Josh Holton & Shaun Wilson: Shaped By Cumbria – Discussing ‘Fledgling’ and ‘Malc’s Boy’

Josh Holton was raised on a Cumbrian nature reserve. His novel Fledgling is a story about grief, masculinity, family, and is interwoven with vivid descriptions of British wildlife. It follows the life of Stuart, who is raised on a nature reserve in Cumbria, and his relationship with his father. Stuart is sensitive, poetic and academic and becomes the first in his family to attend university. His father, raised on traditional masculine values, is an ex-convict with a quick temper who finds solace in his job as a caretaker on a nature reserve. When his father becomes terminally ill with cancer Stuart must confront his grief and try to understand the man his father was and the man Stuart has become.

Shaun Wilson grew up in Wigton and his childhood inspired his debut novel Malc’s Boy. His upbringing was shaped by his traditionally masculine father, a prominent publican with a fearsome reputation. More concerned with establishing himself as an artist than making a name for himself in the town’s hierarchical pub scene, Shaun rebels against his father’s expectations. But when Malc is attacked by an old enemy, Shaun is forced to confront his father’s past and escape the life he’s been expected to lead.

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