HE MAY have written 43 books but this is the first work of fiction for David Warwick – and it’s based in rural Hampshire.
The just-published Chorus Endings was partly inspired by the carefree upbringing David enjoyed in the Meon Valley where the novel is set, during the immediate post-war years.
It tells the page-turning tale of Peter, who as a child found adventure round every corner out playing in the countryside with his friends.
Their great hero is an artist living hermit-like on the edge of the forest, Jimmy the Saint. He holds them spellbound with stories of the village’s past.
Forty years later, Peter, now a university lecturer, attempts to track down the reason for Jimmy’s sudden disappearance – with espionage and insanity, homicide and betrayal uncovered.
It took the author (80), himself a former university lecturer, three years to write.
“I have written all my life,” said David, whose other books have been about religion, education and travel, “but I have always wanted to write a novel.”
Chorus Endings, published by Troubador, is £8.99. It is on sale at One Tree Books in Petersfield.