About

Barbara Lamplugh was born and grew up in the suburbs of London. After gaining a degree in Language and English from York University, she trained as a librarian and worked in public libraries in Shropshire before the travel bug took hold, followed by the writing bug (see Author page).

In the meantime, her day jobs included working as a librarian, as a project officer for Age Concern (inspiration for one of her earlier novels), running a Volunteer Bureau and, briefly, recording milk yields on Shropshire farms. She also found time to train as a counsellor and use her skills with two local charities, and to write occasional articles for magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian.

In 1999, with her two children now independent, she moved to Granada, Spain, where she found work as an English teacher, an editor and translator and a features writer for the magazine Living Spain, the job of her dreams. At the same time, she continued to write fiction. As she gradually got under the skin of her adopted city and country, she began to choose Spanish settings for her novels. Secrets of the Pomegranate, published in 2015, was set in Granada. The Red Gene, which came out in April 2019, is set in various locations in both Spain and England.

Besides writing, she enjoys cycling, walking, dancing, jazz and, of course, reading. Although happily settled in Granada, she makes regular visits to the UK to spend time with her children and grandchildren.

 

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16 thoughts on “About”

  1. That all sounds absolutely wonderful Barbara , now I know the history which I hadn’t realised . As said the fruits of living in Granada are harvesting . I never forget when you told me you didn’t need a TV as gazing at the stars with a glass of wine on the sun roof was , well , better . . . .

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  4. Hi Barbara – I sought you out to tell you what a great video the PN junction vid was. And what a GREAT voice you have for such instruction! Thanks for being a part of that.

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    1. Hello Denise, glad you liked my post. ‘Trans-Siberia by Rail’ is long out of print but second-hand copies are still around. Several are listed on Amazon. Or you could try Abe Books. I made the journey in 1975. It would be very different now!

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      1. have just returned from japan skiing 3 hrs ago. putting things away and your book KBT found given to me11yrs ago—great memories come back. regards ian lovett

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  6. Thanks for your comment, Ian. I’m always amazed when I hear that this book, published in 1976, is still around and being read. How the world has changed. I feel sad, thinking of the people I met, especially in Afghanistan, and of what has happened in some of the countries I travelled through.

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  7. Hi Barbara!

    I am the owner of AlteArte, a bar/art gallery in Altea, Spain (www.facebook.com/AlteArte). We have a book club, and we have chosen Secrets of the Pomegranate as our book for February. We will be meeting on Sunday, March 5th at 7:00 to discuss the book. Is there any way that you could join us via skype or in person? Would love to meet you and have you in attendance! My email is sara328@hotmail.com

    I look forward to hearing from you!
    Sara

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    1. Thank you so much, Lance. I had no idea about the website. I’m still in touch with one of my travel companions (in Australia). Maybe I can find some more! The book is long out-of-print but there are a few second-hand copies still floating around.

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      1. Hi Barbara. I have just seen your reply! I am still getting used to WordPress and its quirks. I did not realise your reply would appear here rather than in my own email Inbox. I read your book before going on my own EO Asia trip from Kathmandu in 1979 and still have it. Do you recall who your driver was? Regards.

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  9. Hello Barbara,
    May I ask where you said: “Women would scour the hillsides for herbs and grasses. Thistles, acorns, orange and lemon rinds – anything remotely edible – served as food. “After the Civil War: Spain’s Hungry Years.” I would like to use this quote in a dissertation if I may.
    Elaine

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  10. Dear Barbara, thanking the Universe leading me to you and your writings!!! I’ve been asking questions this year, contemplating the emotion of wars and displacements of families… healing my collective family past. My father was one of those children on the beach in France, probably 1939? He is from Asturias, and fled Spain with his siblings and aunt during the Spanish Civil War. During his life he did not know the exact location nor the date. But they arrived by boat from Bilbao. I imagine a beach and what it might have offered to those children. He spoke of the feeling of sand… maybe it’s cause he was from the mountains? Unfortunate for me to have a hightend urge to find more family history, now when most of his generation has passed. Could it be my age and that the clock is ticking? Today it was with great enthusiasm Mr Google took me to your article :”The beaches of Argelès-sur-Mer: from internment camp to holiday resort”. Hallelujah! The real places you mention and their museum now become leads.
    Gracias querida Barbara 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much for contacting me, Lucy. Me alegro que Google te ha llevado a mi página! I find these stories of the Spanish refugees so interesting and moving. For you, of course, it is personal so must be even more emotional. I think when we’re young we don’t take much interest in our parents’ stories and it’s only as we get older that we suddenly realise what we’ve missed. My parents were also refugees, though not from Spain (have a look at my blog post about my grandmother’s life: ‘Fiction or Biography?’). Were your parents among those who arrived in Southampton from Bilbao? Do you live in England? I have a friend who grew up in France; her parents fled from Spain during/after the Civil War. Good luck in your search for more information about your family history.

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