Francesca and the Mermaid

Written by Beryl Kingston

Narrated by Julie Maisey

Unhappy in her life and relationship, Francesca is inspired by her sighting of a mermaid swimming away to freedom, to leave her lover and uproot her life. She moves to Lewes to stay with Agnes Potts, her loving, eccentric friend. Francesca begins to paint again with Agnes's encouragement and when her painting of the mermaid is seen by Henry, a local potter, he takes her into his employment. When Agnes suffers an accident, Francesca must become nurse, chef and companion to her friend. Meanwhile, her ex-lover reappears and attempts to con Henry. Preoccupied by her new duties as Agnes's carer, Francesca finds that suddenly everything she has worked for and built in her new life is put at risk.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Soundings
• Release date: Nov 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781407958088

Beryl Kingston

Beryl Kingston was born in London in 1931 and was 8 years old when WWII began. She remained in London for the first four months of the Blitz until her road was bombed and her house was uninhabitable. She has been a writer since she was seven when she started producing poetry which, according to her, was very, very bad. She taught English from 1952 to 1985 before embarking on a career as a prolific, full-time writer. Beryl Kingston's first book was published in 1985 and was an instant bestseller. From then on she wrote a bestseller every year for the next 14 years, ranging from family sagas to modern stories and historical novels, including novels about WWI and WWII. She reached the top payment level for public lending right with her 4th book and passed the million mark in sales with book number 12. She has also written plays for the children, stories for various magazines and a novella about a conceited cat. She won the 2014 Blake Society Tithe Grant Award. Beryl Kingston was married for 54 years, had three children and five grandchildren and now has five great-grandchildren, who are the apples of her eye.