Tag Archives: Supermarine

October 7, 2013 · 1:58 pm

Ancasta, a review of the novel by Diana Jackson

The Friends of Weston Shore, Southampton have written this review of Ancasta Guide me Swiftly Home. I’ll be down at West Quay Waterstones Southampton this Saturday 12th between 11am and 1 pm. Please come and say hello and many thanks for this wonderful review!

westonshore's avatarFriends of Weston Shore

It is widely believed that when the Roman Empire ruled these lands, an area near or on what is now known as Bitterne Manor was a settlement called Clausentum.  Whilst this belief about Clausentum and its location is not universally upheld, what is clear is that there was a Roman settlement in this area. One of the priceless treasures that reveals this truth is an inscription from those times, a dedication to the goddess Ancasta, the deity associated with the River Itchen.

The derivation of the name Ancasta, it is speculated, maybe from an older word for swift.  With the name of the goddess as the title for her new novel, Diana Jackson continues chronicling the lives of some of her characters from her previous book Riduna.  With the hand of time moving on relentlessly in her narrative, she takes us along for the ride in seeing…

View original post 375 more words

Leave a comment

Filed under Ancasta, Book reviews, Events, Southampton

Tagged as , , , , ,

September 26, 2013 · 11:45 am

Interview with guest author Diana Jackson

To mark the week up to a series of live events, the first of which being at Waterstones in Hitchin on Thursday 3rd October where I’ll be giving a talk, take part in a discussion and be available to sign copies of Ancasta (details in my last blog post) here is a post where I was interviewed online by TME Walsh earlier in the year. Thanks Tania. I enjoyed being your guest.

tmewalsh's avatarT. M. E. WALSH

Today I have the pleasure in posting an interview conducted recently with author Diana Jackson.

Here she talks about her book ‘Ancasta: Guide me Swiftly Home’, the sequel to ‘Riduna’, the research involved and what inspired her to write in specific time periods.

1) Please tell us about your book, Ancasta: Guide me Swiftly Home.

Ancasta takes the family from Riduna my first novel, on to the next generation. The novel begins in Woolston, Southampton in 1910 and takes us through the Great War, but it’s an unusual story. We witness first-hand the early flight of flying boats which changed the lives and economy of the local people, especially the women whose perspective of life is altered forever. Ancasta means ‘The Swift One,’ and is allegedly the Anglo Roman Goddess of the River Itchen. There is a sense of prayer through the ages as my characters, like the Roman’s before them, looked out…

View original post 835 more words

Leave a comment

Filed under Ancasta, Blogs, Events, Schneider Trophy, Supermarine, Talks

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

November 8, 2012 · 11:25 am

Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home now available on Kindle worldwide! 08/11/2012

Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home

This is the second novel in The Riduna Series by Diana Jackson

NOW AVAILABLE AS A PAPERBACK AND ON KINDLE WORLDWIDE~ 7th November 2012!

SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS

Local historian in the history of aviation in the Southampton area,

Colin van Geffen writes:

“In Ancasta, against the background of the new 20th century, we are re-introduced to the progress of life for the next generation from Riduna, Diana Jackson’s first novel, of the growing Newton family, now living at Woolston, near Southampton on the south coast of England. The author succeeds in jolting the reader’s emotions to give a clear understanding of how things were for so many ‘ordinary’ people in those dark days of wartime. No families were spared the loss or sacrifice of a loved one, but life had to go on.”

Diana writes:

Why is the novel called Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home?

The River Itchen, important in Roman Times when Southampton was already a strategic port, was blessed by the Goddess Ancasta whom the Romans prayed to for the swift and safe return of their vessels.

Will each member of the family return safely from the Great War which takes Harriet’s sons as far away as Turkey and India?

Will the roles of women, especially Harriet and her headstrong daughter Sarah, empowered by the daunting responsibility of their loved ones so far away, change their lives forever?

Will the island of Riduna, so deep in Harriet’s soul continue to caste its magic over Sarah too?

Ancasta tells the story of Harriet’s family from 1910 to 1920 as it weaves tightly through this period in Woolston’s history, with the birth of Supermarine, early flying boat production and The Schneider Trophy, though the excitement of this new age in flight is marred by the destruction of The Great War.

Ancasta is available or can be ordered through any good bookshop or can be bought online in the UK:

AMAZON paperback                     AMAZON ~ Kindle version                  WATERSTONES ~on line

or in the rest of the world:

AMAZON USA                    AMAZON INDIA                    AMAZON FRANCE                      AMAZON GERMANY

Check out book reviews on Amazon UK from people who attended one of my face to face events on the

Ancasta Guide me Swiftly Home tab on this blog

Leave a comment

Filed under Ancasta, Book reviews, Events

Tagged as , , , , , ,