Novel set in eighteenth century Edinburgh launches this week
A Novel set in eighteenth-century Edinburgh launches this week at St Cecilia’s Hall, with music by previously unknown female composers performed for the first time.
Article Source: Black & White Publishing
Last Updated: 26 June 2024 14:40
Lucy Ribchester’s new novel, MURDER BALLAD (Black & White Publishing, £16.99 hardback), will officially launch on Thursday this week at St Cecilia’s Hall in Edinburgh’s Old Town, with musical performances of murder ballads, and classical music by the 18th century female composer Maria Barthélemon, some of which has rarely or never been performed in over 200 years, and was unearthed by Edinburgh-born Ribchester during her research for the novel.
Singer Ailsa Dixon will perform the murder ballad The Twa Sisters (also known as Binnorie O), and journalist Marcello Mega will read from Robert Fergusson’s poem Auld Reikie. Ciaran Walker will also perform pieces on the harpsichord by Maria Barthélemon, and author Lucy Ribchester will be in conversation on stage with Caraigh McGregor, before signing copies afterwards. The launch event has been kindly sponsored by Port of Leith Distillery and The Fudge Kitchen.
The launch venue of St Cecilia’s Hall – a key part of the city’s bustling arts scene in the late-1700s, and only a stone’s throw from the renowned modern-day arts hub that is the Royal Mile during festival time – was home to the prestigious Edinburgh Musical Society, and features in the opening scenes of Ribchester’s compelling, macabre tale of friendship and betrayal.
With Isobel Duguid at its dark heart, MURDER BALLAD tells the story of a street ballad singer who has risen to be the toast of the Edinburgh Musical Society. However when the true events behind her most famous murder ballad are called into question, her tale unravels into a labyrinth of deceit as twisty as Edinburgh’s Old Town geography.
It’s a novel rooted in meticulous research, musical knowledge and historical context, but brought to life through Ribchester’s compelling characters and edge-of-the-seat narrative.
About Lucy Ribchester:
Lucy was born in Edinburgh, and Murder Ballad will be her third historical novel. Her first, The Hourglass Factory, was selected by Waterstones Edinburgh as their Book of the Year, longlisted for the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown and picked by Val McDermid for her New Blood panel at Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival.
Lucy has also received a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust and a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the COSTA Short Story Award and the Manchester Fiction Prize.
As well as writing fiction, Lucy is a journalist and copywriter and has contributed to The Guardian, The Times, The List and the National Trust for Scotland. She reviews dance, circus and cabaret during the Edinburgh Festival and has published two contemporary thrillers under the name Elle Connel.
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