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ADVANCE INFORMATION

A New Dawn

Breaks

J. A. Frances

KEY SELLING POINTS

The second in a trilogy of novels following the Baird family through the First and second World War.
Following on from the author’s first novel When Dark Clouds Pass.
Examines social and political life of the working and middle class in Scotland between the wars.

This is the second book in the continuing saga of the Baird family, following the ebbs and flows of its fortunes
through the fears and uncertainties of the interwar years.

The Great War is over, but peace brings little respite to the ongoing enmity felt by the protagonist, Iain Baird,
towards his younger brother. He is determined to establish a relationship with his biological son, Eddie: the
rest of the family, led by Eddie’s formidable grandmother, are resolved to prevent this at any cost.
Set mainly in Scotland, the story alternates between Glasgow and Edinburgh, against a backdrop of industrial
unrest and the threat of radical socialism in the 1920s, followed by the darkening clouds of fascism, fellow
travellers and appeasement in the 1930s.
Iain is heavily involved in the twists and turns of extremist politics, first in the fledgling Communist Party, then
in the Independent Labour Party, before being induced to act as a double agent for Mosley's British Union of
Fascists. He must steer a tricky path, serving two masters, playing off one against the other, if he is to achieve
the status and recognition he craves.

J. A. Frances has since childhood, been fascinated by the impact of the Great War as a watershed in history.
As a schoolteacher he conducted battlefield tours of the Western Front, and in retirement he has used his
knowledge and experience to write historical novels based on the social and political turmoil during and after
the First World War. He lives in Edinburgh.

Comparative title: 9781785890710 When Dark Clouds Pass (April 2016)

Local interest: Scotland

Publication Date: 28th September 2024 £12.99 ISBN: 9781805145080
Thema subject category: FV – Historical fiction
paperback 234 x 156 mm 352 pp Portrait Author location: Edinburgh

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