A Wild Strawberry Place with Laura Wood

We’re absolutely delighted to announce that bestselling author (and friend of the shop!) Laura Wood will be returning to Mr B’s to celebrate the release of her brand new book, A Wild Strawberry Place: The Life and Work of Eva Ibbotson.

An authorised celebration of the life and work of the beloved writer, Laura’s biography offers unique insights into the key moments that shaped Eva’s life and inspired some of her best-loved novels, including her masterpieces Journey to the River Sea, The Star of Kazan, The Secret Countess, and more!

Perfect for fans of Lucy Mangan, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Ella Risbridger’s In Love With Love, and (of course!) Eva Ibbotson herself, this book is a dream come true: one of our favourite writers writing about one of our favourite writers. We can’t wait to welcome Laura back to the shop to hear all about her new book!

Laura will be in conversation with the wonderful Harriet Evans, author of The Treasures, Murder on the Royal Crescent – and another member of the Eva Ibbotson fan club!

Can’t make it to the event? Order a signed and dedicated copy here!

About the book:

From Eva’s novel, Magic Flutes:

‘In Sweden,’ she said, rising to stand beside him and speaking very seriously, ‘they have a word for a place like this. It’s called a ‘smultronställe’. A ‘wild strawberry place.’ A place like that is special, it’s the most special place there is… any place that’s absolutely private and special and your own. A place where life is… an epiphany.

For Laura, every Eva Ibbotson novel is just such a place. Her classic novels, filled with warmth, wit, and a yearning for a place to belong, have captivated readers for generations… Now, bestselling author (and big fan!), Laura, has decided to follow the fascinating journey of Eva’s life in search of a wild strawberry place of her own.

Drawing on previously unseen material from Eva’s private archive, as well as interviews with her family and friends, Laura’s authorised biography uncovers the connections between Ibbotson’s personal experiences and the enduring themes of some of her best-loved novels: the search for home, the power of storytelling and the triumph of humour and compassion.

Both moving and accessible, this biography is full of ephemera, from recipes, to maps of Vienna, Eva’s letters, and even an out of print short story from Eva herself!

About the author:

Dr Laura Wood is a best-selling, award winning academic and writer. She is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing and the author of the Blue Peter Book Prize-shortlisted Vote for Effie, several young adult novels including A Sky Painted Gold and A Single Thread of Moonlight, the Agency for Scandal series, and, for adults, Under Your Spell, Let’s Make A Scene, and Kiss Me Like You Mean It.

Laura loves Georgette Heyer novels, Fred Astaire films, travelling to far flung places, recipe books, Jilly Cooper, poetry, cosy woollen jumpers, Edith Nesbit, crisp autumn leaves, Jack Gilbert, new stationery, sensation fiction, salted caramel, Rufus Sewell’s cheek-bones, dogs, and drinking lashings of ginger beer.