JEWELS: Katherine Webb
My favourite piece of jewellery is also the only precious piece I own - my grandma's diamond and topaz ring. It's not particularly valuable - it was adapted from an earring when its partner was lost; the stone is a bit scratched and the gold band has worn so thin that I hardly ever dare to wear it. But, somehow, it seems to embody a little of the spirit of a much-loved woman. It has an unusual shape, which hints to me of the Orient; it's beautiful, unconventional, and has clearly been through a lot...just like her.
I inherited the ring when Grandma died in 2003, and it's strange that it fits me - Grandma had tiny hands, which she passed on to my mother and sister whilst I inherited my dad's hands. Charlotte Stella Miranda - my grandmother - was a wonderful person: warm, brave, elegant and self-composed. She was a Chanel-wearing grandma, not a woolly cardigan-wearing one, which never struck me as odd even though when I first knew them, my grandparents were farmers, down in Devon - I spent my childhood summers running wild on their farm with my cousins. It was only as I got older that I learnt more about their long, romantic and dramatic life together, and realised that the farm was just one chapter in a colourful history. Stella (as Grandma was known) met my grandfather in Benghazi, right after the war, while she was an actress touring with ENSA and Grandpa was a captain in the army. They fell in love at first sight, even though Stella was just nineteen, and Jewish - which Grandpa was not - and she was already engaged to a young man of whom her family approved...
It's a wonderful story - one which I may yet write about more fully, with my family's permission. For now, whenever I need to make a good impression at an important event, keep my cool or borrow a little style (I have none!), I wear the ring I inherited, and try to behave as Stella would have done.
When Frances' best friend Bronwyn disappeared over twenty years ago, her body was never found. The mystery over what happened has cast a shadow over Frances' life ever since.
Now, it's 1942 and bombs are raining down on Bath. In the chaos a little boy - Davy Noyle - goes missing. Frances was meant to be looking after him and she is tortured by guilt at his disappearance. Where has he gone, and could he possibly have survived?
But bombs conceal, and they reveal - and as quiet falls and the dust settles, a body is disturbed from its hiding place. What happened all those years ago? And can Frances put the wrongs of the past right again...?
Praise for The Disappearance:
'A wonderful wartime story . . . A huge treat' Kate Riordan
'I couldn't have loved it more. Riveting, haunting, beautifully written . . . a stunner!' Jenny Ashcroft
' Evocative . Totally transporting. This is a rich and delicious multi-layered read' Eve Chase
'A beautifully written and emotionally involving mystery...highly recommended' Amanda Jennings
' Immersive, powerful and beautifully written , The Disappearance had me hooked from the first page to the last. I loved it' Judith Kinghorn
Your favourite authors love Katherine Webb:
'An enormously talented writer' Santa Montefiore
'Katherine Webb's writing is beautiful' Elizabeth Fremantle
'Webb has a true gift for uncovering the mysteries of the human heart' Kate Williams
'A truly gifted writer of historical fiction' Lucinda Riley
The Disappearance is available now. Find out more about Katherine's work here.
