James Runcie – författare

_______________'If you love the TV series Grantchester, don’t miss this captivating prequel. It reveals the backstory of how a young Sidney Chambers, carefree in London just before the Second World War, came to be the charming crime-fighting clergyman we know today' - Yours'Charming, clever and warm: perfect comfort food for the soul' - Joanne Harris, Daily Telegraph'An engaging and witty prequel' - Washington Post'Hugely enjoyable … Some of the finest writing I have ever read about the sorrow and the pity of war' - Herald_______________The captivating prequel to the treasured Grantchester series follows the life, loves and losses of a young Sidney Chambers in post-war LondonIt is 1938, and eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing the quickstep with Amanda Kendall at her brother Robert’s birthday party at the Caledonian Club. No one can believe, on this golden evening, that there could ever be another war. Returning to London seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best friend on the battlefields of Italy. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like the rest of the world – and Sidney, carrying a terrible, secret guilt, must decide what to do with the rest of his life. But he has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent. To the incredulity of his family and the derision of his friends – the irrepressible actor Freddie, and the beautiful, spiky Amanda – Sidney must now negotiate his path to God: the course of which, much like true love, never runs smooth. The touching, engaging and surprising origin story of the Grantchester Mysteries’s beloved Archdeacon, Sidney Chambers, The Road to Grantchester will delight new and old fans alike.

'Delightful ... The ongoing plots bind the stories, yet each in themselves is precise ... They are a joy' - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday'All manner of nostalgic delights. Perfect reading for a sunny English garden' - Kate Saunders, Independent'The author knows the location well and has caught its dour charm and great art treasures to perfection' - Country Life_______________Loveable full-time priest and part-time detective Canon Sidney Chambers is back, continuing his investigations. A mysterious stranger seeks sanctuary in Grantchester’s church; a shooting weekend in the country has a sinister end; a friend receives poison pen letters; a piano falls on a musician’s head; a school cricket match has an explosive finish; and on a holiday in Italy, Sidney is accused of stealing a priceless painting. On the home front, his new curate has become irritatingly popular with the parish and his daughter is starting to walk and talk.

'There is no reason at all why this series should not run and run and why Sidney Chambers should not occupy the same place in the pantheon as Miss Marple or Poirot' - Catholic Herald'Perfect reading for a sunny English garden' - Kate Saunders, The Times'There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries' - Barry Forshaw, Independent_______________The sixth book in James Runcie's much-loved series, adapted for ITV’s Grantchester which stars James Norton as Sidney Chambers. Perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton.Life is never straightforward when you’re a full-time priest and part-time detective. So when a walk in a bluebell wood takes an unexpected turn, Archdeacon Sidney Chambers finds himself plunged into another murder investigation: who would want to kill a harmless old hippy - and why was the man foraging for poisonous plants? Sidney’s findings soon lead him into sunny Granchester’s dark underworld, where love is free and motives are shady. But his investigation, together with his continual inquiry into the divine mysteries of life, love and family, is blown apart by a devastating loss that will change his world forever.

A wonderfully inventive and entertaining journey through time and the history of chocolate!The Discovery of Chocolate is a fabulous tale, as rich and exotic as the gorgeous creation that Diego de Godoy first discovers when he arrives in Mexico with Cortes and his conquistadors.Diego is seeking his fortune in the New World. What he finds is love, and chocolate, and an elixir of life. Separated from his lover, he must wander the world, and the centuries, in search of the fulfilment that he first knew in Mexico.In a series of dramatic episodes that are evocative, witty and thought-provoking, from revolutionary Paris to Freud’s Vienna, Fry’s Bristol and Hershey’s Pittsburgh, Diego and his ever-faithful greyhound, Pedro, seek the perfection of chocolate and the meaning of life.

From the author of THE DISCOVERY OF CHOCOLATE – a romantic historical quest set in Renaissance Florence and China surrounding the search for ultramarine.THE COLOUR OF HEAVEN is a fictional account of a young man who travelled to what are now Afghanistan and China to discover lapis lazuli, the precious stone that when turned into ultramarine changed the history of painting – allowing artists to abandon gold as a background and open up depth, landscape and perspective with the most beautiful shade of blue.Along the way, Paolo suffers the torments of unfulfilled love before he returns to his anxious family in Venice, where he also plays a part in the early development of lenses and spectacles!

Grantchester Mysteries 1_______________'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman_______________Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITVSidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot.Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty..._______________'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

Grantchester Mysteries 2_______________'Runcie is emerging as Grantchester’s answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own: civilized entertainment, with dog-collars' - Spectator'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian'Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please!' - Leslie Geddes Brown,Country Life_______________Grantchester is now a major, prime-time six-part series for ITV1955. Canon Sidney Chambers, loveable priest and part-time detective, is back. Accompanied by his faithful Labrador, Dickens, and the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel, a case of arson at a glamour photographer's studio and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler.Alongside his sleuthing, Sidney has other problems. Can he decide between his dear friend, the glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, the beguiling German widow? To make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up._______________'The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content' - Arifa Akbar, Independent'It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably … He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail

'There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries' - Barry Forshaw, Independent'Gentle, often funny and undeniably charming' - Readers Digest'We should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail_______________It is the 1960s and Canon Sidney Chambers is enjoying his first year of married life with his German bride Hildegard. But life in Grantchester rarely stays quiet for long.Our favourite clerical detective soon attempts to stop a serial killer who has a grievance against the clergy; investigates the disappearance of a famous painting after a distracting display of nudity by a French girl in an art gallery; uncovers the fact that an ‘accidental’ drowning on a film shoot may not have been so accidental after all; and discovers the reasons behind the theft of a baby from a hospital in the run-up to Christmas, 1963. In the meantime, Sidney wrestles with the problem of evil, attempts to fulfil the demands of Dickens, his faithful Labrador, and contemplates, as always, the nature of love. The third in ‘The Grantchester Mysteries’ series – six detective novels spanning thirty years of British history – these four longer stories are guaranteed to delight the many fans of Canon Sidney Chambers.

'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimms' - Guardian'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman_______________Sidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot.Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty..._______________'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

'Grantchester’s answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own' - Spectator'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimms' - Guardian'Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please!' - Leslie Geddes Brown,Country Life_______________1955. Canon Sidney Chambers, loveable priest and part-time detective, is back. Accompanied by his faithful Labrador, Dickens, and the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel, a case of arson at a glamour photographer's studio and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler.Alongside his sleuthing, Sidney has other problems. Can he decide between his dear friend, the glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, the beguiling German widow? To make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up._______________'The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content' - Arifa Akbar, Independent'It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably … He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail

'Runcie has honed his style of light, escapist, small-town crime stories to something approaching perfection' - Herald'Those who would like an engaging summer read should pack James Runcie’s latest tale of clerical detection, Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation' - Alexander McCall Smith, Observer'There is no reason at all why this series should not run and run and why Sidney Chambers should not occupy the same place in the pantheon as Miss Marple or Poirot' - Catholic Herald_______________Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is beginning to think that the life of a full-time priest (and part-time detective) is not easy. So when a bewitching divorcee in a mink coat interrupts Sidney’s family lunch asking him to help locate her missing son, he hopes it will be an open and shut case.The last thing he expects is to be dragged into the mysterious workings of a sinister cult, or to find himself tangled up in another murder investigation. But, as always, the village of Grantchester is not as peaceful as it seems…From the theft of an heirloom to an ominous case of blackmail, Sidney is once again rushed off his feet in this fifth instalment in The Grantchester Mysteries series.

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR_______________'A masterpiece' SCOTSMAN'A wise, refreshing novel ... Runcie has an expert imagination' HILARY MANTEL‘A masterclass in writing about the power of music and grief’ THE TIMES, 100 best books for summer 2022_______________Love and Death.Grief and Joy.Music that lasts forever.Leipzig, 1726. Eleven-year-old Stefan Silbermann has just lost his mother. Sent to Leipzig to train as a singer in the St Thomas Church choir, he is rescued from his homesickness and grief by the Cantor: Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Stefan is brought into the Bach household as an apprentice - until a devastating loss brings his period of sanctuary to a close. Something is happening, though. In the depths of his loss, the Cantor is writing a new work. As Stefan watches the work rehearsed, he realises he is witness to the creation of one of the most extraordinary pieces of music that has ever been written._______________‘Brilliant ... Readers will be enriched by this novel and its glimpse at genius’ The Times, Historical Fiction of the Month‘Warmly, reverently, Runcie brings alive what it is like to take part, for the very first time, in one of the most extraordinary pieces of music ever written’ Daily Telegraph_______________

‘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_______________A memoir of a husband's grief, and an unforgettable portrait of a marriage; a profound examination of sorrow, and a great celebration of love - by the Sunday Times-bestselling author James RuncieJames Runcie’s wife Marilyn Imrie died in August 2020. Their thirty-five year marriage had been miraculously happy – until, in the last two years of Marilyn’s life, she descended into the pain and humiliation of motor neurone disease.In the wake of her death, Runcie stumbled in the dark. How do you make sense of the decline and death of the most alive person you have ever met? And how do you go about building a life worth living in their absence?In Tell Me Good Things, Runcie tells the story of Marilyn’s illness and death – in all its moments of tragedy, rage, farce and surrealness – while painting a vivid portrait of her life and their marriage: a partnership defined by a shared love of beauty, conviviality and storytelling. And during that first year of loss, he awakens to the strange paradox of grief: that the way to survive Marilyn's death is to understand how very good she was at living. Tender, funny, profound and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death – and love beyond the grave.‘A touchingly honest and tender memoir' The Times ‘A wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement’ Sunday Times