More strings to his bow: Newbury conductor/cellist Charles Medlam turns novelist
WELL. I was not expecting this, writes Arts Editor TRISH LEE.
Renowned conductor and cellist, founder of the brilliant London Baroque, and known for his performances on viola da gamba - not forgetting an erstwhile music reviewer for these pages - Charles Medlam has written a book.
Yes Charles, who lives locally, has been writing all his life… hundreds of programme notes for classical music concerts, dozens of concert and book reviews for newspapers and specialist magazines, tens of CD booklets, quite a few short stories, a handbook for cellists on performing the Bach Suites, but now - a novel.
Sally and Caitlin, features three teenage girls from different backgrounds who find themselves, and partners, is now available from Amazon.
The Girls: Well-heeled golden girl Sally who becomes a speech-writer for elite politicians and the more complicated Caitlin, initially a geographer, who becomes an actress and writer for the stage.
Their friend Rachel, while waitressing in Italy, meets an art expert twenty years her senior, who prepares her for a career in art history and teaches her how to live life.
Sally finds Julien, a maths genius of mixed-race, but has to wait while he frees himself.
On a theatre tour of North and South America, Caitlin has a tumultuous affair with exotic Leandro, Romeo to her Juliet.
During post-tour productions, they realise it was more than just a fling, and face the painful task of extricating themselves from long-term partners.
Their different methods and time scales cause near fatal resentment.
Their brothers: Sally’s self-effacing brother finally realises that he and Rachel share a destiny, while Caitlin’s finds himself a delightful marketing assistant of Indian heritage, causing considerable strife between the Montagues and the Capujabis.
Intrigued? Grab a copy and read on…
You may like to hear more of Charles’ work - he’s read two of his short stories for Radio Berks.programme BBC Upload and another’s in the pipeline.
