James Runcie is an award-winning film-maker, playwright and literary curator. He is the author of twelve novels that have been translated into twelve languages, including the seven books in the Grantchester Mysteries series. He has been Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, London, and Commissioning Editor for Arts on BBC Radio 4. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives in Scotland. www.jamesruncie.com www.grantchestermysteries.com @james_runcie
James Runcie’s account of losing his wife to MND is vivid, bleak and wonderful… Where Runcie is excellent is in laying bare his own grief, its narcissism and the ‘bizarre freedom’ is gives him not to care anymore… As an instructive examination of how to find hope in the thralls of depair, Tell Me Good Things is a wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement – and it is most definitely not just for its writer * SUNDAY TIMES * A tender memoir of the challenges of bereavement ... I closed this book wishing I’d met her – but feeling that I almost had * DAILY TELEGRAPH * In this beautifully written memoir, Runcie combines a glorious celebration of their love with an unsparing account of Marilyn’s swift decline, and the harsh reality of grief * DAILY MAIL * Tender, heart-breaking and funny by turns. Marilyn’s vibrant character leaps off the page * CHURCH TIMES * A touchingly honest and tender memoir ... Runcie generously fulfils the promise of his title … because his memoir is full of good things: stories that reveal Imrie’s sharp intelligence, her bold fashion sense, her glee at pricking the bubble of pretension * THE TIMES * Praise for James Runcie: ‘Runcie has the gift of the born storyteller * DAILY MAIL * Runcie has an expert imagination -- HILARY MANTEL Tremendous: shrewd, compelling and full of insight -- WILLIAM BOYD A triumph of inspired imagination -- FINANCIAL TIMES