Starburst

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Authors: Robin Pilcher

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STARBURST
 
ALSO BY ROBIN PILCHER
 

An Ocean Apart

Starting Over

A Risk Worth Taking

STARBURST
 
Robin Pilcher
 

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

 

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

 

STARBURST
. Copyright © 2007 by Robin Pilcher. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

 

www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.stmartins.com

 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

 

Pilcher, Robin.
Starburst / Robin Pilcher.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-4299-1791-9
1. Edinburgh International Festival—Fiction. 2. Edinburgh (Scotland)—Fiction. 3. Women violinists—Fiction. 4. Women comediennes—Fiction.
5. Photographers—Fiction. 6. Pyrotechnists—Fiction. I. Title.

 

PR6066.I376 S73 2007
823'.914—dc22

 

2007020258

 

This book is dedicated to the memories of

 

JOANNA and HENRIETTA MACRAE

 

Who held the Big Umbrella

While Rowena played her fiddle

On the castle esplanade

Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 

T
here are many aspects of this book that had never been covered by my own experiences, so I had to rely on quite lengthy research to make it seem as authentic as possible. I am therefore indebted to the following people:

Wilf Scott, MVO, Master Pyrotechnic, of Pyrovision

Owen O’Leary of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Susie Burnet of the Edinburgh International Festival

Alistair Rae of Hartlepool Borough Council

Christine Beroff of Le Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris

Harry Bell of Tern Television

Sergeant Wilson Gove of Tayside Police, Traffic Division

Roddie Urquhart of A& WM Urquhart, WS

Amanda Bower of the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Edinburgh

Sarah Rymer, concert violinist

Graham Nicholson for his knowledge of Edinburgh

Anna Wemyss for her knowledge of the Underbelly

Jamie and Sarah Jauncey for brainstorming Dessuin with me.

 

 

 

Also my daughter, Alice, who helped me work on the younger characters in the book, and my daughter-in-law, Abi, who gave me valuable assistance with the Edinburgh vernacular.

 
 

W
alking around Edinburgh in late July, you’ll likely feel the first vibrations of the earthquake that is festival time, which shakes the city throughout August and into September. You may hear reference to an “Edinburgh Festival,” but this is really an umbrella term for six separate festivals all taking place around the same time.

The best-known and oldest of these is the Edinburgh International Festival. The festival was founded in 1947, when Europe was recovering from World War II. Festival founders believed that some event was needed to draw the continent together and “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit.”

In recent years, the festival has drawn as many as 400,000 people to Edinburgh, with acts by world-renowned music, opera, theater, and dance performers, filling all the major venues in the city.

Edinburgh festival time can fill almost any artistic need…. Edinburgh in August is an experience you are unlikely to forget!

 


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