Editorial Responses

Jane’s novel, The Dream of Lorn in the Forest Tegoth, which she had spent three years writing, was shown to various publishing houses in the years following her death.

All praised the writing, noting its high quality, saying how much they enjoyed reading it, but took the view that, as no follow-up novel could be assured, it would not be worth their while spending money on publishing it.

Meanwhile, over the years, editorial approaches were made to us to allow extracts from the Diary to be published in various newspapers, newsletters and magazines. We agreed to all of these.

The years went by and we got on with our lives, responding to the occasional request for diary extracts to be used or quoted in academic publications. Jane’s diary was used in hospice work and had been known to give comfort to the terminally ill.

A re-read of the novel recently – in this era of Game of Thrones and a forest-like pandemic – made us think it deserves publication.

As none of the family are getting any younger, we have decided on creating this website so that it may be a memorial to her talent and a retrospective celebration for her family and friends. We believe that others may enjoy reading Jane’s story and gain something from reading her often thought-provoking and inspiring words.

We hope to have the novel – with its strong narrative, great characters, beguiling lyricism, sense of mystery, lively set-pieces and ongoing suspense – published in due course.  We wish the same for her poems, her short stories and the diary itself.