Join us for an evening with author and ITV news journalist Claire McGlasson as she talks about her novel The Misadventures of Margaret Finch, published in paperback this April.

Blackpool, 1938. Miss Margaret Finch – a rather demure young woman – has just begun work in a position that relies on her discretion and powers of observation. Then, her path is crossed by the disgraced Rector of Stiffkey (aka Harold Davidson), who is the subject of a national scandal.

Margaret is determined to discover the truth behind the headlines: is Davidson a maligned hero or an exploiter of the vulnerable? But her own troubles are never far away, and Margaret’s fear that history is about to repeat itself means she needs to uncover that truth urgently.

This deeply evocative novel ripples with the tension of a country not yet able to countenance the devastation of another war. Margaret walks us along the promenade, peeks into the baths and even dares a trip on the love boat in this, her first seaside summer season, on a path more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.

Claire McGlasson’s debut novel, The Rapture, inspired by the true story of an Edwardian cult of women, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year and shortlisted for The London Magazine Prize for Outstanding Literary Fiction. The Misadventures of Margaret Finch was published in hard back in April 2023.

We look forward to welcoming Claire to Oswestry to celebrate the paperback publication of this standout novel with the perfect 1930’s heroine!


‘Original, intelligent and beautifully written. . . alive with period detail.’
DAILY MAIL

‘A gem of a book.’
ELODIE HARPER, THE WOLF DEN TRILOGY

‘Such a joy.’
JO BROWNING WROE, A TERRIBLE KINDNESS

‘Utterly transporting, piercingly honest and intimate.’
INGRID PERSAUD, LOVE AFTER LOVE

Tickets: £10 (Admits One and includes a signed copy of The Misadventures of Margaret Finch).

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