A North-east born writer and graduate of the University of Aberdeen will return to her roots next week when she launches her new novel, which has just been published by Bloomsbury.
Lorna Fergusson, who left Aberdeen in 1980, will return to the city to promote her highly successful debut novel, The Chase, at Waterstone’s bookshop on Union Street on Thursday, August 26, from 6pm – 8pm, where she will read from The Chase and sign copies of the book.
Lorna was born and brought up in Cullen and Macduff in Banffshire. She graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a first class Honours degree in English Literature in 1979, before going on to study at Merton College, Oxford.
For the past 15 years, she has been Head of English at a tutorial college, also in Oxford, where she lives with her husband Robert and two small sons. Throughout this time she has been writing steadily and her first big break came in 1989 when she won the Ian St James Award with her short story, Exposed, which is presently available in Snapshots – Winning Stories from Ten Years of the Ian St James Awards.
As a result of this success, Lorna was approached by an agent, Michael Shaw at Curtis Brown, who has offered continual support and encouragement during the composition of her new novel.
The Chase was conceived in Bergerac, in the Dordogne, where Lorna and her husband had a half-share in an old country house from 1989-1996. It was written over six years, large parts of it while she and her family were in France during summer breaks.
"My husband and I grew to know and love the region around Bergerac and in the novel I wanted to capture the immense beauty of the location, the sense of history and the long-standing relationship the British have had with that part of France,” said Lorna.
“I made every effort to research historical, geographical and cultural detail and the sensory appeal of the Périgord proved to be one of the main selling points of the novel.”
Lorna will arrive in Aberdeen on Wednesday, August 25, and is more than happy to speak to journalists about The Chase.