Shipshape & Bristol fashion
Crime Fest is an annual conference held in Bristol, England.
This Con has been running for eight years now, although it actually started a couple of years earlier, in 2006, when the indefatigable Adrian Muller had the idea of running a Left Coast Crime on the left coast of, well, England.
This year’s guests included one of the true queens of crime, Maj Sjöwall, who with her husband Per Wahloo changed the face of crime during the decade that started in 1965. Their series of ten linked novels, beginning with Roseanna, reads as fresh today as when it was published, with gritty reality mingled with three dimensional characters and deliciously dark humor.
And to have her interviewed by Lee Child was a meeting of the generations.
Of course, one great thing about Crime Fest is that it is in Bristol, a great place to explore not just this side of Britain, but the mind of one of its builders, Isembard Kingdom Brunel. One can follow the projects of this extraordinary Victorian around the country, from the Clifton bridge to the Thames tunnel. Ah, if only he’d lived a bit later, and I could introduce him to Mary Russell…
I read the Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahloo mysteries in the 70’s and loved them – I was sorry when the series ended. I was glad to hear that they’d been re-issued, and may now have to read them all over again! Glad that you are having a good time, wish I was there!
Oh, how I’d love to be there! And being somewhat provincial in my readings, I now have a whole new series to pursue! Thank you. 🙂
A recommendation from you about these authors is good enough for me! Will definitely look for their books! I’m so envious of your ‘adventures’ and wish I were there too!
Thanks Laurie for the armchair vacation. It is awesome that you’re having a jolly good time!
The last place I encountered Brunel was in the pages of (of all things!) a graphic novel, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. A top-notch engineer and designer, even if he did have something of a fixation on top hats.