A BOOK of short stories by Bishops Castle writer Alix Nathan has gone on sale following its launch at Yarborough House, Bishops Castle on March 22. His Last Fire is published by Parthian Books and comes with a cover endorsement by Hilary Mantel. She praises the book as 'The best kind of historical fiction (where) the past is freshly and energetically re-imagined by Alix Nathan's intricate and interweaving tales." Set in the closing years of the 18th century, a cavalcade of labourers, actors, servant girls, arsonists and others and are brought to life from the author's study of annual registers and chronicles of the time. Real people are put into imaginary situations, or sometimes it's the other way round, with a historical event experienced by a made up character. Speaking at the book launch Richard Davies from Parthian Books said that Alix Nathan was at the start of an exciting career and with a novel due to be published in 2014 and another on the way there was "no stopping her".

His Last Fire is on sale at Yarborough House book shop in Bishops Castle, priced at £8.99.