The parallels between the vivid and strikingly written novels of Scotland’s Denise Mina and her distinctive predecessor P.M. Hubbard lie in both writers’ remarkable use of language, burnished to a sheen that propels their work into territory well above simple genre imperatives. Mina’s prize-winning The End of the Wasp Season is a signature book, as is Hubbard’s taut novel The Tower.
From the church of St Udan's rises The Tower, threatening collapse unless a large sum can be raised to repair it. In its shadow, the brooding, macabre figure of Old Liberty, fire-and-brimstone vicar, rages against robust and clever George Hardcastle, humanist and self-styled 'antichrist', while between them wavers diminutive enchanting Mary Garstin, wearing her wealth and position uneasily Happening upon this tiny hamlet where nothing is quite what it seems, John Smith is held in thrall by the elusive charm of Cynthia Hardcastle - who plays Shakespearean games with her father, and crouches on tree stumps in the dark of night - and by a premonition of disaster.
Praised by critics for his clean prose style, characterization, and the strong sense of place in his novels, Philip Maitland Hubbard was born in Reading, in Berkshire and brought up in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. He was educated at Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for English verse in 1933. From 1934 until its disbandment in 1947 he served with the Indian Civil service. On his return to England he worked for the British Council, eventually retiring to work as a freelance writer. He contributed to a number of publications, including Punch, and wrote 16 novels for adults as well as two children's books. He lived in Dorset and Scotland, and many of his novels draw on his interest in and knowledge of rural pursuits and folk religion.
