{"product_id":"the-ghost-of-artemus-strange","title":"Peter Maughan: The Ghost of Artemus Strange [2019] paperback","description":"Welcome to Batch Magna, a place where anything might happen. And often does...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSir Humphrey has offered to play Father Christmas at the local hospital, but disaster strikes when he realises he won't be able to buy the sack of toys he'd promised the children.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eRupert, a gentleman of the road, is found asleep in an old car in the Hall's coach house. He is scrubbed up and given a room at the Hall, where two guests are already staying: a businessman and his rather young female companion. When money goes missing from their bedroom, Rupert is accused, and Miss Wyndham, the village's amateur sleuth, decides to investigate the matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, local author Phineas Cook has come up with the idea of a resident ghost at the Hall to attract paying guests. All goes smoothly until the ghostly actors spend too long in the pub one evening and their performance descends into sword-wielding chaos.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs always in Batch Magna, events somehow manage to turn out all right in the end - but in the most unexpected manner...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat readers are saying about The Batch Magna Chronicles series:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eAn enchanting mixture of \u003cem\u003eThe Wind in The Willows\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Darling Buds of May\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. An England that doesn't exist but surely should.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reading this book was \u003cstrong\u003elike sitting down for a nice long chat with an old friend\u003c\/strong\u003e. I loved reading the Welsh village descriptions; it felt like coming home. ... I eagerly await the next instalment of the Batch Magna crew!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I first got this book out of the local library, and then brought a copy - \u003cstrong\u003eI wanted to read it again and again\u003c\/strong\u003e. It's a treasure, a smashing read, funny and beautifully written.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"These books are such fun, \u003cstrong\u003edarkly comic and full of great characters\u003c\/strong\u003e. ... Batch Magna is a place I would love to find, and the river sounds idyllic.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eHurrah for Batch Magna\u003c\/strong\u003e, Humphrey and friends.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \"I loved this book. It's lyrical and very amusing, with \u003cstrong\u003eall the charm of an old Ealing comedy\u003c\/strong\u003e. ... More please Mr Maughan!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eWhat an amazing writer!\u003c\/strong\u003e I have never found any descriptive writing that has gripped me so much before.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eA thoroughly enjoyable read.\u003c\/strong\u003e ... Is there another Batch Magna book on the way, please? Such a wonderfully descriptive bucolic and warmly 'human' story with echoes of the \u003cem\u003eDarling Buds of May\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eA wonderful, funny, well-crafted escape from everyday life.\u003c\/strong\u003e If you love writing that absorbs you into the landscape you will love this book. Every sense was satisfied with the author's beautiful descriptions of the Marches. Escape from the tarmac, concrete and relentlessness of life with this stunning book. Thank you Mr Maughan.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I absolutely loved this book and all the characters became so real to me, \u003cstrong\u003eI just couldn't put it down.\u003c\/strong\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eEscape from the madness of life for a short while into the glorious eccentricity of Batch Magna\u003c\/strong\u003e once again, revel in its surroundings, its people, its comings and goings - which, often as bizarre as they are, usually work out for the best.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"If I had to guess at Peter Maughan's occupation, my bet would be on a weaver and I'll double down on that bet. \u003cstrong\u003eOnly a weaver a.k.a. master story teller can weave together, so magnificently, everything the stories in this chronicle encompasses.\u003c\/strong\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The jolly cast of characters, who truly are, in the best English sense, characters, provide humour and a bit of pathos. ... This would be \u003cstrong\u003ea great book to read sitting in an English garden on a summer's day\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maughan, Peter","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":46484373111123,"sku":"9781788421355","price":11.25,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/maughan-peter-peter-maughan-the-ghost-of-artemus-strange-2019-paperback-9781788421355-1152879402.jpg?v=1743284359","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/the-ghost-of-artemus-strange","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}