Product Description

Pit closures seem an almost daily occurrence in 1930s County Durham. In Brack's Hill where the pit provides the only employment, its closure is devastating. But there is hope, provided by the Settlement a charitable organisation, where one man's passion for painting matures into a real talent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2086096 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Binding: Hardcover
• 275 pages

Northern Echo - Darlington
'An entertaining read as well as an honest reflection of a piece of local history'

From the Publisher
The editor writes …

Pit Closures seem an almost daily occurrence in 1930s County Durham. For small communitities like Brack’s Hill where the pit provides the only source of employment, its closure is devastating to local people and Gabriel Marchant is no exception. With no job, no money and no prospects it is impossible to see the future as anything else bit bleak. But there is hope.

Hope is provided by the Settlement, a charitable organisation set up to promote the arts, and a place where Daniel’s passion for painting matures into a real talent. And there is love; of Rosel, sophisticated and enigmatic; of Greta, disturbingly intelligent and forthright; and of his muse, who is as beautiful as she is unsuitable.

Most importantly of all for Gabriel, there is the ambition of becoming a painter. Little does he know, however, that the controversial picture which will make his name also has the power to destroy the lives of those he cares most about.

‘Deeply touching and utterly unforgettable, this is a tale of one man’s hope for a better life and a dream of a seemingly impossible love, set against the backdrop of the 1930s depression and in the constant shadow of war.’

From the Author
Although the theme is quite serious WHERE HOPE LIVES is a novel of humour, passion and resoltuion. I hope you enjoy it. The characters and events in WHERE HOPE LIVE are entirely and absolutely fictional. However in writing it I was inspired by the work of the Settlement Movement, a charity funded in the 1930s by an American charity, The Pilgrim Trust , which established a series of Settlements in the most deprived parts of England. Their objective was the provision of a meeting place where people could experience the intellectual stimulation of wide discussion, the practice of arts and crafts, and access to artists of national reputation.

A place where, for a time, this objective was most fully realised was in Spennymoor, the town where I grew up. Fortunately the Depression has become part of history and Settlement type activities have been taken over by schools and arts centres nationwide. But the little custom-built theatre which was finally built by the remarkable Warden Mr Farrell is still there. And a small group of dedicated actors still put on several plays a year. For them the Settlement spirit still lives and I would acknowledge them as part of my inspiration.

It is interesting to note that The Settlement was funded in part for some years by CEMA, (Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts), which was the forerunner of the Arts Council. In recent years I've been working for the Arts Council in prisons. And in that work I have noted that for certain individuals in confinement, creative experience can both enhance self esteem and change lives. I think my insight into the lives of my hero Gabriel, Greta, Marguerite and Tegger, confined as they were in the prison of the depression, has been greatly inspired by my Arts Council experience. In becoming a painter Gabriel moves on and out into his true self.

I would like to acknowledge the inspiration of the writing of Sid Chaplin and the work of painters Tom McGuinness, Norman Cornish, the late Ted Holloway and Tisa Hess. Looking and looking and looking at their painting has been, for me, the most pleasurable part of the research for this novel. Hope you like it!