About the Author
Carol Bruce spent her childhood in north-east England where she developed a lifelong fascination with history. Her first career as a forensic chemist led by a winding path to co-writing several Harlequin Romance novels. A foray into screenwriting led to work as a producer and editor of award-winning documentaries, including the story of a local archaeological dig.
All these strands came together when, in mid-life, she took an MA in Anthropology at the University of Wales and discovered inspiration among the academic papers. A lifelong mystery reader, she was inspired to write a story that drew on all these influences, as well as her extensive reading of literature from the inter-war period in England. The most important influence lay in her grandmother’s tales of growing up in early twentieth-century Spain, in a privileged life a world away from her eventual destiny in working-class Newcastle.
By some kind of alchemy, this became Carol’s debut historical mystery, The Pilgrim Road to Death, scheduled for release in February 2025.
THE INSPIRATION FOR GWEN
My Grandmother Mary died when I was only eight, but she left an indelible impression on my life. Around 1906, her father took his family to live near Bilbao in Northern Spain, where he worked as a marine engineer on ships for the Spanish Navy. Mary lived there until her marriage in 1927, enjoying a gracious life. She was a gifted pianist, and a cultured woman who taught me Spanish phrases, and took me to the ballet.
Her life fascinated me. I have always wanted to write about her, and in many ways she inspired the character of Gwen Armstrong – intrepid, curious about the world, cultured and cosmopolitan, and dealing bravely with the challenges and tragedies of life.
Gwen’s aspirations to become an archaeologist reflect my own passionate interest in history. I’ve loved museums from my childhood, and the more old-fashioned the better. I remember the deliciously spooky aura of the old Hancock Museum in Newcastle, with its glass cases and creaky floorboards. Alas, such nostalgic treasures are a rarity in our world of short attention spans and the rush to lowest commmon denominator ‘edutainment’.
One of the reasons why I write is to recapture the feeling of living in that fleeting world between-the-wars. It’s the closest I can come to time travel. I hope my readers also enjoy taking a holiday in history, and traveling along the Pilgrim Road
