A THIN SHEET OF GLASS​
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'He hovered, a pendulum in the doorway: caught between leaden feet and his raw, pulsing heart. A few strides and he would be there, in front of her, blocking out the darkness that spread beyond the window frame. With gentle fingertips, he touched her neck, felt the jut and rub of her cheekbones against his, blinked wisps of dark hair away from his eyes as her head rested on his shoulder, but she, what would she remember when she saw him? Would she look straight through him like the ghost he was or worse still, scream for help?'
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A THIN SHEET OF GLASS tells the story of Jane, a woman whose pursuit of social justice during the turbulent inter-war era exposes her deepest insecurities. Torn between lovers, distanced from her mother and desperate to resist the darkness of fascism, Jane puts politics ahead of survival. Each step towards the enemy leads her closer to ultimate breakdown.
Pippa Beecheno’s A Thin Sheet of Glass is a dissection of a life destined to unravel. It is harrowing and uplifting in turns, as trust, hope and love are tested to the limits of endurance.
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Reviews
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A THIN SHEET OF GLASS
I enjoyed reading this book, it is well written, thought provoking and sensitive and you just want to keep reading to find out what happens! Knowing it is based on a true story with genuine letter extracts adds to the emotion. A wonderful debut.
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What a beautifully written book. I always struggle with chapters leaping backwards and forwards in time, but once I got used to this it became so engrossing. I needed to keep reading.
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Gripping, evocative, heartrending ... left me in tears, Those real life letters, the impending war all woven in. Beautiful.
A beautifully written, moving story of personal courage, love and the shocking treatment of serious mental illness in the 1930s.
This fact-based story shows post-war generations how lucky we have been to escape this period when paranoia and reality must have been indiscernible for so many.
Once started, I could not put this book down, but kept reading well into the early hours.
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This novel is powerful, romantic, devestating, intimate and thought provoking. I really enjoyed it, and especially the characters of Jane and Richard. Amazing to think that it is based on real life events! A brilliant, poignant and unexpected ending. Left me wanting more!
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For anyone with experience of mental ill health, mental health work or those interested in either, this is a must read! Well researched, gripping and utterly readable. I think this story needs to be told and should be read. As a retired mental health nurse, I was hooked. As a reader of novels I was engrossed. Amazing debut.
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As a long time mental health therapist working with individuals with severe mental illness, this book really touched my heart. I found it to be on point during her psychotic episodes and poignantly sorrowful during the remissions of her illness. Highly recommend to anyone interested in mental illness of the early 20th century.
Fantastic 5 star reviews - thank you readers!
Pippa Beecheno's fact-based first novel shows how far we have come in the treatment of serious mental illness in the last hundred years. She tells the story of her great aunt, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent fifty years in hospital. The days when families believed they had to keep such illnesses secret are long gone, but much remains to be done. If those with mental illness are to be treated with proper humanity more people need to know and understand them and their conditions. Pippa Beecheno makes an important contribution to the campaign.
A heart-breaking story told with such perfect clarity and restraint as to make it even more poignant and thought provoking. Jane is a character who will haunt me.
​When Connie Blake, daughter of a prominent local councillor and war recruiter, meets Conscientious Objector Albert Morgan, their relationship sets them in conflict with the world around them and at risk of losing everything. This is a story of love, heroism and endurance in a community fractured by war.
Novel Two - coming soon...
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
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This story is currently in development. Follow the excitement on social media and keep an eye on my website for updates.