The Priest's Wife by A G Rivett

Join us for a Desert-Island Discs style evening, in which publisher, Gillian Paschkes-Bell, talks with author, A. G. Rivett, about his new novel, The Priestʼs Wife.

Dychmygwch ynys Geltaidd ei hiaith, fil o flynyddoidd yn ôl ...

Friday 20th October 2023 at the Pwerdy-Powerhouse

7.30 Croeso cynnes!
Andrew and Gillian will be ready to offer a warm welcome, drinks and nibbles. To be followed by “The conversation”, introduced by Gillian, during which Andrew will read from his new book, The Priest's Wife. An opportunity to buy signed copies of The Priestʼs Wife and The Seaborne

The Priest's Wife is set on a medieval Celtic island, first described in A G Rivettʼs debut novel, The Seaborne. A tale of loss and change, it tells the story of Morag, following her process through grief into a new beginning she could never have imagined.  But change is happening, not only in Moragʼs personal life.  The new priest, Aiden, is the harbinger of events in the wider world that bring the balanced way of life of the Island under threat. This reflects something of the real Celtic history of Britain where, for a time, there lived druids who found ways of harmonising their spirituality with the story of Christ, giving birth to an ancient tradition called the Céile Dé or Culdee. Successive governments, in alliance with the Roman Church, suppressed such tendencies and the ripples have spread out into the present time and the predicament of human beings as, across the planet, we re-assess our place within the natural world.

The Seaborne tells the story of John Finlay, a present-day London engineer running from a situation he canʼt handle. He falls into the parallel world of the Island in a world like – yet not the same as – our own, where the Islanders change his name from John to Dhion. The novel charts John/Dhionʼs initial resistance to his new surroundings and his lengthy process of adaptation, until he finds his feet and tries to offer the Islanders a little of his technological know-how, with unforeseen results. It follows his journey of remorse for what he abandoned, and the development of an inner strength that, as the narrative reaches its climax, enables him to face a new and extreme challenge face-on.
 
The Shareg, the third book of the Trilogy, is still being written. The incipient conflict prefigured in The Priestʼs Wife between the combined powers of Church and State against the traditional leaders of the Island community, comes to a head. The shareg, head man of the township, finds himself in the eye of the storm. The resolution brings the story of John Finlay full circle.



 
The three books make up the Isle Fincara Trilogy.
 
Read more at https://brynglasbooks.com/book/the-priests-wife/
 
Some reader reviews

The Priestʼs Wife

 Endorsements from other writers ...
A vividly imagined journey through an alternative Celtic reality which skilfully combines an intriguing narrative with lyrical description and spiritual depth. 
Maggie Hamand, author of Virgin and Child and The Resurrection of the Body
Suspenseful and engaging. A thoroughly good read that challenges the assumptions that hold us back.
Isabel Clarke, author of Madness, Mystery and the Survival of God
 
Reviews from readers who have seen the text ahead of publication ...
 
A tour de force! Poignant and sensitively told, A G Rivett's wide vision and inherent knowing gives birth to a book that expresses deep truth about the significance of our times. A book to encourage those who teeter on the brink of claiming their place within the whole.
Romany Buck, 10 July 2023
 
The Priest's Wife was all that I had hoped for, and more. The isle and the island-life of the community of people so beautifully imagined by A. G. Rivett in The Seaborne, continues to draw me in. Morag is magnificent. Watching her story unfold was a gift. I await the final book in the trilogy with great anticipation.
Shirley Barr, 21 July 2023
 
I received a gift from my daughter of two books – The Seaborne and The Priest's Wife by A.G. Rivett – and was transported into a magical alternative reality. I was captivated by the characters, the landscape, the Celtic spirituality and the thought-provoking situations he portrays.
When I finished The Seaborne I could not imagine that I would be equally engrossed by The Priestʼs Wife but it is also a riveting read. There are some similarities to be drawn with our present troubled and confused times and much food for thought.
I look forward with great anticipation to the third book in the series.
Ann Barr, 29 July 2023
 

The Seaborne

 
Endorsements from other writers ...
A novel of Celtic quantum time that asks us to consider the ways in which we are all born strangers, seaborne foundlings, living between worlds. A parable for our particularly torn times.
Damian Walford Davies
 
A beautiful story, imbued with Celtic themes and a deep spirituality. The story unfurls like a flower coming into bloom.
Don MacGregor, author of Blue Sky God
 
It's 3am and I have been kept up by this book! Beautifully crafted, evocative and a gently gripping storyline that grows as you read. The main character develops into a man whom I felt I really got to know, and made me question how I would manage myself, if something like this happened to me. The images the author has created in my mind make me feel like I am also part of this community. That's quite a skill, and I look forward to the next book.
Jane Duncan Rogers, author of Before I Go: the Essential Guide to Creating a Good End-of-Life Plan
 
 
Reader Reviews …
This book was really easy to read and beautifully written. It cleverly wove a completely believable story into an unbelievable situation. I am not normally a fan of 'fantasy' - this story was convincing and clever and so gentle that I slept beautifully after every read, imagining and dreaming of that misty damp green Celtic landscape with those lovely human characters who didn't have zips and lived such a simple wholesome life. A life that we perhaps in our modern rat race world can only dream of and be transported to in The Seaborne. I have mourned finishing it and can't wait for a sequel.
Amanda, Nant Gwyn Faen Organic Farm, 2 March 2020
 
Quite unlike anything I have read before, I was captured and enraptured from the Prologue through to the Epilogue and I felt deeply changed by it.
Sarah Wilson on Waterstones website
 
I loved this book from the start; have read it a second time, intend reading it once more and look forward eagerly to the sequels. It is so much more than the experience of a man finding himself in a mysterious new culture. It challenges our values and way of life today and while not many of us might find it easy to fit into Dhion's new world, it is immensely attractive. It is redolent of the author's knowledge of and love for Scotland and his own Celtic spirituality. Each re-reading unearths subtle new messages that delight but also challenge.
Amazon customer, reviewed in the UK, 22 October 2022
 
This beautifully written myth speaks to our deep inner wisdom, and calls us to return to the ancient ways of knowing that don’t look to externals for answers. It returns the reader to a deep relationship with the land, the elements and the connection with all that is. It is through these connections that a life can be truly seen. The protagonist is removed from all the distractions of modern life, returned to a time when humans live more simply. The measured pace of unfolding story invites self-reflection. As we walk with Dhion through his self-discovery, we are likely to hear a whisper in the air around us, “Are you living the life you are meant to live?” Highly recommended.
Amazon customer, reviewed in the US, 8 January 2020