A NEW novel about Victorian Launceston is set to illustrate the story of the old railway network and the people who once lived and worked there.

As a child, author Jane Nancarrow lived on the banks of the railway track at Tredydan Road, Launceston, so trains were a part of daily life, whether it was those from London with carriages crammed with holiday makers, noisy goods trains, or trucks bringing cattle into Launceston for the weekly market.

In those days, Tredydan Road was full of men who worked on the railway. Jane’s next door neighbour, Tom Oke, was an engine driver, and further up the road, Arthur Wills would tell interesting tales of his father’s days in the signal box at Launceston Station.

It is now 50 years since the last train pulled out of Launceston for Egloskerry, and like so many locals, Jane and many members of her family went on that final train journey to Egloskerry, and walked back along the road, brimming with emotion.

Next week sees the launch of Jane’s third novel, Through Minty Meadows, set in the late 1800’s in Launceston and Egloskerry, when the navvies were building the original railway line along the beautiful Kensey valley.

The peaceful lives of Mary Jane Jenkin and the simple country folk living in the parish of Egloskerry will never be the same again, after violence and dark acts occur in this work of fiction.

Enjoy scenes of Launceston’s busy cattle market and lively accounts of old characters seen and heard in the many inns and hostelries, including the Simcoe Arms at Egloskerry. For those who love Launceston, this book is promised to be a ‘evocative mix of fact and fiction’.

Through Minty Meadows will be launched at Launceston’s Tourist Information Centre on Thursday, November 24 from 11.30am, when Jane will be there to sign copies.