THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME TO CORNWALL
Hello everyone!
Emma Burstall
I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME TO CORNWALL, will be published by Head of Zeus on December 5th.
It’s the latest in my Cornish series, set in the fictional fishing village of TREMARNOCK. It’s also the last for now – although I may well revisit my favourite place at a later date. I don’t suppose I shall be able to stay away for too long!
I had great fun writing THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME TO CORNWALL, not least because it involved a trip to fabulous Mexico. Let me explain: some time ago, during a regular jog in my local park in South West London, my dear Mexican friend, Yael Brown, happened to mention a little town some three hours out of Mexico City where pastry snacks are on sale on virtually every street corner that look suspiciously like Cornish pasties.
Called ‘pastes’, the only difference is that the Mexican variety contain ingredients such as guacamole and chilli as well as meat, vegetables and cheese.
I was fascinated by this tale, and wondered why. On investigation, it turned out that this little town was once home to numerous Cornish tin miners, who braved treacherous conditions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to travel in their droves to rural Mexico to work in the silver mines.
Many eventually returned much richer to Cornwall with their families, but some stayed and made new lives for themselves. There’s even a Cornish cemetery just outside the town where the graves bear traditional Cornish surnames such as Pengelly, Jenkins and Skewes.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Yael and her family to visit the town and cemetery, as well as Mexico City itself. It was a memorable trip, and out of it emerged the story of Chabela Penhallow, my latest lively and colourful heroine who is on her own emotional journey with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
I hope you enjoy reading THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME TO CORNWALL as much as I enjoyed penning it.
Do drop me a line and let me know.
Emma x
