Crawley author Patricia M Osborne goes back in history

Crawley author Patricia M Osborne is in print with The Montefiore Bride (The Hedgehog Poetry Press) with proceeds from web sales going to Crawley Open House to help the homeless.
Patricia M OsbornePatricia M Osborne
Patricia M Osborne

Patricia, aged 65, explained: “The Montefiore Bride brought me a winning place in a Prickly Shorts competition in 2020 with the Hedgehog Poetry Press.

“It is written in prose poetry and bound in a beautiful pamphlet, making it a perfect keepsake. My prize was to be published and receive one hundred print copies. I decided to use that prize and raise money to help Crawley Open House.

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“Inspiration for The Montefiore Bride came when back in 2017 as part of my MA in creative writing I was required to take up a writing residency. I chose my local Victorian park, Worth Park, in Crawley. As part of my remit, I researched the park’s past going back to September 19 1888 when Sir Francis Montefiore, the first and last Baronet of Worth Park, brought home his Austrian bride.

“This short fictional West Sussex tale is based on facts from archived newspaper cuttings, black and white historic photographs and the gaps are filled in with fiction.

“The Montefiore Bride will particularly appeal to residents of Crawley because it is about a local park and although fictionalised, still forms part of Worth Park’s history. Worth Park was a beautiful place for a writing residency and learning about the Victorian residents of the park was inspiring. Sir Francis’s wife, Lady Marianne, returned home to Austria after one year of marriage but no one knows why. I therefore filled in the gaps with fiction.

“The pamphlet acts as a stand-alone. However, I have written a Worth Park timeline in poetry which will be published autumn 2021 by The Hedgehog Poetry Press.”

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£5.99 signed printed copy; £2.99 PDF version; available whitewingsbooks.com/shop/

Patricia added: “I have two family saga novels published, House of Grace and The Coal Miner’s Son, and The Granville Legacy, the third in the trilogy, is to be released this March. I also have a poetry pamphlet, Taxus Baccata, a nature and myth poetry booklet, published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press.

“I have been writing since a child.

“However, I started taking writing more seriously following my creative writing courses as part of my Open University degree and later my MA in creative writing with University of Brighton.

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