You set the scene well with the dangerous turn off the bend in the road from Miseryfield (great name, as is the Homesick Lands). So we are in unsafe territory. Nothing feels safe, least of all the blissful reprieve in the maths teacher's car, parked within inches of the said road. And the matron's face at the window could be Grace Poole or Mrs Danvers....Can't wait for the next installment!
I agree, I love those names and the face at the window. Maudie is instantly adorable. I await the next instalment with loins girded and look forward to the downfall of Axe. I like to think she’ll be pushed into a laundry chute....
Emma, I am drawn into your story with your imperfect memory, language that stirs my senses and a setting that arouses a guarded curiosity about your secret. Onto Chapter 2.
I have come back to this and read it several times as having worked with young children for so many years, I can barely make my way through the words and emotions of this telling of your story, Emma. I is powerful and I am going to move on to chapter 2, something compelling me to read each installment and also wanting to send you a huge hug as I begin to get the first sense of what you endured.
I feel the fear of cruel expectation as to what will come next and my heart is actually pumping with anxiety, reminiscent of childhood fears in unsafe territory, with the vulnerability that comes with being a child, having to 'trust' an adult. I can't wait for the next instalment.
Thank you so much, Rosalyn. Yes, it feels very unsafe now. But at the time, being accompanied by that jeopardy was so normalised, it became accepted reality and it was possible to still have fun!
I read this first chapter in bed by the light of my phone! It's hypnotic. Written in such a way that the reader is sharing your headspace and the memories together. More please! Kelly
Thank you so much, Kelly. Love the image of you reading it. Makes me think of the forbidden reading of books under the blanket with a torch after ‘lights out’
A powerful evocation of both the sharpness and the slipperiness of memory, combined with a strong narrative drive that makes you want to know more about this little girl and how she will cope with the world of boarding school and the sinister figure of 'The Matron'. As the introduction tells us, this is a bizarre British system that has undone so many.
This is fabulous, well done, Emma!! Just the right “voice” and how you speak to me, the reader. I love the idea of a “kale room”…not really…and you’ve left me hanging at the end…oh dear, oh dear…
You set the scene well with the dangerous turn off the bend in the road from Miseryfield (great name, as is the Homesick Lands). So we are in unsafe territory. Nothing feels safe, least of all the blissful reprieve in the maths teacher's car, parked within inches of the said road. And the matron's face at the window could be Grace Poole or Mrs Danvers....Can't wait for the next installment!
I agree, I love those names and the face at the window. Maudie is instantly adorable. I await the next instalment with loins girded and look forward to the downfall of Axe. I like to think she’ll be pushed into a laundry chute....
Thank you Ruby. Love Axe down a laundry chute. If only the real Cruel Matron could have been dealt with like that.
Emma, I am drawn into your story with your imperfect memory, language that stirs my senses and a setting that arouses a guarded curiosity about your secret. Onto Chapter 2.
Thanks for reading it, Robyn.
I have come back to this and read it several times as having worked with young children for so many years, I can barely make my way through the words and emotions of this telling of your story, Emma. I is powerful and I am going to move on to chapter 2, something compelling me to read each installment and also wanting to send you a huge hug as I begin to get the first sense of what you endured.
Thank you for the hug, Dawn.
Truly original - and the way it draws you in to that unsafe world is remarkable. Well done Emma - and keep going.
Thank you so much, Sarah. I will keep going!
Brilliant Emma,
I feel the fear of cruel expectation as to what will come next and my heart is actually pumping with anxiety, reminiscent of childhood fears in unsafe territory, with the vulnerability that comes with being a child, having to 'trust' an adult. I can't wait for the next instalment.
Thank you so much, Rosalyn. Yes, it feels very unsafe now. But at the time, being accompanied by that jeopardy was so normalised, it became accepted reality and it was possible to still have fun!
Loving this – and although it makes me feel quite scared on your behalf, I want to read on.
Thank you so much, Sarah. The idea of you sharing the experience by reading it makes me feel less scared!
I read this first chapter in bed by the light of my phone! It's hypnotic. Written in such a way that the reader is sharing your headspace and the memories together. More please! Kelly
Thank you so much, Kelly. Love the image of you reading it. Makes me think of the forbidden reading of books under the blanket with a torch after ‘lights out’
Wow! I thought this was describing an orphanage until the very end! Very atmospheric. Well done!
Thank you so much Michelle. The Introduction to the Drying Rooms post explains the background a bit - if needed.
Beautiful.
A powerful evocation of both the sharpness and the slipperiness of memory, combined with a strong narrative drive that makes you want to know more about this little girl and how she will cope with the world of boarding school and the sinister figure of 'The Matron'. As the introduction tells us, this is a bizarre British system that has undone so many.
This is fabulous, well done, Emma!! Just the right “voice” and how you speak to me, the reader. I love the idea of a “kale room”…not really…and you’ve left me hanging at the end…oh dear, oh dear…
Thank you so much, Cynthia.
Thank you so much, Lal.
Thank you so much Michelle. The Introduction to the Drying Rooms post explains the background a bit - if needed.
How many cars did you end up tallying that day? Sounds like it's not a heavily trafficked area.
Enjoying the work, keep going please…
Thank you so much, Gisu. I’ll keep
going!