Today, I'm so pleased that she agreed to come onto my blog to tell us something about her wonderful (and intriguing) books. Here's Dianne:
Oppression
The first time I saw Egypt I was seven years old
and sitting on the deck of the troopship Dunera with my head buried in Enid
Blyton’s Ring-o-Bells Mystery. I looked up when we docked in Port Said to see
the gully gully man. He was an Egyptian magician who fascinated everyone, young
and old alike, and accentuated the other world atmosphere of this exotic
country. As we sailed down the Suez Canal – much narrower than expected –
Lawrence of Arabia figures seated on camels appeared on the desert banks. I can
truly say Egypt was the first place interesting enough to get my head out of a
book.
Three years later, in December 1957, the Canal
had been closed and we flew back from Singapore in an RAF Hermes plane. The
journey took almost three days, stopping in several countries to re-fuel and
de-ice the wings. This time there were no hot and vibrant sights and I didn’t
see Egypt again until I reached my early forties, when I travelled by train
from Cairo to Aswan, glued to the windows as we passed by villages which looked
like they’d come straight from the pages of the Bible. My lifelong love affair
with Egypt had begun and I’ve been back many times. The last time, I visited
the City of the Dead in Cairo, a necropolis which features in Oppression and
houses many poor people.
This novel is the story of Beth who prevents the
abduction of a young girl in a North Yorkshire town, but is powerless to stop
her subsequent forced marriage. In time to come Beth travels to Egypt to search
for the girl, Layla, and finds her living in the City of the Dead. Oppression
is the tale of two very different women, both of whom are oppressed in their
lives, and how they triumph despite the odds.
Dianne's two previous books, set in Calcutta:
Outcast
and A Hundred Hands
 |
| Amazon UK |
Ten years ago I volunteered to spend a winter
teaching English to street children in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, in India.
While there I realised what it is I love about the country –it’s the people.
Despite great deprivation they laugh and are joyful. This time in Kolkata
proved to be the hardest thing I have ever done. Broken, crumbling buildings
sit amid lakes of raw sewage; filthy children encrusted with sores are
homeless; families live on a patch of pavement so narrow they take it in turns
to lie down. They give birth – and die – there. Yet their indomitable spirit
shines through.
I feared I couldn’t do it, felt my resolve dying
daily amid the horrors and hardship, but I started writing a journal and it
saved me. Every night, no matter how dirty and exhausted I felt, I recorded one
child’s progress with the alphabet, another’s disappearance, how many times I’d
been hugged. It was a form of de-briefing but also cathartic. It got me through
and these diaries formed the basis for A Hundred Hands and Outcast.
India remains my favourite place in the world
and I re-visit whenever I can afford it. I have often thought about living
there and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel rekindled that desire!
 |
| Amazon UK |
Oppression eBook: Dianne Noble: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
|
Oppression - Kindle edition by Dianne Noble. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Oppression.
|
 |
Defying her controlling husband, Beth travels to Cairo to find 16 year old Layla who’s been forced into marriage. Layla is hiding in the City of the Dead and leading a group of women in rebellion against oppression. When Beth gets caught up, she’s rescued by Harry and falls in love. But what of her husband? Can Beth ever find peace and happiness? Will Layla's ideals of freedom ever be fulfilled?
| |
Website: www.dianneanoble.com
Twitter: @dianneanoble1
Fascinating. These books look great! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cat. But, so are yours (in a different kind of way :-) )
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDeleteThe need and demand to write effective letters has existed for long as a means of communication between two individuals. It holds a key importance in all aspects of life including social, personal, and professional.click here
ReplyDelete