Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 7pm
Blackwell’s Broad Street is delighted to host Costa Award-winning author Frances Hardinge for a unique event to celebrate the paperback publication of A Skinful of Shadows – the haunting and atmospheric story of a young girl’s quest to shape her own destiny.
Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding. Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts, which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard. And now there’s a spirit inside her. The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father’s rich and powerful family. There is talk of civil war, and they are going to need her to protect their dark and terrible family secret. But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.
When the final customers leave at the end of the day and the booksellers are alone, ghostly sightings have been witnessed within the historic Blackwell’s Bookshop Broad Street. Hear first hand statements whilst exploring the bookshop, spending the evening encountering the dark side of Blackwell’s Broad Street with Frances Hardinge, and learn her inspirations for the ghosts of Grizehayes that haunt ‘A Skinful of Shadows’. (n_morrell)… (more)
Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide. Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding. Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts, which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard. And now there’s a spirit inside her. The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father’s rich and powerful family. There is talk of civil war, and they are going to need her to protect their dark and terrible family secret. But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death.
When the final customers leave at the end of the day and the booksellers are alone, ghostly sightings have been witnessed within the historic Blackwell’s Bookshop Broad Street. Hear first hand statements whilst exploring the bookshop, spending the evening encountering the dark side of Blackwell’s Broad Street with Frances Hardinge, and learn her inspirations for the ghosts of Grizehayes that haunt ‘A Skinful of Shadows’. (n_morrell)… (more)
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