Beyond The Moon by Catherine Taylor
Beyond the Moon
“Outlander meets Birdsong is this haunting debut timeslip novel, where a
strange twist of fate connects a British soldier fighting in the First World
War and a young woman living in modern-day England a century later. Shortlisted
for the Eharmony/Orion Write Your Own Love Story Prize 2019”
In 1916 1st Lieutenant Robert Lovett is a
patient at Coldbrook Hall military hospital in Sussex, England. A gifted
artist, he’s been wounded fighting in the Great War. Shell shocked and
suffering from hysterical blindness he can no longer see his own face, let
alone paint, and life seems increasingly hopeless.
A century later in 2017, medical student Louisa Casson has just lost her beloved grandmother – her only family. Heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol on the South Downs cliffs – only to fall accidentally part-way down. Doctors fear she may have attempted suicide, and Louisa finds herself involuntarily admitted to Coldbrook Hall – now a psychiatric hospital, an unfriendly and chaotic place.
Then one day, while secretly exploring the old Victorian hospital’s ruined, abandoned wing, Louisa hears a voice calling for help, and stumbles across a dark, old-fashioned hospital room. Inside, lying on the floor, is a mysterious, sightless young man, who tells her he was hurt at the Battle of the Somme, a WW1 battle a century ago. And that his name is Lieutenant Robert Lovett…
Two people, two battles: one against the invading Germans on the battlefields of 1916 France, the other against a substandard, uncaring mental health facility in modern-day England. Two journeys begun a century apart, but somehow destined to coincide - and become one desperate struggle to be together.
Part WW1 historical fiction, part timeslip love story - and at the same time a meditation on the themes of war, mental illness, identity and art - Beyond The Moon sweeps the reader on an unforgettable journey through time.
A century later in 2017, medical student Louisa Casson has just lost her beloved grandmother – her only family. Heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol on the South Downs cliffs – only to fall accidentally part-way down. Doctors fear she may have attempted suicide, and Louisa finds herself involuntarily admitted to Coldbrook Hall – now a psychiatric hospital, an unfriendly and chaotic place.
Then one day, while secretly exploring the old Victorian hospital’s ruined, abandoned wing, Louisa hears a voice calling for help, and stumbles across a dark, old-fashioned hospital room. Inside, lying on the floor, is a mysterious, sightless young man, who tells her he was hurt at the Battle of the Somme, a WW1 battle a century ago. And that his name is Lieutenant Robert Lovett…
Two people, two battles: one against the invading Germans on the battlefields of 1916 France, the other against a substandard, uncaring mental health facility in modern-day England. Two journeys begun a century apart, but somehow destined to coincide - and become one desperate struggle to be together.
Part WW1 historical fiction, part timeslip love story - and at the same time a meditation on the themes of war, mental illness, identity and art - Beyond The Moon sweeps the reader on an unforgettable journey through time.
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I’m absolutely delighted to have my debut novel, Beyond The Moon,
featured on the website today. My book’s genre is rather difficult to pin down,
but I think I would best describe as “Outlander meets
Birdsong”, a rather unusual mixture of First World War literary historical
fiction, love story and time travel – with a touch of the Gothic! It was
shortlisted for the Eharmony/Orion Write Your Own Love Story award 2019, and
came out at the end of June this year.
This, essentially, is what happens:
In 1916 Lieutenant Robert Lovett
is a patient at Coldbrook Hall military hospital in Sussex, England. A gifted
artist, he’s been wounded fighting in the Great War. Shell shocked and
suffering from hysterical blindness he can no longer see his own face, let
alone paint, and life seems increasingly hopeless.
A century later in 2017, medical
student Louisa Casson has just lost her beloved grandmother – her only family.
Heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in alcohol on the South Downs cliffs – only
to fall accidentally part-way down. Doctors fear she may have attempted
suicide, and she finds herself involuntarily admitted to Coldbrook Hall – now a
psychiatric hospital, an unfriendly and chaotic place.
Then one day, while secretly
exploring the old Victorian hospital’s ruined, abandoned wing, Louisa hears a
voice calling for help, and stumbles across a dark, old-fashioned hospital
room. Inside, lying on the floor, is a mysterious, sightless young man, who
tells her he was hurt at the Battle of the Somme, a WW1 battle a century ago.
And that his name is Lieutenant Robert Lovett…
Beyond The Moon is more than just a love
story, and deals with themes like war, art, mental illness, identity and
feminism. At the same time it’s also meant as a critique of the appalling
conditions that patients are too often subjected to in privately-run UK mental
hospitals – a modern-day scandal that has been widely reported lately in recent
months in newspapers like The Guardian and The Times.
I’ve wanted to be an author ever since I
first learned to read (and probably even before that!) I was an introverted,
daydreamy sort of child, and I loved to lose myself in the magical worlds thought
up by authors; they were always far more appealing to me than real life. I
couldn’t imagine back then (and still can’t) anything I’d rather do more as a
grown-up than create my own magical worlds for other people to lose themselves
in, too.
The novels I loved most as a child were always
historical, Gothic novels like Jane Eyre, and time travel books like Tom’s
Midnight Garden. That love has never left me, and so I always knew that the
novel I would one day write would be a historical novel, with elements of
magic.
When I was at junior school I first read the beautiful poem ‘Strange Meeting’ by WW1 poet Wilfred Owen. I was utterly captivated – and if you haven’t already read it, I can highly recommend it.
A few years later I came across WW1 again, in the form of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth, an account of her time as a war nurse – and her experience of losing all those men she loved to the war. It’s one of the most moving books I’ve ever read. As is Robert Graves’ wonderful ‘Goodbye To All That’, an account of his experiences as a front-line infantry officer in in France. Suffice it to say that WW1 is an interest that has been with me for a long time.
I read these books and poems that I’ve mentioned so long ago they seem to have become almost part of me, and are exceptionally close to my heart.
When I was at junior school I first read the beautiful poem ‘Strange Meeting’ by WW1 poet Wilfred Owen. I was utterly captivated – and if you haven’t already read it, I can highly recommend it.
A few years later I came across WW1 again, in the form of Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth, an account of her time as a war nurse – and her experience of losing all those men she loved to the war. It’s one of the most moving books I’ve ever read. As is Robert Graves’ wonderful ‘Goodbye To All That’, an account of his experiences as a front-line infantry officer in in France. Suffice it to say that WW1 is an interest that has been with me for a long time.
I read these books and poems that I’ve mentioned so long ago they seem to have become almost part of me, and are exceptionally close to my heart.
And it’s because of these books that I was
motivated to write Beyond The Moon – the story of Louisa, a young woman who
ends up as a WW1 nurse, and Robert, an idealistic, artistic young man who’s
injured in battle.
And the time travel element? Well, I think maybe that is me expressing my subconscious wish to travel back in time to WW1 myself, and try somehow to make a difference.
And fall in love with one of those incredibly brave and selfless young Edwardian gentleman officers.
And the time travel element? Well, I think maybe that is me expressing my subconscious wish to travel back in time to WW1 myself, and try somehow to make a difference.
And fall in love with one of those incredibly brave and selfless young Edwardian gentleman officers.
Author
Bio
Catherine Taylor was born and grew up on the
island of Guernsey in the British Channel Islands.
She is a former journalist, most recently for Dow Jones News and The Wall Street Journal in London.
Beyond The Moon is her first novel.
She lives in Ealing, London with her husband and two children.
She is a former journalist, most recently for Dow Jones News and The Wall Street Journal in London.
Beyond The Moon is her first novel.
She lives in Ealing, London with her husband and two children.
Social Media Links –
Instagram: @catherine_taylor_author
Instagram: @catherine_taylor_author
Website https://catherinetaylor.net/
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