As a modern, 34 year-old woman, it feels strange living in a Lancashire village that is deliberately being held in a Victorian time-warp. That’s the hard-hitting commercial world of tourism for you, I guess. When Cornelius Swan first built Swansneck Village to house the workers for his cotton mill back in 1855, I seriously doubt he ever thought his Great Grandsons would have a different vision for the village. But Swan Mill had finished its productive life in the 1980’s, and the village was in decline.
My name is Jenny Bradshaw, and moving back to Swansneck, home to four generations of my family, somehow feels like a backward step for me.
You see, my mother had felt trapped working in our family business, Bradshaw’s Bakery. She dreamed of my living a different life. She pushed and provoked me to leave for University when the offer presented itself, seeing it as my chance to break free of the chains of Swansneck. My going to University was the start of a series of events that took me away from Lancashire, to London, where I worked as a P.A. . . An extreme contrast to working in our bakery in Swansneck, I can tell you. Let me explain. . .
Lancashire, a county in Northern England was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. The first factories the world had ever witnessed were built here. At the time, Lancashire was a thriving, metropolis of industry and wealth. Well, that was then… Not now. Now Lancashire was considered by the rest of the country to be worn-out and run down. The wealth once created by the cotton industry of the 1800s and early 1900s was a thing of the past. I guess that’s why the latest generation of the Swan family had to do something revolutionary to revive the fortunes of the village they had inherited. It must have cost a small fortune to convert old Swan Mill into the stunning Swan Mill Hotel and Spa, and then mastermind a ‘facelift’ throughout the rest of the village. Mind you, the local scenery of the hills and dales of the Forest of Bowland, plus the beautiful formal gardens and aviary of the village park must have helped. And of course, the Park Tearoom, still as quaint as the day it was opened by Cornelius Swan in 1855. The tearoom is a ‘must visit’ experience for the tourists. I sometimes believe that Mrs B., who runs the place with military precision, has been there since the day it opened!
My grandmother and her ‘clan’ of ex-millworker friends, treat the Tearoom as their official headquarters. I find it comical, but dare not say so to her face. You don’t mess with my grandmother, as customers at our bakery have learned over the years.
When her brother, my Great Uncle Wilf, passed away recently, he did the most extraordinary thing. He left me his little terraced house in Swansneck. Situated on the end of a row on Park Road, I had frequently visited his home as a child, but never in a million years did I envisage myself living there. Up until a month or so ago, I had an exciting life of travel and aggressive boardroom meetings to attend, as I shadowed my high-powered boss. On top of that I had a husband who was overjoyed by the sophisticated, cultured life of London, and detested anything ‘Northern’. So what was my Great Uncle Wilf thinking when he wrote his will?
Although now, I’m beginning to think dear old Wilf must have had a magic ball that enabled him to see into my future. Because without his foresight, I dread to think what would have become of me.
So here I am. Back in Swansneck Village, at a time when I can witness its re-birth into the 21st century, and be part of its promising future. These are exciting times!
You can read more about Jenny in Murder Most Fowl, the first book in the NEW “Swansneck Village” mystery series.
Returning home may not be in fashion, but solving a murder never goes out of style. . .
Despite the Swan family now promoting Swansneck village as a nostalgic Victorian tourist attraction for Lancashire’s cotton mill heritage, Jenny Bradshaw had never wanted to set foot in the place again. But a failed marriage and the conditions of her uncle’s legacy left her no other choice.
Forced to abandon her P.A. job in London, Jenny dreads the years of drudgery ahead. Working at the family bakery and caring for her uncle’s pigeons was not exactly the future she’d envisioned. But when a hat shop is offered for sale within the classy, recently transformed Swan Mill Hotel, Jenny thinks her luck may finally be changing. At least, until she unwittingly implicates a beloved childhood friend in murder. . .
Between attending the biggest wedding Swansneck had ever witnessed, juggling her new business and re-launching the Swansneck Messenger newsletter, Jenny seeks to clear her friend’s name. By establishing new links in the village and deciphering cryptic notes left in the pigeon coop, Jenny builds her list of suspects. But uncovering generations of secrets and lies from a roster of quirky Swansneck residents, only seems to prove everyone has a motive for murder.
Unable to reveal her multitude of suspicions to urbane new neighbour, DI Kenon, without appearing to have totally lost her wits, Jenny’s quest for the truth threatens to turn her hometown into her final resting place.
Murder Most Fowl is an absorbing cozy mystery set in a charming British village. If you like amusing, engaging characters and true-to-life settings, then you’ll love V.S. Vale’s riveting whodunit.
Click here to download a FREE copy of ‘Old Mother Bradshaw’s Cookbook’ that accompanies the series. Enjoy the same traditional Lancashire recipes as the characters in the series. Truly delicious treats from four generations of Bradshaw’s!
Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #
Meet the author
V.S. Vale (Valerie) was born in Lancashire, England. With family connections to the textile and clothing industry going back four generations, she has worked in the fashion; interior and jewellery design world most of her life.
In addition to this, she spends much of her time writing. Her first book Murder Most Fowl is set in the fictional Lancashire village of Swansneck and involves murder amidst the tight-knit and gossipy community.
Having enjoyed the process of writing her first novel so much she decided to make it a series of books, all centred on the same village and featuring a host of rounded and enjoyable characters.
Living in a seaside resort on the Lancashire coast, when she isn’t working or writing, she enjoys walking on the beach with her little terrier-cross dog, Pepper. She also walks in the pinewoods close to her home, hoping to catch sight of the elusive red squirrels in the treetops. When time allows she loves to visit some of the many heritage houses of England and imagine the characters that once lived within those walls. Connect with V.S. at vsvale.com.
All comments are welcomed.