Jane’s first novel “The Third Bridge” spans 50 years in the dramatic lives of three friends, told from the perspective of Sian, the main character. One of the three, Anna, is Jewish and has to struggle against anti- Semitism whilst Sian and Pearl fight equally hard against the British class system and the restrictive mores of their parents. The story deals with such difficult subjects such as abortion, substance misuse and bereavement as the lives and loves of the three women shift between South Wales, Sicily, Israel and London, as well as the all-consuming and destructive love Sian has for Hal, a married man of questionable moral integrity.
The bridge over the River Usk is significant throughout the book denoting stages of the girls’ development from childhood to middle age. ‘The Third Bridge’ is a metaphor for the third age when all three friends, in their different ways, find acceptance of their own mortality.
“My background is that of a practising consultant psychologist specialising in child mental health and substance misuse. The impetus to write this novel came mainly from poignant memories of my own childhood experiences in South Wales during the 1950s and 1960sas well as my clinical work over the decades with adults and children.
“The main female characters are an amalgam of many people I have encountered along life’s journey. My ambition has always been to write a novel about the transitions and personal struggles of ordinary people reflected by a particular decade. Reading has always been one of my greatest hobbies and a means of relaxation.”
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