Helen Bain 'The Daffodil Days' (published 12 March 2026)

Event information

In the early 1960s, in a small Devon town, the church bells ring. The people of North Tawton go about their days, catching glimpses of one another’s lives. New to the town with their small daughter, a young couple have escaped London for a quieter existence in the thatched house beside the church, Court Green. The life they intend to build here will be a good and happy one.

‘The Daffodil Days’ depicts a pivotal year in the marriage of 20th-century literature’s most infamous couple, witnessed by the people they lived among. It is a kaleidoscopic portrait of this enigmatic pair, refracted through the rich inner lives of a rural community caught – if only for a moment – in their light.

Helen Bain works as a sub editor at the Financial Times and holds two MA degrees from Birkbeck University in creative writing and modern/contemporary literature. She lives in Sussex but has spent much time in North Tawton, bell-ringing and beekeeping as part of her research. ‘The Daffodil Days’ is her first novel.
’Bain has managed to create something strikingly fresh: a kaleidoscopic portrait that freezes time yet feels timeless’ The Bookseller

This 60 minute event will include a short Q&A with the audience.

High quality Bar/food/hot drinks/accom available at The Falcon Hotel