Blog Tour - RED GENE
Book Spotlight - #LoveBookGroupTours
Working on one front after another, witness to all the horrors of war, she falls in love with a Republican fighter, Miguel. In 1939 as defeat becomes inevitable, Rose is faced with a decision that will change her life and leave her with lasting scars.
Interspersed with Rose's story is that of Consuelo, a girl growing up in a staunchly Catholic family on the other side of the ideological divide. Never quite belonging, treated unkindly, she discovers at a young age that she was adopted but her attempts to learn more about her origins are largely thwarted.
It falls to the third generation, to Consuelo's daughter Marisol, born in the year of Franco's death and growing up in a rapidly changing Spain, to investigate the dark secrets of her family and find the answers that have until now eluded her mother.
RED GENE
by Barbara Lamplugh
On my blog today I have the pleasure of sharing with you.....
RED GENE
I would like to thank Kelly at Love Book Group Tours and Barbara Lamplugh for inviting me on the blog tour.
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Book Information
PUB DATE: 18th April 2019
ISBN: 9781912666423
PRICE: £8.99
360 Pages
CATEGORY: Historical Thriller fiction, Romance
When Rose, a young English nurse with humanitarian ideals, decides to volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, she is little prepared for the experiences that await her.
Working on one front after another, witness to all the horrors of war, she falls in love with a Republican fighter, Miguel. In 1939 as defeat becomes inevitable, Rose is faced with a decision that will change her life and leave her with lasting scars.
Interspersed with Rose's story is that of Consuelo, a girl growing up in a staunchly Catholic family on the other side of the ideological divide. Never quite belonging, treated unkindly, she discovers at a young age that she was adopted but her attempts to learn more about her origins are largely thwarted.
It falls to the third generation, to Consuelo's daughter Marisol, born in the year of Franco's death and growing up in a rapidly changing Spain, to investigate the dark secrets of her family and find the answers that have until now eluded her mother.
Review Quotes
'Quite simply, this is an enthralling novel with real historical heft.' - Judith Keene
'This is a touching tale of motherhood under pressure: of love, loss and reparation... a fascinating read' - Jane Sullivan
'An evocative story of Spain set against the background of civil war and its aftermath.' - John Simmons, author of Spanish Crossings
'This is a touching tale of motherhood under pressure: of love, loss and reparation... a fascinating read' - Jane Sullivan
'An evocative story of Spain set against the background of civil war and its aftermath.' - John Simmons, author of Spanish Crossings
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Author Guest Post
RESEARCH
In the last few years, since starting to plan and write The Red Gene, I’ve researched subjects ranging from Lyons Corner Houses in London to protection from scabies in a cave hospital in Spain, from 1930s hairstyles in England to the dolls owned by Spanish girls of different classes in the years after the Civil War. The amount of research required for a historical novel (The Red Gene is set between 1936 and 2012) seemed daunting at first, though research wasn’t new to me. During my time as a journalist for Living Spain magazine, I investigated subjects as diverse as bandits, flamenco dresses and the history of the Sephardic Jews. I visited and interviewed a lighthouse keeper, watched soap being made at home from used olive oil, learnt how to make stained glass, observed a guitar-maker at work and travelled with a photographer through the border territory, marked by castles, that was fought over by Christians and Muslims.
When I wrote Secrets of the Pomegranate, I was researching alongside my protagonist Deborah, discovering the Arab civilisation of al-Ándalus and the role of women, sharing her enthusiasm as we both increased our knowledge. However, having lived in Granada for many years, I didn’t have to research the modern setting of the novel that formed the major part of the book or the details of everyday life.
What I hadn’t quite anticipated with The Red Gene was how much time I would have to spend checking every small detail. But if I thought it would be a slog, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s difficult not to get sidetracked when those details are so fascinating. Once I started reading about the literacy classes held in the trenches or the different uniforms worn by rich and poor girls in the same school or the tricks used by the Civil Guard to trap members of the guerilla, I would invariably get carried away. Much of the research involved reading but I also made visits – to the Museum of Everyday Customs in Antequera, to the battlefield of Jarama, to a former Civil War hospital at Tarancón.
By far the most rewarding part of my research was the interviews. Talking to older people, as I did for The Red Gene, listening to their memories of post-war Spain – what they ate, the games they played as children, their schooling or lack of it, their differing attitudes depending on what class they belonged to – had me riveted. I talked to women whose babies were stolen and to a man who started work at the age of seven, taking charge of the donkey that brought stones for road-building. At times I was moved almost to tears by the stories I heard of loss and hardship. I am immensely grateful to all those people who shared their memories. Their contribution has given the book an authenticity that it might otherwise have lacked.
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Author Bio
Barbara Lamplugh was born and grew up in London.
An experienced traveller, she described her journeys in 'Kathmandu by Truck' and 'Trans-Siberia by Rail' published by Roger Lascelles.
In 1999, spurred by the challenge of living in a different culture, she headed for Granada in Spain, where she still lives, inspired by views of hills and the Alhambra from her sunny terrace.
A regular features writer for the magazine 'Living Spain', she has also written for 'The Guardian', 'The Times' and published her first novel Secrets of the Pomegranate in 2015.
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