Diva’s January Competition

Article published on January 25, 2012.

Enter to be one of three winners to win a copy of each of the books below!

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, nearly four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame that she maintains he deserved.

It would appear that I am to be the first to write a book on Gillespie. Who, if not me, was dealt that hand?

Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter, she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes – leading to a notorious criminal trial – the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

Featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humour, Gillespie and I is a powerful and haunting second novel from one of today’s most striking new voices.

Click to read an extract from Gillespie and I

[product sku=”9780571275168″]

The Captain’s Daughter by Leah Fleming

The secrets in a woman’s heart are deeper than the ocean…

For May Smith, travelling with her husband and baby girl Ellen, stepping foot on the Titanic marks the start of an incredible journey, one which is destined to take her from the back streets of Bolton to the land of opportunity: the United States. But when the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic hits an iceberg one cold dark night, May’s dreams are instantly shattered. Jumping from the sinking ship at the last minute, May loses sight of Joe and Ellen. Distraught, she is pulled into a lifeboat. Minutes later, the real-life Captain Smith swims to the lifeboat and hands May a baby swaddled in blankets. Beside herself, and in virtual darkness, May believes the baby to be Ellen. This rescue is witnessed by fellow survivor, Celeste Parkes, married to an American industrialist who is on her way back to Ohio after her mother’s funeral. In horror, they both watch the death throes of the mighty ship; May traumatised, knowing her husband has drowned, Celeste wishing her bully of a husband had been on board and out of her life. As the dawn comes up, and the two women are rescued by the Carpathia, a friendship is formed, one which is destined to transcend the Atlantic and social differences between them and last a lifetime. Then May makes a shocking discovery and a split-second decision which will change the lives of so many.

Click here to read an extract from The Captain’s Daughter.

[AMAZONPRODUCT=085720341X]

To win one of three copies of each of these books, just answer our two questions before 8 February. The answers are available in extracts around Bookdiva.

1. What attracts the narrator’s attention at the end of the extract from Gillespie and I?

2. Where are May and her family going in The Captain’s Daughter?

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date for entries: 8 February 2012.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Bookdiva. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Bookdiva website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Bookdiva employees and their families, or to employees of Bookdiva publishers and their families.