Languedoc Trilogy
Labyrinth
In this extraordinary thriller, rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France, the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny. When Dr Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons during an archaeological dig in southern France, she unearths a link with an extraordinary past. Eight hundred years ago, on the night before a brutal civil war ripped apart Languedoc, a book was entrusted to Alais, a young herbalist and healer. Although she cannot understand the symbols and diagrams the book contains, Alais knows her destiny lies in protecting their secret, at all costs.
Sepulchre
Sepulchre is the second novel in Kate’s Languedoc Trilogy. A timeslip adventure novel – set in 19th century and contemporary France – it is about Tarot, about ghosts, about the power of music and place, about the relationship between the two great modern republics of the 20th century, France and America.
Citadel
The third and final novel in Kate’s Languedoc Trilogy, it tells the story of an all- female group of Resistance fighters in the south of France, codename ‘Citadel’. Led by Sandrine Vidal, they are fighting not only to liberate the Midi from Nazi Occupation – as their forefathers and mothers, the Cathars, had seven hundred years earlier fought to protect their land from the invaders from the North – but also to protect an ancient secret that, if it fell into the wrong hands, could change the course of history. A fast paced adventure story of love and war, courage and sacrifice, about a brave group of women and the loyal men who love them.
The Winter Ghosts
This is a haunting story of loss and remembrance set in the aftermath of the First World War. The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson’s case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. He stumbles through woods, emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries.
Chichester Festival Theatre at Fifty
At four minutes to seven on the evening of Tuesday 3rd July 1962, the voice of Laurence Olivier boomed through the foyer of Chichester Festival Theatre asking the first-night audience to take their seats. No one had ever seen a theatre like it – an ‘impossible theatre’, strikingly modern, concrete and glass, with a vast thrust stage sticking out into the auditorium. And built against all the odds in parkland just outside a small cathedral city in West Sussex.
At seven o’clock, everyone stood for the National Anthem. Then the house lights went down and the opening words of John Fletcher’s The Chances were spoken. The CFT story had begun …
Since then, the roll call of those who’ve played to Chichester reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of contemporary theatre and film – Ian McKellen, Lauren Bacall, Sam Mendes, Kathleen Turner, Stephen Fry, Derek Jacobi, Joseph Fiennes, John Gielgud, Diana Rigg, just a handful of the world-class actors and actresses who have walked the stage at CFT over the past fifty years. It’s where the National Theatre company was formed while waiting for its new home on London’s South Bank to be ready; it’s where some of the most important contemporary writing has been showcased – from Lucy Prebble’s Enron to David Hare’s South Downs; it’s where careers have been made and confirmed.
Now you, too, can be part of the history of CFT. The international bestselling novelist and playwright, Kate Mosse – a Chichester girl, born and bred – is writing the anniversary book for CFT’s first half century. Chichester Festival Theatre at Fifty is a decade-by-decade celebration, a love letter in words and pictures, based on interviews by many of those who’ve played their part in the enduring success of one of Britain’s most important and best loved theatres.
By pledging your support today, you can see your name printed in the book alongside the great names of stage and screen. You’ll have access to Kate’s shed, be able to keep up-to-date with her progress, and get a taste of dramas on and off the stage, scandals and success, the box office triumphs and one or two productions that didn’t quite come off!
Beautifully designed, it’s the perfect gift book for anyone interested in theatre, film, television. A one-off chance to celebrate the first fifty years of CFT and to look forward to the future.