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London. 1965. It is not all wonder and delight. Serious, violet-eyed nineteen-year-old Lydia is scared of love and passion, handicapped by the secrets and trauma of her childhood on the Solway Firth. But she is ready for real life to begin.
About the author
Kirsteen Stewart was born in 1941, child of a ruined castle in the Highlands, which was sold after the assassination of her father in Sarawak in 1949, during the ceremonies to welcome him as the new Governor. She returns regularly to Argyll.
She got a first in History at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and joined the civil service via the competitive entrance exam in the early 60s - the period described in her novel. During her first marriage to a diplomat she Iived in Tito's Yugoslavia, in Jordan during the 1973 Palestinian/Israeli war, in Iraq until thrown out by Saddam Hussein and in the world of sheikhs and sheikhas in Abu Dhabi.
Back in London, married a second time, she has spent 20 years working on social innovation projects in the East End, at organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and on a project in Bosnia using arts for post-conflict reconciliation; she travels there regularly.
Break These Chains is her first novel.
Summary
London. 1965. It is not all wonder and delight. Serious, violet-eyed nineteen-year-old Lydia is scared of love and passion, handicapped by the secrets and trauma of her childhood on the Solway Firth. But she is ready for real life to begin.
