‘ The Girl On The Wall’
Jean Baggott talked about her new book
in March at The Lord Leycester’s Hospital
This was an amazing evening with a wonderful atmosphere. In a nutshell ‘The Girl On The Wall’ is an incredible and moving life story told through the stitches of a tapestry hand-sewn by Jean, who comes from Warwick. The tapestry was on display during the evening and after mingling with the sizeable audience of friends and guests, Jean treated us to a few words about how she came to write the book which has received amazing national coverage.
Although her life was never destined to be a famous one nevertheless it is to our eyes a remarkable one, mapped out as it was growing up in the West Midlands and experiencing deprivations of a childhood during the Second World War.
Almost 60 years later, with her children grown up and dealing with the loss of the love of her life, Jean began the education denied to her as a girl and started a degree in history at the University of Warwick. Inspired by this new freedom, she then began to stitch a tapestry which looked back at her life and the changing world around her. It took her 16 months to complete and measures 112cm x 41cm.
The tapestry consists of over 70 intersecting circles, each telling some aspect of her life. Some represent extraordinary events such as the moon landings or world historical events like the Cuban Missile Crisis. Some circles comment on famous people and places, others about the music she likes and the games she played with her brothers as a child.
Each chapter of the book then features a circle from the tapestry and Jean’s accompanying narrative, exploring the circle and the memories it evokes. Jean signed copies of the book on the night and we still have a few available. Do come and have a browse if you have not seen it before as the book is beautifully produced with a pull-out replica of the tapestry itself with accompanying plan.
We are very grateful to one of our favourite publishers Icon for supporting the event so splendidly and to Colonel Lesinski Master of the Hospital for hosting the evening.
