I Stopped Time

Book excerpt: Wouldn't you feel cheated if the woman you'd imagined was the villain of your childhood turned out to be someone rather extraordinary? Turn of the century Brighton. A spark is ignited when wide-eyed Lottie Pye enters Mr Parker's photographic studio and discovers the new medium that will shape her life ... 2009: Disgraced politician Sir James Hastings is resigned to living out his retirement in a secluded Surrey village. He is unmoved when he learns the mother who abandoned him as a baby has died at the age of 108: he presumed she had died many years ago. Brought up by his father, a charismatic war-hero turned racing-driver, young James, torn between self-blame and longing, eventually dismissed her as the 'villain' of his childhood. But, when he inherits her life's work - a photography collection spanning over six decades - he is forced to confront his past. Assisted by student Jenny Jones, who has recently lost her own mother to cancer, Sir James is persuaded to look at the photographs as if he is seeing through his mother's eyes. The camera reveals an extraordinary tale of courage and sacrifice, and James confronts the realisation that his version of the past is not even half the story.