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A case of Sunniside up AT one end of the bitter-cold front street, squalls lashing the windows and wind of the route one variety, stood a pub called the Comedian, re-branded by a former landlord who was also a popular workmen s club entertainer. A visitor might be forgiven, nonetheless, for supposing that the real comedian was the person who named the ridge-top village Sunniside. And last shivering Sunday, they said, was the nicest day they d had for ages. Sunniside is on a hill in south-west Durham, two miles and several hundred feet above Crook and at least two top coats colder. Nor should it be confused with the Sunniside which is west of Gateshead, though doubtless it is, all the time.
Jennifer Robson has always been obsessed with history.
The daughter of a history professor, Robson holds a strong academic background herself and has ended up channeling her love for the past into writing historical fiction. Her sixth and latest,
Our Darkest Night, hits shelves Tuesday.
The novel is set in Venice in the autumn of 1943, and it follows young Jewish woman Antonine Mazin as she leaves her home city for the countryside with Nico Geradi, a Christian farmer who had plans to enter the priesthood. He pledges to keep Nina safe, agreeing to pose as a married couple to protect Nina from the suspicious Nazi officers that dog their every step.