The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On the podcast this week, Emily Rhodes, who has written this month’s Book Club essay about the book, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. 

The Beginning of Spring is a historical novel set in Moscow a few years before the Russian Revolution as political tensions mount. The story starts with the sudden unexplained departure of Frank Reid’s wife, Nellie. She boards a train heading west, leaving her husband and children behind. Frank moved to Moscow with his family to run his father’s print business. Unlike his rambunctious Russian neighbours, Frank is a repressed but honourable English gentleman — a man of reason. Frank is left to look after three small children, and, for him, the ensuing days are full of misadventure, poignancy, and wonder. This intriguing story, which doesn’t follow conventional plot lines, is set against the background of the great thaw in Moscow which heralds the arrival of spring.

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald is published by HarperCollins at £9.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.99); 978-0-00-654370-1. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780006543701/beginning-of-spring?vc=CT405

Emily Rhodes is a writer and journalist, whose features and reviews have appeared in publications including the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Guardian, and the TLS.

Sarah Meyrick is a novelist. Her latest novel is Joy and Felicity (Sacristy Press, 2021). 

The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature: https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk

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Book Club Podcast: The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald

This week, Madeleine Davies and Ed Thornton talk about the latest Statics for Mission which show the average C of E church has just three children attending. And they ask whether social media can help stem the decline in church attendance. Plus, Ed Thornton speaks to Mike McGargue, aka "Science Mike" about his new book, Finding God in the Waves, which tells the story of his dramatic loss of faith, and how he found it again through studying science.

Episode 31 - why are so few children in church? Can social media help? Plus, Mike McHargue interview

Guy Stagg spent 10 months walking from Canterbury to Jerusalem, following medieval pilgrim paths across 5,500 km. 

He began the journey after several years of mental illness, hoping that the walk would heal him. A non-believer, he wanted to understand religion by taking part in its rituals.

The Crossway, published by Picador, is an account of his journey, a mix of travel and memoir, history and current affairs.

Guy came into Church Times offices to talk about his extraordinary journey. The Crossway is available to buy from the Church House Bookshop.

Subscribe to the Church Times Podcast on iTunes

The Crossway - writer Guy Stagg on his 10-month walk from Canterbury to Jerusalem

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Book Club Podcast: The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald

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