If you think Britain is divided this year. how about in 1926?

Then, we, Europe, every continent, had emerged from a brutal and devastating war. Here, we had to make sense of the hollow promise of Homes Fit for Heroes, and the bright young rich kids had Daddy's money to forget the past and spend it on fripperies. Such were the Roaring Twenties. But was that roar, a cry of angry people more than jazz or the Charleston?

In Britain, 1926 brought - but not quite - a civil war. The General Strike. It only lasted 9 days.

As the strap-line of my historical novel, THE LARK ASCENDING,  to be published early next year asks - Politics and Love. Can they live together? This novel will show you how.

In the 1920s, Leeds was a city of contrasts. A hub of shops, businesses and booming industry under a pall of thick black smoke (not now, of course!) within the jewel that is Yorkshire. And then there's Roundhay Park, the largest municipal park in Europe. Even today it is a must-visit beauty, both a place for fun and the contemplation of nature.

The Lark Ascending likewise, is a parcel of all-sorts. Violence, but not graphic, two sex scenes but, nothing pornographic, love and hate, seriousness and humour, action and reflection. Did I mention humour? There is a friendly dog plus two cats, all loved. (No animals were hurt in this novel.)

Two women feature prominently. The main character is Alice Fields. To start with she is a wimpish doormat. This novel is her coming of age. A lark is a small drab brown bird that nests on the ground, easy pickings for prey but in the air. it soars above us, singing gloriously. You may think of The Lark Ascending, that beautiful violin piece by Vaughan Williams. The title of my novel actually refers to the poem by Geoge Meredith in 1881. The music was not published until 1921. What would this poem mean to you if you first read it in prison?

Then there is Lenny (Eleanor) who has renounced her rich heritage. At first, she and Alice don't like each other at all. They're chalk and cheese.

But why the pink flamingoes and saddleback pigs?  Read my novel! Only you'll have to wait until February 2020.