The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson

Book Summary

When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, broken-hearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly pensioner Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like her own. They made plans for a date, but Frank lost the ticket with her number written on it. For the past sixty years, he's ridden the same bus trying to find her.

Libby is inspired by the story and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she makes it her mission to continue Frank's search. As she begins to open her guarded heart to strangers and new connections, Libby's tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank's dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away . . .

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chance for happiness - before it's too late.

First of all, how adorable is Frank? He's just such a sweet and generous character, no wonder he has so many people who want to support him in his search. Over the years he's made so many friends on the bus journeys and I loved meeting them throughout the book. Libby in particular is fascinated by the search and hearing Frank talk about this mystery girl intrigues her as there are parallels in their lives.

For Frank, Libby, Dylan and many others, it seems like their whole lives are mapped out on the 88 bus route. Home, work, leisure, random meetings with strangers. Now all their time is taken up with this hunt, especially as time is running out. I was drawn into the search too, with my hopes raised and dashed down repeatedly!

To make a Magic Bus Cocktail, shake up the following with lots of ice and strain into your glass of choice - 40ml tequila, 25ml coitreau, 25ml cranberry juice and 25ml orange juice.

Author Interview with Daniel Dockery

This week I am taking part in the blog tour for Wendington Jones and the Missing Tree. If you've seen my last post you'll know that this was one of my favourite books last month. Today I have a wonderfully interesting interview with the author! First a bit about the book, then on to the interview questions and of course a cocktail.

Book Summary

Wendington Jones has her world abruptly up-ended when her adventuring mother dies in a car crash in late 1920. Left in the care of her Grandmamma and her valet Rohan, Wendington receives a parcel in the middle of the night, seemingly from her dead mother.

It’s half of a manuscript from a book her mother was writing, and describes a mystery surrounding the mythical Tree of Life. When Wendington reads that the tree could have the power to bring her mother back to life, she throws herself into finding the remainder of the manuscript and solving her mother’s mystery. However, her initial attempts are laced with danger. Other people also seek to find the Tree of Life and Wendington has to trick, fight and talk her way out of many perilous situations. Does Wendington have what it takes to complete her mission?

Interview

Wendington is a great character, was anyone in particular your inspiration for her?

There are many people I’ve drawn on but there’s not one particular aspect to her. I wanted an adventuring hero that wasn’t the typical brash gadabout. Rather more the bookish if slightly unready heroine who’ll do her best anyway. Imagine The Mummy but if the story were about Rachel Weisz’s plucky librarian rather than Brendan Fraser’s gun wielding treasure hunter. That always interested me more. There’s also touches of other great characters who I read who always started out with their heads stuck in a book, but took up the adventure when they needed to. Not least of all Dahl’s Matilda or Alcott’s Jo March.

I love animal sidekicks in books, what made you choose a newt?

Well the answer there is another literary inspiration. I was brought up on P.G. Wodehouse amongst many others and the slightly strain of both Blandings and Jeeves and Wooster are sprinkled high above Wendington’s journey. It gave Reggie his name, as well as the idea of a highly capable valet. But amongst Wodehouse’s wonderful creations was Gussie Fink-Nottle, one of Bertie Wooster’s friends. Now Gussie was a newt enthusiast and I suppose from there so was I.

Newts are wonderful creatures and underrated in the overall amphibian pantheon. But there’s very few in literature so it meant that Perceval could arrive without many preconceptions and so Wendington, and we, can begin to build his small characteristics out as much as we want. There’s also a newt in Matilda as well, so I suppose the newts chose me, rather than the other way round.

Most of the adventure takes place on a huge cruise liner, what made you choose that setting? Have you ever been on a journey like this?

I’ve never been on a long liner journey sadly, but I was fascinated with them as I began to put the story together. I wanted Wendington to have to go on a long journey as she battled with both the mystery and her grief. Effectively a huge journey both physically and metaphorically. There’s also something nice to saying that she wanted to go to the other side of the earth to get her mother back. In 1920 flight would have been a highly impractical way to travel, for many reasons. So that left the magnificent SS Pembroke.

The Pembroke is also excellent in so many ways for both the idea of the adventure and the characters. It’s like a small moving town. So we can slowly move to our destination, with everything that goes on and still see many parts of the world and feel, like Wendington, that we have travelled to these places. Circumstance created the perfect setting.

If someone was after your latest manuscript, who would you secretly send the halves to?

What an excellent question! I think like Wendington a trusted ally and a close family member would be the right choices. My sister would gladly receive half the manuscript and would at least be able to crack the silly word games we used to play as kids as well. It would be safe with her.

The other half would go to my very good friend and long-time colleague Colin, who lives in Galway in Ireland. He was the first person to teach me about story structure when I first started out in a television story office when I was a fresh, hopeful writer out of university. He’d love the idea of the mystery and would be fiercely loyal with its secrets.

Finally, what is your favourite cocktail?

I think to quote another influence in Cole Porter, Make It Another Old Fashioned Please. I’ve not had a cocktail in a very long while, but I used to love the idea of a noir-ish drink on an evening. Though I suppose every cocktail deserves the right location. An Old Fashioned at the Captain’s dining table, a Rossini off the coast of Naples and a Mint Julep at Uluru in the setting sun. The drink should match the occasion.

All Daniel's suggestions sound wonderful but this has given me the perfect chance to try out a recipe for a slightly different Old Fashioned that I have been wanting to make for a while. In an Old Fashioned glass, mix 1 teaspoon of brown sugar with a few dashes of orange bitters. Add ice cubes and pour in 45ml of dark rum. Garnish with a twist of orange peel. I must say this is a pretty strong drink!