In the Lloyd’s ……. with John and Enriqueta Rylands

 I am not the only one who has looked forward to the second novel about the lives of Mr. and Mrs Rylands.

It is the second in a trilogy which explores their lives by local author Juliette Tomlinson.

The first novel came out in 2024 and last month she published Sunnyside which takes the story forward.

And last night an invited audience celebrated the launch of book number two.

The speeches were brief, the live music from a ukulele band was excellent and Juliette was on hand to talk through how she came to write the book and sign copies.

Of which there was a good supply of Sunnyside from Chorlton Bookshop who did the business of selling copies to eager readers.

So, a good night all round and for those who missed the event Juliette will be speaking during the Chorlton Arts Festival on May 23rd about her first two novels. **

Location; The Lloyds

Pictures, a special night from the collection of Andrew Simpson, 2026

*Longford, A Manchester love story, 2024, and Sunnyside The Story Continues, 2026 Juliette Tomlinson, The Squeeze Press, are available from Chorlton Bookshop or from The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

**Juliette Tomlinson, talking about Longford and Sunnyside at the Beagle , 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, May 23rd, 19-21.30

When a bit of the Ship Canal came to Longford Park ……

This is one of the desks which once belonged to the Manchester Ship Canal.

The desk, 2025

I like the idea that it has come home to Longford Park because one of the prime movers of the Ship Canal project was John Rylands who lived in the big house in the grounds which is now the park.

To be strictly accurate this bit of ship canal history now resides a few yards away in the home of Juliette Tomlinson who has written a fictional account of Mr. Rylands and his wife Enriqueta.

The book, Longford A Manchester Love Story came out last year and has caught the imagination of everyone who has read it.*

And so, it is fitting that the second in the trilogy is being written on that desk and explores his contribution to the Canal and of course to the relationship between John and Enriqueta.

I have to confess that standing in front of the desk this morning, I did what we all would do and “touched a bit of history”.  

Longford Hall former home of John and Enriqueta, 1914

To be very honest while Juliette was out of the room I did more than run my had over the polished surface and sitting at the desk I scribbled a note to myself and pondered on the generations of clerks who will have laboured away writing up minutes, checking receipts and composing letters to long vanished shipping companies.

The romantic in me even whiled away the minutes wondering if the man himself used the desk, but that would be unhistorical tosh, so instead I looked to see if any bored clerk had left their name carved in the wood.

Longford Park, 1914

I didn’t but I will await Juliette to do the full search and report back.

Leaving me just to say it had holes for inkwells and a bank of electric sockets which will have been installed long after the first ships sailed up the canal into the docks.

Pictures, The Ship Canal desk, 2025, courtesy of Juliette Tomlinson, the book Longford, 2024, Longford Hall, 1914 from the series Longford Park, issued by Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/, 

That desk, 2025

*Longford A Manchester Love Story, available from Chorlton Bookshop, Waterstones and The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

Two chums … Enriqueta Rylands …. and a walk around Stretford’s past

It started with a talk on John and Enriqueta Rylands by the novelist Juliette Thomlinson and finished with some nice surprises.*

Closed entrances, 2025

I knew the talk by Juliette would be good and it was.  Judging by the comments from the packed audience at Stretford Library they thought so with the two infront commenting that the talk was informative and offered an insight into how a novelist works.

What I didn’t expect was to bump into my old Stretford chum Bill Sumner and his wife who is all things history.  And the chance meeting led to him showing me the remains of an old farm minutes from the Library.

Stretford shapes, 2025

Added to that as the talk finished, I bumped into Chris Roman whose photographs I much admire and who I had never met before.

All of which was interposed with a bit of Stretford’s past from the old Robin Hood pub to St Matthew’s Church.

I have a fond spot for the Robin Hood because briefly the name was adopted by one of our first beer shops in Chorlton, which changed its name to the Traveller’s Rest sometime in the 1840s.

It opened at the bottom of Chorlton Row and continued trading into the 20th century

Location; Stretford

Pictures, Stretford on a March Day, 2025, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

* A Manchester Love Story, The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

A Manchester Love Story …… John and Enriqueta Rylands .... the talk this Saturday ….

I can think of no better place for Juliette Thomlinson to talk about her debut novel featuring John and Enriqueta Rylands than Stretford Public Library.*

Afterall John Rylands established the first free lending library in Stretford in 1883 and his wife Enriqueta gifted it to the local authority a decade later, following this up in1903 by paying for the structural alterations to the building costing £1,335.

Longford Hall, 1965

Juliette’s talk with be in the present Stretford Library which dates from 1940. 

She tells me that she will be discussing how she came to write the novel, her own personal connection to both Longford Hall and the park as well as a bit about both John and Enriqueta Rylands.

And given that Juliette is an excellent speaker with an engaging manner which does not distract from her knowledge of the Ryland’s we should be in for an interesting afternoon.

Longford: A Manchester Love Story, Saturday March 1st, at 4pm for an hour in Stretford Library, Bennett Street, Stretford, M32 8AP No charge

Stretford Library, 2022

Location; Stretford

Pictures; cover of A Manchester Love Story, courtesy of the author, Longford Hall, 1965 from The 1965 Collection and Stretford Library, 2022, courtesy of Google Maps 

*A Manchester Love Story, The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

Tickets for Longford: A Manchester Love Story, available from eventbright https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/longford-a-manchester-love-story-tickets-1248215398859?aff=ebdsshsms&utm_share_source=listing_android

Books for Christmas …… from my chums

When you spend your time researching and writing books it is always nice to reflect on the work of friends who have published their books this year.

And to start, here is a review of the new book Longford, written by my friend Juliette which came out in September.

I have featured it already on the blog, and this month it was picked by Manchester Post*, who I thank for allowing me to reproduce the review.

It is available from Chorlton Bookshop, Waterstones and the Squeeze Press, https://woodenbooks.com/index.php

*Manchester Post Newspapers, https://communitynewsgm.co.uk/about-the-newspapers/manchester-south-post/

How do you write a novel?

Now writing fiction alludes me.

 I can do the factual stuff, supported by research and heaps of maps and pictures, but the skill of making real historical names come to life is beyond me.

So I went to the Edge yesterday to hear Juliette Tomlinson talk about her debut novel, "Longford", which charts the lives of Enriqueta and John before they met and takes the reader on that journey that eventually saw the two of them married.

It is the first of a trilogy which will span the decades from 1864 into the twentieth century and on the way offers up glimpses into the lives of the two, set against provincial France and Manchester, with of course sideways looks at Longford Hall, Stretford and other bits of south Manchester.

The book came out on September 1st and yesterday we got to meet the author and hear about her passion for Enriqueta, how she came to write the book and her plans for the two subsequent books.

The room was packed and the presentation started with Juliette engaging with the audience to explore what makes fiction and then by degree we were led into the story of the Rylands, from their origins, to their lives before and after they met.

All of which was supported by a power point presentation and a reading from the novel.

But what I especially found fascinating was the question and answer session which allowed Juliette to develop why she chose the Rylands, the tension with portraying once real people who may have descendants, and her favourite character.

One of which was a disagreeable owner of a house the author stayed in durimg a holiday in the French town where Enriqueta had lived in and who became the equally disagreeable woman  Enriqueta worked.

And alongside that answer was the equally revealing question about how Juliette took each of the characters and brought them alive mixing the known evidence about them and that skill of making real historical names come to life.

So there you have it .... almost two hours in the company of the Rylands, the 50 or so who attended, and of course Juliette in what was a smashing afternoon.

Leaving me just to acknowledge the work of Beverley from library who supervised the talk as part of   Chorlton Book Festival the staff at the Edge and Linsey from Chorlton Bookshop who did the business of selling Longford after the event was over.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; cover of Longford, courtesy of the author and Chorlton Book Festival courtesy of Manchester Libraries, and other images from the collection of Andrew Simpson, 2024

Longford, A Manchester love story, Juliette Tomlinson, 2024, The Squeeze Press

 The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com

And having said all of that ..... which includes how much I enjoyed the talk, and what I learned about the Rylands and writing fiction, my final comment is that simple one that it was fun.

Juliette had a light engaging way of presenting the story which never detracted  from her deep knowledge of the subject, or commitment to the project, and yes it was ...

.... fun.

Chorlton’s Hall of Fame goes out to ……

So, on a day which pretty much rained all the time the Chorlton Hall of Fame inducts the 27 guests, two friends of the Chorlton Book Festival and my two friends who joined today’s History Walk.

Me and an umbrella, 2024

Not only did they turn up at the Narnia Lamppost at 2 pm, braved the rain and accepted the change of itinerary due to the graveyard being closed but stayed the course.

Gail and Mathew from the book festival saw that everyone stayed safe, Bill chose Chorlton instead of a “dry” Trafford history festival held indoors, and Juliette came with wellies and camera from Stretford.

Juliette caught me in full stride on the green managing to include the necessary umbrella, but pride of place goes to her picture of her wellies.

Mathew also snapped away just minutes from the Edge café demonstrating that despite the rain we held the course.

Leaving me just to thank Janette and the staff at the Edge for the delicious food and of course the 27 who came along and said they liked the talk.

Juliette's fine wellies, 2024

Location; Chorlton

Mathew proving we stayed the course, 2024

Pictures; courtesy of Juliette Tomlinson and Mathew Benham

OK everyone …… you’ve got eight days of our own book festival starting today ......

The Chorlton Book Festival is back.*

It starts tomorrow and runs through till the 28th in venues across the township.

If I have got my sums right this will be the 20th year when Manchester Libraries have invited heaps of authors to talk about their work and share readings from their books.

I am a great fan, not least because since 2009 I have hosted a history walk and talk during the week.

But to say more would be outrageous self promotion so I will leave a gentle plug for me till the end.

As it is still the middle of August, events and venues are still being finalised.

That said I have already booked tickets for two shows.

On September 21st Brian Groom will be speaking about his new book "Made in Manchester" which is a “A rich and vivid history of Britain's second city through the people who made it.

Long before Manchester gave the world titans of industry, comedy, music and sport, it was the cosmopolitan Roman fort of Mamucium. 

But it was as the ‘shock city’ of the Industrial Revolution that Manchester really made its mark on the world stage. 

A place built on hard work and innovation, it is no coincidence that the digital age began here too, with the world’s first stored-program computer, Baby.

A city as radical as it is revolutionary, Manchester has always been a political hotbed. 

The Peterloo Massacre is immortalised in British folklore and the city was a centre for pioneering movements such as Chartism. Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst hailed from here and the city still treasures its wilful independence.

Manchester’s spirited individuality has carried through into its artistic output too, bringing the world Anthony Burgess, L.S. Lowry, Jeanette Winterson, Joy Division and Oasis. Mention United or City almost anywhere and you’ll find fans, and opinions.

Until now, this magnificent city did not have its definitive history. From the author of the bestselling Northerners, this work of unrivalled authority and breadth tells the story of a changing place and its remarkable people".

The event takes place at the Chorlton Central Church on the corner of Zetland and Barlow Moor Roads stating at 6.30pm

And having renewed my knowledge of the city’s history, on the 27th I will be in the Edge Theatre to listen to Juliette Tomlinson introduce her debut novel, "Longford", which is set in the year “1864, in the great city of Manchester was Cottonopolis, rising with the sound of industry, and the boom of a hundred mills.

At the heart of its energies was John Rylands. 'the greatest merchant prince the world has ever seen'. 

This is the story of an empire built by a true Manchester man, given meaning and worth by the extraordinary woman who loved him.

Juliette Tomlinson has worked as a bookseller, and then in publishing. 

She lives in Stretford, Manchester, yards from Longford Park, which was a part of her childhood. 

The story will continue in a second book, Sunnyside”.

The talk starts at 2 pm till 4pm in the Edge on Manchester Road.

Which just leave me, and that history walk on Sunday the 22nd.

This year by popular request we will be in the graveyard by the village green exploring the history of the old parish church, and the stories of some who were buried there.

They include Thomas Walker who campaigned against the slave trade, supported the French Revolution and was tried for sedition, along with a mix of the “good, the bad, and the ordinary". 

Together they offer up a rich history of how Chorlton was from the late 18th century into the 20th.

After the talk we will have “light refreshments" at the Edge Theatre.

So there you have it.

All events are bookable through Chorlton Book Festival, https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/chorlton-book-festival-2024-3536319

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; book covers by permission of the authors, Chorlton graveyard, 1978 and 2008 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

One book … three events …….. and a heap of history

 The story of John and Enriqueta Rylands is one that I am not really familiar with, other than that the couple lived in Longford Hall and on his death his wife commissioned and built that magnificent library on Deansgate.

Longford House, 1914

So, I have fallen on Juliette Tomlinson’s debut novel, "Longford", which charts the lives of Enriqueta and John before they met and takes the reader on that journey that eventually saw the two of them married.*

It is the first of a trilogy which will span the decades from 1864 into the twentieth century and on the way offers up glimpses into the lives of the two, set against provincial France and Manchester, with of course sideways looks at Longford Hall, Stretford and other bits of south Manchester.

The book came out on September 1^st and already there are three opportunities during the month to meet the author and hear about her passion for Enriqueta, how she came to write the book and her plans for the two subsequent books.

The official launch will be in the Horse and Jockey that ancient pub on Chorlton Green on September 19^th at 7pm.

I have no idea whether John and Enriqueta visited the place which first opened its doors to paying customers in the 1790s in a building which was already into its second decade when Henry VIII walked down the aisle with Anne Boleyn.

The book signing, 2024

But I bet some of the individuals who walk across the pages of the book will have been familiar with the Holland family who ran the pub from the 1840s into the 1890s.

And after the launch Ms Tomlinson will be at Waterstones in Oldham for the official book signing event from 1pm till 3 on Saturday September 21^st.

The novel, 2024

Leaving just an appearance at our own Chorlton Book Festival at the Edge Theatre on Manchester Road on September 27^th between 2 and 4 pm.**

That said I know there are other events including one at the Portico and no doubt more will follow as local organizations get to hear of the publication of Longford.

Like all of us who write, I know that the story of John and Enrique has occupied a big chunk of Juliette’s time so much so that last month the family holidayed in the town of Beziers in southern France which is where her novel begins.

Added to which she lives in Stretford, yards from Longford Park, which was a part of her childhood.

 At which point I could include the opening lines of the novel, but I won’t  ….. the book costs £9.99 and is available from Chorlton Book shop, Waterstones, and The Squeeze Press.***

Location; France, Manchester and of course Longford Hall

Pictures; Longford Park and Lake 1914 from the series Longford Park, issued by Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/, book launch advert, courtesy of Waterstones, and cover of Longford, by permission of the author.

Longford Park and lake, 1914

*Longford, A Manchester love story, Juliette Tomlinson, 2024, The Squeeze Press

**Chorlton Book Festival, All events are bookable through Chorlton Book Festival, https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/chorlton-book-festival-2024-3536319

*** The Squeeze Press, www.woodenbooks.com