Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger

by Catherine Cookson

Known for the wit of her writing, in her lifetime Catherine Cookson became the UK’s most widely read novelist. When the Cookson Estate discovered the unpublished manuscript of Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger in the attic of her home, they unearthed a gem for Cookson’s many fans.

Gravedigger John Gascoigne lives in Downfell Hurst with his wife, Florrie, their three children and his mother, Gran. John is a deep thinker but extremely taciturn—a man of few words and many grunts. Which is why everyone is alarmed when he’s hit on the head by a cricket ball, and it suddenly seems as if the words won’t stop. What’s more, he says he is talking to Saint Christopher—only no one else can see the saint, and they’re beginning to worry John’s not quite right in the head…

Mad or not, John has some secrets he’s been keeping. But if he can’t stop talking, they won’t stay secret for long.

Genres: Classics, Ebooks, Fiction

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2017

About the author

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master.

Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary woman novelist. She received an OBE in 1985, was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993, and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997.

For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Cookson - Master of Sardonic Wit! Who knew?

Back in the fifties and sixties - the era that was my childhood’s wide, broad and unrestricted demesne - Catherine was a household name, and one of the most widely read novelists in those burgeoning days of postwar recovery.

But the aftermath of the war was not pleasant for this brave and wonderful woman.

The “thin ice of modern life”, to tell it Pink Floyd’s way, cracked under her overwrought steps. She fell “out of her depth and out of her mind.”

Her recovery was slow.

Being talented, she decided to WRITE for her therapy. And it worked.

And it made her into a hula-hoop era STAR...

This beautiful novel - found tucked in the back of her bedroom dresser drawer, after she passed away - was a private form of therapy. It’s about temporary stress-related mental illness and the consequential bum rap that hangs over its victims FOR LIFE.

And it’s HILARIOUS.

And Catherine WAS John the Gravedigger, at least in spirit.
***

You know, your forties can be an ordeal. AND the period that follows them.

For that’s when menopause begins for the ladies, and for you lucky guys... mid-life crisis! That hurdle was the TALLEST one I ever tried to get over.

The sources of my earlier stressed-out paranoia had become clear through rational daylight.

The trolls around me had removed their Cloaks of Invisibility. Suspicions had morphed into Facts. And I was overcome by the existentialist’s sense of the Absurd.

The Real was set on its Head. “Hic opus est: hic labor!” Yes, Latin Virgil was right. Now for some REAL Work.

But poor John the Gravedigger's got midage crisis SO bad he SEES things. Like, for example, St Christopher.

St Christopher walks, talks and breathes constantly by his side. And John's not even Catholic.

So like that poète maudit of the modern novel, Malcolm Lowry, he's now Under the Volcano. And he's losing all credibility fast. Will he bring the world down on his head - or will he once again scramble up to sanity?

In my own case, my meds always in my pocket, I weathered a much smaller storm for the next thirty years. So even though at retirement I burned out, the fun had only begun...

But my faith would see me through.

You know, life’s a rum business.

Just don't overplay your hand, like John the Gravedigger.

Don’t give voice to too many concerns, either, if you have a reliable fallback.

Aim for Quiet Resilience.

And weather it all out - till it’s over.

Till you find yourself safe again...

At the Eye of the Storm.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago I was a fan of Catherine Cookson books and I was delighted to get a copy of Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger. This is an amusing story of John who after being hit on the head by a cricket ball begins to see and speak to Saint Christopher, his family are very worried about him. I liked this book and parts of it were very funny.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having grew up being a fan of Catherine Cookson and reading all of her books, I had the chance to read this.

I actually forgot I had it on my kindle! Knowing how much I loved her books I just can’t imagine why that happened.

Anyhow, I’ve read it now.

What a treat to have come across some papers in Catherine Cooksons attic on her estate and be able to get her last works published.
I read inside that some of the paper was faded etc so it’s wonderful how they pieced this together for her fans to enjoy. What a treat.

With the title of this book, I scratched my head wondering whatever this was about.
It was fun finding out.

The families in this saga were excellent. The dialogue just as usual, the only way this authors style could be.....excellent.

Fun story I thought.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't even know where to start here, other than maybe calling the story "quirky" for lack of a better word at the moment. John is a sexton, or gravedigger of the local church. He’s a very serious and quiet man keeping mostly to himself. Only his family knows him well enough to say what his normal habits and behavior would be...that is until he is hit in the head with a cricket ball...then everyone knows EVERYTHING about EVERYONE, and he won't shut up. Just before he and the cricket ball had their unfortunate encounter; John's anger was bubbling over the top, due to the increase in graves that he was digging because of the number of funerals due to the increased number of car crashes and this, in his way of reasoning, was the fault of St. Christopher. Old secrets from the past are no longer secret, and now it seems he's able to see and speak to the visiting, not very happy... Saint Christopher. The saint isn't being very helpful in trying to explain that HE is NOT the cause of the increase in accidents...it's the careless drivers...and please stop trying to blame it on him! Actually, I didn't think that St. Christopher spoke or acted very "saintly" sometimes...but I guess even a saint has his limits. I wouldn't call the book a comedy, but it was at times humorous. I've read a couple of other books by Catherine Cookson and because this one was so different in several ways... like how long it took for the story to even get started; how it seemed the author was searching and trying out different ways for the character of John to say what he wanted to say... and the ending could have used more of...well...an ending. Since I have never written a Best Seller, or even a Mediocre Seller, and Catherine Cookson has/did...I will sum up that it's NOT a bad story but it's not her usual. I would also add that Derek Perkins did an excellent job with the voices.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been years since I've read anything by Catherine Cookson and I wasn't disappointed. I like the characters and the small rural English village. John, the local gravedigger gets hit on the head by a Cricket ball and begins talking to Saint Christopher. He's been fascinated with this Saint since he began burying so many accident victims with the Saint Christopher medal hanging in their car. Humor is abundant in the story and you find yourself not only smiling but laughing out loud. Cookson's fans will enjoy this book and new readers will be looking to locate her older books.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication. I was excited to read another Catherine Cookson book as she was a favourite author and I have read many of her books numerous times. The first book that I read was The Fifteen Streets and for any new readers of Ms. Cookson I would suggest that would be a good place to start, although it would be hard to choose a "wrong" place with these collections.

John is a grave digger in a small village. He is a family man with a loving wife and with a lot of comings and goings from his family and from his neighbours. His mother also lives with them and she could be a very hard person to cope with. I felt that John's wife, Florrie, was a saint herself with just putting up with her mother in law.

One thing that has struck John in his job is that many of the deceased were in possession of a Saint Christopher medal when they died in accidents. John seemed to dwell on this and when he was hit with a cricket ball and injured, this Saint Christopher medal started to really play on his mind.

Ms. Cookson is still speaking to us and what a gift this book is to her fans. A great read.

[David Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.

A gravedigger develops some unique opinions of drivers and St. Christopher medals. But being a man of few words, he keeps these opinions to himself. That is until he gets hit in the head by a stray cricket ball. Now, he has plenty to say even to St. Christopher himself.

I have to admit that I have never heard of Catherine Cookson before. This is despite her long, critically acclaimed career. Mainly, this is due to the fact that I just haven't read many books that fall into this genre. I guess I would call this the English country farce.

The book was fun. There are quite a few antics going on in this small English country village. As things get wilder, it is hard to see how everything could possible work out but of course everything does in the end.

This might not be my typical reading fare, but it did present a nice change of pace and was quite fun. I would say it should be rated as 3.5 stars.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very slow to start and to be honest didn't really get going.i have read all of Catherine Cooksons books but I think this was probably the worst one. It finally got going at the very end and to be honest it didn't really hold your attention.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

How exciting it is to find out there is a new release by Catherine Cookson, years after her passing. I enjoyed Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger. It is not too long and I had it read in one sitting. 4 1/2 stars.

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute listen. After getting hit in the head with a cricket ball, the protagonist experiences some life-changing consequences when the injury causes him to act quite differently than usual. Very entertaining!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from an email sending me book ideas based on my reading habits.
I’ve never read a Catherine Cookson before but loved the accents read in my head. Decided this was based between 50’s and 60’s based on the food eaten and the morals.
John is a sexton of the local church or more easily know as the gravedigger. He’s a stoic man and mainly keeps himself to himself and only his family know him and his habits well. Recently he’s become disillusioned with St Christopher due to the amount of funerals and local crashes. This anger is already bubbling when he gets knocked on the head watching cricket and becomes loquacious to the extreme that his wife, mother and children are shocked at the dramatic change in him.
Old secrets come to light too from his past while grappling with being able to see and speak to this visiting saint trying to change his mind that it’s the drivers causing the accidents not being lax and blaming it on him.
A nice story to wile away a few hours.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is in typical Catherine Cookson vein albeit the main character is the husband of a woman who has had a child out of wedlock whom he has brought out up as his own alongside his own 2 children. It wouldn’t be a Catherine Cookson novel if there weren’t any secrets to be unfolded!

The story however is quite different to many of Catherine Cookson’s novels in that it is about a grave digger,John, who gets knocked on the head with a cricket ball after which he believes he can see and talk to an apparition of St Christopher.

An easy read book, there are some parts that are quite funny as John becomes more talkative and sociable having been so quiet prior to the knock on the head. Having not read a Catherine Cookson novel for some years, it was treat to have the opportunity to read this one.

[Thereadingbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

John is a sexton of the local church also known as the gravedigger. He’s a quiet man and mainly keeps to himself and only his family knows him as well as his habits. Recently he’s become disillusioned with St Christopher due to the amount of funerals and local crashes. This anger is already bubbling when he gets knocked on the head watching cricket and becomes loquacious to the extreme that his wife, mother and children are shocked at the dramatic change in him. This is when he begins talking to Saint Christopher. Old secrets come to light too from his past while grappling with being able to see and speak to this visiting saint trying to change his mind that it’s the drivers causing the accidents not being lax and blaming it on him.

The story has a bit of humor in the way the story is told and very entertaining. I recommend this book.

[SALLY WHITE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads for sending me this book. I was really pleased to get this book and to review it, as I am a fan of Catherine Cookson’s books. An unpublished novel, found in the authors attic, it is an enjoyable read. It is true to Catherine Cookson’s style of writing, although I would say it is not one of her best novels. The story is centred on a man who is hit on the head by a ball, and begins to “speak”! to St Christopher who no-one else can see. There are other characters in the book and you see how their relationships develop and the problems they encounter. If you are a fan of Catherine Cookson I think you will enjoy this read.

[Mirella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long while since I last read a novel by Catherine Cookson. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It is charming, full of wit, and utterly charming. When John the Gravedigger gets hit in the head by a cricket ball, he begins to have conversations with Christopher who appears only to him. Of course, everyone thinks John has gone mad, but is he really?

I loved the characters, especially Saint Christopher who not only has a sense of humour, but has the odd bout of mischief. This novel works and is plausible. It is filled with secrets and quirky turns. It's memorable characters literally leap off the page.

Another winner by this author!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a "funny" book. I didn't actually laugh out loud but I did chuckle a few times. John is the gravedigger and he gets hit in the head and his whole personality changes. You become involved in his whole family's drama-and drama there is. But this makes good reading and makes his family just like yours or at least like the strange family next door. I would actually enjoy reading a sequel to this book just to find out what happens to John's children, his wife and his mother. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for the nostalgia and pleasure of a Catherine Cookson novel. If you haven't read her before, this is a good entry. This is less about John and his conversations with Saint Christopher than it is about village life. John, Florrie, Gran, the kids, and the people of Downfell Hurst are all so very real. This is an old fashioned short novel- there are no really icky secrets (there are some), there's no bad stuff, and it will make you smile. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and to the publisher for reintroducing it to the public.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never read a Catherine Cookson book before, my mum has read all her books except this one and is looking forward to reading it. I found it a bit slow in the beginning but once I got used to the way she writes I started to enjoy the book. I can't say I would recommend this book unless you have read others by Catherine and enjoy her books but I would be happy saying for people to give it a go and make up their own opinions.
All I can say is that I am so glad that my mum is nothing like Mamie Gasgoigne, she would be a very hard mother to love.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

John is a quiet man who does not believe that wearing a St. Christopher medal around your neck can help you from getting into an accident. After being hit on the head with a cricket ball, he begins to see and speak to Saint Christopher who tries to convince John that he is a helpful saint. All of a sudden John's life in turned upside down with his family thinking he has lost his marbles, his ex wife showing up, his son not wanting to marry his fiancee, and his daughter interested in a divorced man. The doctor is determined to put him away since he is talking to himself.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger. It wasn't the easiest read for me. I never reached that point where I just could not put it down. However, I kept picking it back up and eventually finished it. The characters are quirky and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the British way of speaking. The whole story line, although unbelievable, somehow worked.

I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about a gravedigger who was hit on the head with a ball and then began seeing and speaking with Saint Christopher, who nobody else could see. There were multiple characters with complicated relationships and secrets among them all, which was gradually revealed making the book entertaining and hard to put down. It was humorous and touching as well. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Pernette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Cookson is a very talented author but I did not believe this to be one of her best works. A gravedigger watches people go by the cemetery where he works and they have Saint Christopher medals hanging in their cars. He does not see the use for such because people are still dying. For the most part he has led a very somber non-confrontational life until he has and accident. This accident turns his (and his family’s) lives upside down. This story was humorous at times.

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this story a man is hit on the head by a ball, then he starts having visions and believes he is talking to Saint Christopher. It is quite different of Catherine Cookson's usual style and quirky. A light and easy read if you suspend your belief and it contains plenty of humour along the way.
My thanks go to the publishers and Netgalley in providing me with a copy of this book in return for a honest review.

[Janice Kirkcaldy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never having read Catherine Cookson before, not sure why, I was pleased to receive this book. Somehow though I did not find it very interesting or enjoyable and felt that maybe this unpublished manuscript would have been best left in the attic of her home. I read it twice before coming to this conclusion. It just did not seem to gel and the characters had no appeal. Just my feelings of course and I am going to read some of her earlier works which are so popular. Sorry to be negative.

[Melinda M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint Christopher and the Gravedigger by Catherine Cookson was found in the attic after her death. This story does not disappoint. It deals with the local gravedigger, John who gets hit on the head and startsto see and talk to Saint Christopher. There is a connect between John's job and Saint Christopher. It is set in a rural village. It is has humor and keeps your interest. it reminded me of why I enjoyed Catherine Cookson's stories.

I received a copy thru a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Allyn Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected pleasure

One of the North East's most treasured authors and whilst I spent half of my life living Cookson Country I'd never gotten around to reading her work. I've seen many television adaptations though. This was a highly enjoyable read and not at all what I was expecting. Posthumous as it is, it may not be as good as some of her earlier works but she has found a new fan this week and I have every intention of reading many more of her tales.

[Lemino Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refined British humor at its best

This is not a laugh out loud book. But it is so amusing it's just impossible to put it down. Characters and descriptions are so vivid you can actually feel their presence around you. You can say the not much is happening in the story, but really, there are processes that the characters are going through, conversations, conflicts, sitcoms... I just loved it and I'm going to look for more books by Catherine cookson.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on a goodreads giveaway. I had never read any books by Catherine Cookson in the past so it was nice to try a new author. I have to say I did really enjoy this book. There was times this book made me laugh! It was a good story! I am now thinking of trying more of her books in the very near future!

[Brenda Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

St Christopher

Again Ms. Cookson shows what a truly fantastic mind she has and has written another great read. When I began reading various authors and came across her books I was thrilled to pieces. She captures you at the very beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. She is truly wonderful and I have recommended her to many friends.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hoot! I'll grant that it was not easy to get into the mind-set of this little, backwater & back in time hamlet, but I made the effort and was so pleased that I had. So many secrets and surprises! And, to my way of thinking, one delightful thread left hanging, one question unanswered. Just like life.