Jennie Richmond
Author of debut novel
The Speed of Lightning
The Novel
I wrote this book for young people between 11 and 15 years old, but it appeals to adults as well.
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Set in 1848, The Speed of Lightning is the compelling tale of fourteen-year-old drover’s boy, William and his friend, Lizzie, on their perilous journey, walking cattle from North Wales to London, at a time when railways were threatening the old ways of travelling.
Thank you to Net Galley for this review:
“This is the powerful appeal of storytelling at its best. A sequel please!”
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Why did I set my novel in 1848?
A lot was happening in Great Britain in the mid-19th century. Queen Victoria was on the throne and the industrial revolution was bringing great change. Steam locomotives had been invented and were making it possible for people to travel and to transport goods faster and farther than they had ever done before. The Britannia Railway Bridge, which now links Ynys Mon to the mainland railway system, was in the process of being built.
Once cattle could be transported to London by steam train, drovers’ lives would change completely. What impact would these changes have on the characters in my story? I couldn’t wait to find out.
ABOUT THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING
Why did I choose to write a novel about drovers?
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I wanted to experiment with writing an historical adventure story for young people, and I was trying to find something unusual to write about. One day, when I was out walking in North Wales, I learned that I was walking along an old drovers’ route. I already knew that droving describes how farmers or drovers walked their animals to market in the days when no other transport was available, but the idea of drovers’ routes intrigued me. What kind of people were these drovers who walked along such routes? Were young people involved as well? I decided to find out more. Soon, I discovered that drovers in Ynys Mon (Anglesey), North Wales, used to drive Welsh Black Cattle all the way to London to sell them in Smithfield Market – an incredible, 250-mile journey which began by crossing the Menai Straits and included passing through the mountains of Snowdonia. This seemed to me to be an obvious theme for an adventure story and so, The Speed of Lightning was born.
Reviews
“I thoroughly enjoyed The Speed of Lightning; it’s a real page turner. I like the way it’s about past times and gives you a picture of how hard and gruelling droving was.”
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"Just finished this book. Absolutely brilliant. A really good story
Fast moving
Lots of intrigue"
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“Completely captivating, The Speed of Lightning takes us on William’s dangerous journey as a drover’s boy, at a time when the advent of railways was bringing great change to drovers’ lives.”
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LUCY,
YEAR 7 STUDENT
AVIS WAINWRIGHT,
INTERESTED READER AND ARTIST
J. LAMIN,
AUTHOR.
About me
My love of reading led me to start writing from a young age. As a child, I used to write stories and poems for my brothers and sisters. Later, I did the same for my own children and before long I was selling my work to children’s publishers. I’ve had poetry and a play published in anthologies world-wide and read on BBC children’s radio and television. As a teacher and an English Adviser, I shared what I’d written with the children and adults that I taught. Eventually I began to write novels.
My stories and poems are often inspired by my love of hill-walking, wild camping and travelling. I grew up in London, but I have spent much of my adult life near North Wales and I used my experiences of both places, to write The Speed of Lightning.
Visits
Would you like an Author Visit to your school, library or book club?​
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This is what St David’s High School, Saltney said about my recent Author Visit to KS3
students:“Key Stage Three students welcomed Wirral-based author, Jennie Richmond, who spoke tothem about her novel, The Speed of Lightning. The students then enjoyed a creative writingworkshop, where they embarked on weaving their own ideas into short story form. Thank you so much to Jennie, who provided the students with lots of creative inspiration, and thanks to the students involved. They did us proud!”
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I can offer customised sessions about The Speed of Lightning to suit your setting.
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For example:
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A flavour of the story, illustrated with readings from my book.
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Fascinating facts from my research: what intrigued me about the cattle-drovers of North Wales and how the coming of railways affected their way of life.
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Discussion and activity sessions on a chosen topic such as:
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how I created the characters in my story.
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A creative writing session for students, based on examples of writing from my book.
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Book signings.
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For further information or to make a booking contact : jennierichmondauthor@gmail.com
Contact
For enquiries please contact Jonathan White via the
Troubador website:
TEL: 0116 279 2299
ADDRESS: Troubador Publishing, 9 Priory Business Park, Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicester LE8 0RX
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