‘Mrs Fisher’s Tulip’ by actresss and new author Melanie Hughes is the story of one summer in the early Sixties in darkest suburbia. A place where things are not always as safe as they seem…
Sally is a schoolgirl. Julie is 17 and an ice skater – a figure of unimaginable glamour. Sally becomes drawn into Julie’s world of secrecy, adult passion and sexuality. Then watches helplessly as her family is torn apart by the conventions it fights so hard to maintain.
Rachel Wakefield of the Harrow Times writes:
“Set in Kenton in the early 60’s and told from a child’s point of view Mrs Fisher’s Tulip is the debut book of local author Melanie Hughes. It’s a magnetic read, with clever use of humour and searing poignancy about the confusing world of adulthood.”
And this book has already garnered rave reviews at: Amazon.co.uk
‘Mrs Fisher’s Tulip’ is available from Amazon, W H Smith and Waterstones websites and from many other web retailers, RRP £6.99. Published through an Arts Council scheme “Mrs Fisher’s Tulip” has gained rave reviews on Amazon and in the local press.
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Melanie has gained considerable following locally and on the internet. At a recent signing at Waterstones in Harrow she broke the sales record. The entire stock sold out after only 3 hours.
Melanie told us: “It was just the best thrill ever to have complete strangers come up to me in the street and in the supermarket and tell me that they loved my book and in particular the characters of Sally and Mel”.
Melanie is now working on a sequel ‘The Age of Consent’ which takes Sally into the heady world of the late Sixties.
She is currently also working on a film script – The true life story of the miraculous escape from Germany of a Jewish slave labourer in the height of the Second World War.
Melanie Hughes has been an actress for more than 20 years and during that time has worked extensively in theatre, film and television. She began writing for Ken Russell in the television series “Lady Chatterley” and then worked on further projects for the BBC, London Films, and Union Pictures.
Melanie was brought up in Harrow. At an early age she showed an interest in the arts and particularly in writing and drama. Melanie trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She started her acting career at the Southwold Summer Theatre and then went on to play many parts in Television Series and Films.
Melanie was in the original production of Fugard’s “Dimetos” with Paul Scofield and Ben Kingsley, directed by Atholl Fugard at the Nottingham Playhouse which then transferred for a West End run at Wyndhams, and then the Comedy Theatre.
Some reviews from Amazon are shown below:-
“This story of innocence betrayed, is beautifully and sensitively written through the eyes of a young girl.”
“I really loved it! Really refreshing and took me back to childhood… has Melanie Hughes written anything else? I’d never heard of her before and can’t see any other books by her?”
“Follows a teenage girl’s affair with a married man as seen through the eyes of her younger sister. Page turning read, being both funny and sad. It really is a lovely book”
“This is a captivating, evocative story that ranges from utterly charming to dark and unsettling. In this tale of the journey through adolescence, two girls struggle to make sense of the world of grown-ups and as they muddle through, drawing their own conclusions, their actions have devastating consequences. I read this book in three days and was so sad to have finished it. A great read – warm, funny and redolent of my own suburban childhood.”
“Set in the early 1960s, before the age of sexual liberation, Sally’s coming of age adventures are engaging and endearing. I loved Sally’s adolescent view of the world seen through television soaps and detective series. How refreshing to find a novel that will deal with the lighter and darker sides of life. Everyone can connect to Sally’s plight because in some ways we have all been there.”
“Mrs Fisher’s Tulip is such a lovely tale of adolescence seen through the eyes of young narrator Sally. I was captured from the first line with this book and I really couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day. Highly recommended!”
“Set in the early 1960’s in a leafy suburb in a world that no longer exists, it touches on the fragility of youth, the uncertainty of the child, and the intensity of first love. Sally’s view of her world, coloured by the Music and Television of the day (“The Saint – Roger More, Route 66, 77 Sunset Strip etc”) is funny and touching at the same time.”
Melanie’s website is at http://www.melaniehughes.eu
