The Fig Garden & Other Stories

The Fig Garden & Other Stories was published by Tartarus Press in May. It is a new collection of eleven stories (and an afterword) consisting of:

‘Except Seven’ – a long story which began with a visit to a remote Herefordshire church harbouring inside a Roman altar to ‘the god of the crossroads’

‘Seaweed Tea’ – prompted by the arcane interest of booklet ephemera, in this case tide tables. What if one particular book of tide tables wasn’t quite right?

‘Character’ – a sequel to M R James’ ‘Rats’ set in an East Anglian pub and involving Norse magic

‘The Pale Sentinels of Asphodel’ –in the quieter quarter of an ancient city, a silver vessel of pot pourri casts an ancient spell

‘For She Will Have Her Harvest’ – the secret of an episode in the short life of graveyard poet Henry Kirke White

‘Candle Land’ – a new story about the genuine custom of candle auctions for the use of certain church lands, and an under-considered aspect of the Grail romances

‘The Veiled Republics’ – also new: an official investigates a society devoted to an alternative history, inspired in part by the idea of ancient civilisations visiting Britain

‘The Forwarding Agent’ – a hobbyist who collects admission tickets; and the mysteries of museums, industrial estates and motorway bridges

‘The Witch Heath’ – a scholar seeks out the original site of a well-known scene in the Scottish play

‘Red Lion Rising’ – the secret of the most popular inn sign in Britain, and why it imperils the government

‘The Fig Garden’ – a long story about a childhood ritual, an eccentric visionary, and the places where worlds overlap

‘The Real Map of England’ – an afterword

Update: the hardback edition is now out of print.

(Mark Valentine)