Wolverhampton poet laureate Emma Purshouse has just published her debut novel, ‘Dogged’. Her home city provides the backdrop for the story, and it’s entirely appropriate that she’s launching it at Wolverhampton Literature Festival this weekend.
‘Dogged’ is a rich, complex, and engaging tale, centred on two Wolverhampton women in their 70s: Marilyn Grundy and Nancy Maddox. Marilyn is a little bit scared of Nancy, but then everyone is. Nancy may be seventy-nine, but she’s a force to be reckoned with, and even the local dealers tread warily round her. Who better to look after Marilyn’s tartan shopping trolley when she needs to keep it hidden away?
Nancy’s got a lot on her mind, though, and a cough that’s getting worse. Is she really going be able to keep the trolley and its contents safe? What will the old goat have to say about it all? And what will happen to Toby, Marilyn’s little white dog?
Reviews for ‘Dogged’ are already coming in from folk who’ve read it…
"Anyone who knows Emma Purshouse will not be surprised that she writes a book Wolverhampton and beyond should be proud of… full of real people, page-turning plot, and dark humour. This is pitch perfect. Like Steinbeck it is more film than book.. it is an easy and hard and satisfying and unputdownable read!” Nadia Kingsley, Fair Acre Press.
Tickets for the launch event – where Emma will be talking about writing the book, the characters in it, and why it was so important to set it in Wolverhampton – are available here: https://www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/in-conversation-with-emma-purshouse.html
‘Dogged’ is available from Ignite Books, here: https://ignitebooks.co.uk/products-page/emma-purshouses-books/
