Everyone has a story, so we were thrilled to have our guest speaker for September tell us her story. Award-winning journalist and author Emma Cowing and publisher Hodder & Stoughton came to celebrate the launch of Emma’s captivating debut novel The Show Woman and to share and impart some wisdom on entering into the world of writing.
Set against the rich backdrop of 1930s Scotland, The Show Woman is a bold, unforgettable story of ambition, family, and resilience – themes that resonate deeply with many of our customers.
Emma: "Back in 2021, I was looking through some old family photographs with my Mum when we came across a sepia image of a woman wearing a headdress made of coins, a frilly shirt and large hoop earrings. It was my Great Aunt Violet, who had been a trapeze artist and bareback rider, and I was immediately fascinated by her.
I started asking my Mum what she remembered about her life, and that of my great-grandparents, who had run a travelling theatre that traversed the fairgrounds of Scotland between the 1880s and the 1910s. Meanwhile, I began looking up public
records and discovered that when it came to profession, many of the women in my family had been described as ‘show women.’
An idea began to form – the story of an all-female circus travelling the Edwardian showgrounds of Scotland, inspired by my extraordinary family members, and The Show Woman was born"
Our members and guests enjoyed the sumptuous surroundings of Cromlix House Hotel and as always the room was vibrant and full of infectious energy.
We would like to thank Emma for her wonderful speech and we hope she will join us again soon when novel two and three are published.
Emma Cowing Author at Hodder & Stoughton
