Tales from Lindford

Lindchester #4

by Catherine Fox

'Lyrical, compelling and full of insight. I found this very hard to put down.'
KATIE FFORDE, THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR

'Catherine Fox writes with immense compassion, unsentimental faith and an impressively undisciplined humour.'
ROWAN WILLIAMS, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

January 2020. Freddie, Father Dominic, Jane and all the other residents of Lindfordshire are celebrating the New Year with parties and resolutions. None of them is aware of the trials and tribulations the coming months will bring - not least the horseman of the apocalypse who has set out quietly, with barely a jingle of harness, in a distance province of China . . .

Return to Lindchester once more with Tales from Lindford , the fourth in the beloved series of novels from Catherine Fox. Valiantly written in real time in the midst of the pandemic, this entertaining book captures the difficulties of 2020 with heart, humour and insight. Perfect for Lindchester fans, it's also the ideal novel for anyone seeking comfort and a way of understanding all that has been happening.

A twenty-first century Barchester that fans of Barbara Pym and the BBC's Rev will love, this new volume in the Lindchester Chronicles is contemporary Christian fiction at its finest. Tales from Lindford will make you laugh, cry and leave you with hope that grace can be found even in the darkest times.

Genres: Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2021

About the author

Catherine Fox was educated at Durham and London Universities and has a degree in English and a PhD in Theology. She is the author of Angels and Men, The Benefits of Passion and Love for the Lost, which explore the themes of the spiritual and the physical with insight and humour. In 2007, Yellow Jersey Press published Fight the Good Fight: From Vicar's Wife to Killing Machine in which Catherine relates her quest to achieve a black belt in Judo. More recently she published a YA fantasy novel, Wolf Tide, before starting work on her three volume Lindchester Chronicles. She teaches at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Sheffield. She is currently blogging a new novel in weekly instalments. It starts here: https://lindfordtales.blogspot.com/20...

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having not expected another Lindford book, this was a joy to read. This follows the traumatic year of 2020 through the characters that we came to know in the previous books. It’s easy to differentiate the various voices as they tell of their daily lives during the pandemic. There’s a handy list of characters at the front which helped me keep a hold of who was who. The story encompasses the ethics of lockdown, how the church tries to keep going, dementia, refugees, the natural world and more. The illustrations at the start of each month’s section of the moon in nature are beautiful. All in all an unexpected bonus book that I’m passing on to my neighbour who also loves this series.

[April Banton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another moving, beautifully written novel; full of the humour and authenticity of human life. Catherine Fox did not disappoint me! Her telling of 2020 certainly helped me remember and process my own feelings and thoughts about it all and gave me new awareness and compassion of other groups I hadn’t even contemplated (the dairy farmers was a surprise for one!).

I love her Lindchester chronicles and was so glad to get a fix of all my favourite characters. I am excited for whatever novel she will create next.

[Fiona Broderick]

Loved all the Lindford books. Well done Catherine Fox. I am still an aethesist though.

[Kelly Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, and this novel might be the best one (so far!). But a warning: it is a novel very much about COVID, among many other things.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember that time I read this whole series in A WEEK? Yeah, me too. Good times.

[Priya Shrinath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales from Lindford is the fourth book in the series but I was able to read it as a standalone since the characters from the fictional city of linfordshire were very connectable and real!

And so were the highlights of the year 2020 and the disaster it brought along!

This book is about the COVID19 and its impacts on the world and how several people suffered and are still suffering from the impact, my family included.


Reading this book felt very emotional and traumatic, mainly because I can totally connect to the author's so beautifully constructed sentences and also the premise itself. Being a victim to the virus, there were several days we had spent in the last few months hoping for the darkness to end and the hope to get back to normal. But the world is still suffering. My country is still suffering. So much that, every time the phone rings, a terrible news is about to hit us with full force.

Atmospheric, thoughtful and full of positivity, Tales from Lindford is a timely novel that is feels so real to be fictional.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

We return to Lindford to spend 2020 with the characters we know so well from the Lindcheter trilogy.
Strangely moving to live through the start of the pandemic all over again - and realise how much we've already forgotten [but not perhaps forgiven].
Superb story-telling, and perfectly judged tugging at the heart-strings.
Eagerly awaiting the sequel - like this one, originally a blog - which is with the publisher, and due out next spring.

[Linda Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadly I have just finished the last book in the series of four and I loved them all.
Wonderfully humorous and intelligent writing which surely deserves a 5th? I live in hope that I can spend some more time with all these lovely characters in the future. It’s been a real treat. ❤️

[Mrs R F Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant, and funny

A good read, if strange to re-live 2020 step-by-step. Lovely to re-meet old “friends”. If you have read the first three, you’ll enjoy this too.

[Fiona Bromelow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it but I do think that writing it must have been hard work! Real life has been stranger than fiction

[Andy Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love revisiting Lindford, meeting all my old friends and catching up on their lives and adventures

[Eloise Rowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

Very well observed, reminded me of how bizarre and unsettling the whole Covid period was

[Nancy R. Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique

What a wonderful way to write a book. Story in story. England surviving the pandemic in 2020. Multiple characters telling their story. A really fun Book, thank you.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I love Catherine Fox’s books I read this as soon as I became aware of it. She was on form showing the big scale through the small scale with warmth, humour and enough sharpness to avoid it becoming cheesy. I just kept wondering if this was the right time to read it. On the one hand there was something helpful about reading it while things are fresh but on the other I felt I wasn’t quite ready to process 2020 and it might be better read with the benefit of a bit more hindsight.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales From Lindford by Catherine Fox is a contemporary novel looking back at 2020 from a birds eye view of the residents of Lindford. We drop in and out of their lives. It is the fourth book in the Lindchester series but can be read as a stand-alone.
It is a fascinating and comprehensive account of the feelings, highlights and lows of the year that COVID19 hit. It was certainly a year like no other. 2020 approached with such optimism, who could have foreseen a global pandemic?
Catherine Fox has cleverly constructed her tale. She hovered over the fictional houses and gardens of Lindford to reveal snippets of lives and thoughts of the time. I thought it was all very brilliantly done. With each step I was reminded of my thoughts on the year and its developments.
There were varying reactions to the year as everyone tried to cope the best that they could in the unprecedented times. Optimism gave way to stoicism as the year progressed. We became resigned to our loss of freedom. “It is what it is” was on many lips, mine included.
Just as Gone With The Wind (which I read last year) is a social commentary on the American Civil War period, Tales From Lindford is a social commentary on 2020. It is a book that should become a best seller and preserved for future generations to study and to ‘feel’ the emotions of the people of Britain.
Tales From Lindford is a brilliant offering from Catherine Fox.
I will leave you with a quote that leapt out to me:
“Newton’s third law of social media: for every parade, someone to rain on it.”
A word of caution: there is some language that some people may find offensive.
I received a free copy of the book from the publisher Marylebone House. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and well written book about 2020 and how it impacted the life of people.
I like to follow the life of the fleshed out characters and found the book engrossing.
It's the first book I read by this author and hope to be able to travel to Lindchester again.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine