The Guardian has published a list of the ‘top ten books about the River Thames’, compiled by Caroline Crampton, author of The Way to the Sea. ‘Downstream is a delightful compendium of watery facts and documents the changing physical relationship we have with the river’. Continue reading
Three years after the closure of Holloway Prison, Peabody (who now own the site) say they are committed to a Women’s Building – which campaigners have been demanding ever since the prison closed. Consultations have been held in the former visitors’ centre, as well as tours of some of the site. The gardens… Continue reading
In 1952 Pat Seares, a ‘housewife from London’, was jailed at Holloway Prison because she’d shouted protests after a showing of Rommel the Desert Fox at the Leicester Square Odeon. The film told the story of the Nazi general, and after it had been shown Pat stood up and cried, ‘Do not go to see… Continue reading
Bad Girls has been longlisted for The Orwell Prize, the UK’s ‘most prestigious’ prize for political writing. Four prizes are awarded, for work which comes closest to George Orwell’s ambition ‘to make political writing into art’. I’m thrilled that the story of Holloway Prison has been recognised as political, and that it has been chosen… Continue reading
Filmmaker Anne-Sophie Gomez has made a series of short thematic videos about swimming pools in art. In her latest, Soyez Synchro!, she takes a look at synchronized swimming, which features an appearance by Agnes Beckwith and Daisy Belle. It includes some beautiful archive shots of synchronized swimming routines. Watch the full video here. Continue reading
The London Review of Books has covered Bad Girls in its latest edition, providing a potted history of HMP Holloway. Continue reading
Women at the Kenwood Ladies Pond in the 1920s, copyright John Neal. Burgh House in Hampstead is hosting an exhibition The Ponds: Photos from the Hit Documentary, featuring film stills, behind-the-scene moments and archive images from the wildly successful film The Ponds. John Neal, whose great grandfather Walter May was the first attendant at the… Continue reading
Peabody has acquired the site of HMP Holloway Prison and has announced its intention to build 1000 homes, of which 60 percent will be ‘genuinely affordable’. Their aim is to create ‘a high quality and inclusive new neighbourhood’ on the 10 acre site, which once housed the nation’s most infamous prison for women. The plans… Continue reading
Family Likeness features in a series of book cover rocks to be displayed during The Care Experienced Conference at Liverpool Hope University on April 26th. The rocks were painted by @PoisonPinkDaisy, and include mum’s books Shadow Baby and How to Measure a Cow and dad’s book Relative Strangers. The conference will debate the care system… Continue reading
The Isle of Thanet News has featured the Daisy Belle event at the Broadstairs Literary Festival, where I’ll be talking about champion Victorian swimmers and their links to the Kent coast. The event raises funds for the Oasis Domestic Abuse Service. Read more here Continue reading
I’m thrilled to be starting work at the magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, offering bespoke writing advice to students and staff. This is a new partnership between the RLF, the V&A and the Science Museum. The RLF Fellowship scheme was launched 20 years ago, to place established writers… Continue reading
Last May I was lucky enough to swim with seals in the Scilly Isles, thanks to a trip organised by VisitIslesofScilly.com and Scilly Seal Snorkelling. The islands are home to around 700 Atlantic grey seals, and we provided their evening entertainment. A shortened travel feature appears in the Mail on Sunday. Continue reading
The Ponds: Still Waters Run Deep follows the swimmers of Hampstead Heath over the course of a year. It’s a joyous film that really captures the spirit of pond swimming, at a place where people having been enjoying the waters since the early 1800s. Watch a trailer here. The film, directed and produced by Patrick… Continue reading
An interview in the Ham & High about the women who inspired Daisy Belle, ‘the story of a courageous Victorian swimmer, who races down the Thames, floats in a whale tank, and tries to swim across New York harbour.’ Continue reading
Hornsey Road Baths in Islington, north London, were once known far and wide for staging performances by international swimming champions, which was why I decided to use the baths as a setting in Daisy Belle. They opened in 1892 and famous performers included Jules Gautier And Annette Kellerman I describe some of their history in… Continue reading
‘Set in a moment of the 19th century when showbusiness fell in love with swimming, young Daisy Belle’s aptitude for the water is spotted early by her father, who stages displays of ‘natation’… Based on the life of the largely forgotten Agnes Beckwith, this is an excellent addition to the literature of swimming and its… Continue reading
The hearse arrives at City of London Cemetery November 22, 2018 Edith Thompson, executed at Holloway Prison in 1923 for a crime she didn’t commit, was today reburied at her family’s plot in the City of London Cemetery. Father Brian Creake awaits Edith’s coffin at the door to the church Edith was hanged after… Continue reading
The Ham & High covers the Unbound Courageous Women bookshop tour. Continue reading
Bad Girls has been released as an audio book by ISIS Audio Books, narrated by Annie Aldington. Continue reading
‘ Daisy Belle is a love letter to a forgotten golden age of swimming…Davies has a beautiful turn of phrase. To read her descriptions of water and its locations is transportive – here, you can smell the piping, hear the echo over shiny tiles and feel the warmth of the Lambeth baths; there, feel the… Continue reading
The Independent Monitor, the magazine for the Association of Independent Monitoring Boards in prisons, has reviewed Bad Girls in its October issue. ‘Caitlin Davies sets out a compelling study into the women who were held in Holloway, using individual case studies to highlight sometimes appalling miscarriages of justice and vividly illustrate what life was like… Continue reading
The award winning author Sheena Wilkinson, described by the Irish Times as ‘one of our foremost writers for young people’, has written a review of Bad Girls for the Writers Review. ‘The book raises important questions about what constitutes crime and punishment and the extent to which this is determined by changing social mores…It is… Continue reading
In 1927, Mercedes Gleitze became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. Now her daughter Doloranda Pember has written the first biography of this incredible swimmer. I first met Doloranda when I interviewed her for Downstream, and can’t wait to read In the Wake of Mercedes Gleitze, published by The History Press on… Continue reading
Bad Girls will be published in paperback on February 21st, 2019, with a brand new cover! Continue reading
This month’s Outdoor Swimmer Magazine features Daisy Belle and a chat with Ella Foote about the women and ponds that inspired the novel. ‘Fans of the film The Greatest Showman may enjoy the read as there are similarities: the desire for success, money and the drive to perform. Daisy Belle has the passion, greed and… Continue reading
The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest online news site, has chosen Bad Girls as one of five new books that ‘upend traditional views about women’. ‘The bad girls of the title are women who were jailed for drunkenness, prostitution, being suffragettes, murder, theft, performing abortions – indeed the full monty of activities that society frowns on…This… Continue reading
I joined the Portobello Book Blog to answer questions about Daisy Belle and the writing life and Laura Morningstar for a Meet the Author Q&A Continue reading
The #RandomThingsTours has resulted in some wonderful reviews for Daisy Belle: ‘I raced through the book almost as fast as Daisy propels herself through the water. I was totally mesmerized…..Beautifully written, the world of Victorian sportsmanship comes alive so that it’s almost as if you were actually doggy-paddling alongside as Daisy Belle goes swimming in… Continue reading
Daisy Belle was inspired by two forgotten Victorian champions – Agnes Beckwith and Annie Luker. Here’s a guest post on Novel Deelights. Continue reading
Daisy Belle is a ‘must read’ for September on Bookchoice. It is one of eight featured books, offered as both an e-book and audio book. So now you can listen to Daisy Belle and get swept away in her swimming story… Continue reading