At midday on 31st August, Sedgewick, the new history master, arrives at Blindefellows, former charity school for poor, blind boys, now a second division private school for anyone who can pay.
The naïve newcomer is quickly taken under the wing of the rumbustious, philandering Japes, master of physics, who soon becomes something of a mentor, though not in an academic sense.
A Blindefellows Chronicle follows the adventures of Sedgewick, Japes and a handful of other unmarried faculty at an obscure West Country boarding school including the closeted headmaster, Reverend Hareton, stalwart Matron Ridgeway and loathsome librarian, Fairchild.
Last year, my debut novel, Blindefellows, was #1 in humour in Amazon US, UK and Canada making me - albeit briefly - the funniest person in the English-speaking world, at least that's how I like to see it. On Book Bub, Blindefellows sold thousands of copies within a week. It has over 100 ratings/reviews on Goodreads and Amazon with a 4/5* rating. On Goodreads it has been "saved to read" by over 2,000 people. I have a letter from my publisher giving me the go-ahead to use the Babelcube translators.
Hoping to attain the same accolades again with novel #2, the recently published Let The Swine Go Forth, which is also now looking for translators.
The Fair Filles of France Michaelmas 1974 It was midday on 31 August, and the new history master had arrived at Blindefellows, a former charity school for poor blind boys, now a second-division private school for anyone who could pay. Twenty-six-year-old Charles Sedgewick gingerly carried one little cardboard box at a time into his assigned rooms in Loaghtan Wing, nervously avoiding the oddly prominent incisors of a flock of a few dozen miniature black sheep that jostled around him. A flock had been there for generations, deployed by the school’s founder to crop the grass of the grounds, and were now trotting along baa-ing for a possible treat. Sedgewick, who sported tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses and unkempt wavy black hair, had selected a casual outfit suitable for heavy lifting on his arrival: Bermuda shorts, buckled sandals and an orange T-shirt he’d grown out of, which rode up as he carried the boxes, revealing the loose musculature of his midriff.
The deputy head, Reverend Beaulieu ‘Bunny’ Hareton, and William Japes, the physics master, watched from one of the neoGothic leaded-glass windows of the Oak Room as Sedgewick – assisted by a middle-aged couple, the female of which kept referring to him as ‘Charl’, omitting the ‘es’ – ponderously unpacked a purple Austin Allegro Estate.
‘Are those his parents he’s brought with him? Are you sure about this one, Bunny?’ Japes asked.
‘Yes, I believe those are his parents,’ Bunny replied. ‘And, yes, I am quite sure about Sedgewick. He lives and breathes history; it’s his life.’
‘Mm, I can tell, and that’s precisely the problem.’ Japes sighed. ‘I’ll go and see him tomorrow. Help him to get settled.’
‘Settled?’ Bunny glanced down at him, revealing a tinge of anxiety. There was nothing settled about Japes.
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Annalisa Armani
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Author review: Annalisa was always very enthusiastic and often told me how much she was enjoying my book which was nice. She asked the kind of questions that indicated that she had an intelligent and precise approach to the translation. My book is quite challenging and Annalisa was happy to have the challenge and put in the extra attention/higher thought. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Natalia Prieto Masanta
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Author review: Natalia was a pleasure to work with throughout the translation process. She was interested in the book and enjoyed the work. She asked excellent questions that showed her commitment to the project along with reassuring me that she was doing a thorough/thoughtful job. Bravo Natalia and muchos gracias! |
