Cathy Marie Buchanan (Author of The Painted Girls)

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Cathy Marie Buchanan

欧宝娱乐 Author

Born

Niagara Falls, Canada

Website

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Genre

Historical Fiction, Literature & Fiction

Member Since

June 2009

URL

/cathymbuchanan

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New York Times bestseller and book club favourite Cathy Marie Buchanan is the author of three novels.

Her most recent, Daughter of Black Lake, was chosen as a Best Fiction for Fall by Entertainment Weekly and Parade magazine. Her previous novel, The Painted Girls, was a New York Times bestseller, a #1 national bestseller in Canada, and was named a best book of the year by NPR, Good Housekeeping and 欧宝娱乐. Her debut novel, The Day the Falls Stood Still, was a New York Times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection and a Canada Reads Top 40 Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade. Her work has been translated into nine languages. Buchanan holds a BSc (Honours Biochemistry) and an MBA from Western University, and recently became a ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Cathy Marie Buchanan My new novel Daughter of Black Lake is a transporting story of love and survival set in the misty boglands of pagan Britain. Right now I'm busy with p鈥辞谤别My new novel Daughter of Black Lake is a transporting story of love and survival set in the misty boglands of pagan Britain. Right now I'm busy with publicity for the launch (and working on the first draft of novel #4)(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Cathy Marie Buchanan In 2002, I opened the newspaper to see a photograph of an unnervingly well-preserved 2000-year-old human body. I could not lift my gaze from the gentl鈥辞谤别In 2002, I opened the newspaper to see a photograph of an unnervingly well-preserved 2000-year-old human body. I could not lift my gaze from the gentle face鈥攖he finely creased skin, the matted hair, the beard stubble that appeared as freshly grown as that of any man. The rope noose that brought death was still looped around the neck. (!) The accompanying article explained that the chemical nature of the peat bog, from which the body was unearthed, had enabled the flesh and skin to survive across millennia, providing clues to the world in which the man lived and died.

I would learn that Tollund Man, as the body was named, was not unique. Dozens of similarly unspoiled bodies had been recovered from the boglands of Northern Europe. Each was submerged in a watery grave thousands of years ago, but as time passes, rushes dying at a pool鈥檚 fringes begin to fill the water and the thickening stew of plant matter eventually transforms to peat. In recent years, the peat-preserved bodies were disentombed, usually by an unsuspecting peat cutter harvesting the peat for fuel.

I read about others, most particularly Lindow Man, a 2000-year-old bog body that was discovered in 1984 near Wilmslow, Cheshire in a peat bog formed by the once much larger Black Lake. Scientific study determined that before the body was deposited in the ancient lake, the head was bashed, the neck garroted, and the throat slit. The findings were in keeping with a sort of ritualistic overkilling that archaeologists had seen elsewhere and that they surmised was undertaken as an offering to earn the favour of multiple gods. Though human sacrifice of the age typically involved individuals considered of lesser value, further study of Lindow Man suggested that he was highborn, perhaps even a druid who went willingly to his death. Radiocarbon dating placed the sacrifice firmly within the same half century as the Isle of Anglesey druid massacre and Boudicca鈥檚 rebellion. The timing led archaeologists to hypothesize that the high stakes of the period had provoked the Britons and their druid leaders to break with tradition and to offer the gods a man deemed of exceptional worth.

As I read, I wondered about a society so firm in its beliefs that humans were sacrificed, possibly with consent, to guarantee the next year鈥檚 crops or to ensure success on the battlefield. What would it be like to believe鈥攂eyond a shadow of a doubt鈥攖hat the gods could be angered and then bribed to end the deluge of rain that would rot the wheat needed to survive? I pondered, too, the beauty and simplicity of a community that lived and breathed its daily and seasonal rituals, that was bound to the land in the most exceptional way. With the inferences about Lindow Man鈥檚 life and death as bedrock, I would write a story that explored living in the Iron Age鈥攖he close ties to the natural world, the pagan traditions and superstitions, the gods who dealt mercy or vengeance, the druid emissaries who interpreted divine will.(less)

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Cathy Marie Buchanan鈥檚 books

Average rating: 3.62 · 43,781 ratings · 4,585 reviews · 6 distinct works 鈥� Similar authors

	The Painted Girls 3.61 avg rating — 36,144 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Day the Falls Stood Still 3.71 avg rating — 5,792 ratings — published 2009 — 44 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Daughter of Black Lake 3.56 avg rating — 1,795 ratings — published 2020 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bois de Boulogne: A Short Story 3.86 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Painted Girls: A Novel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Day the Falls Stood Still[DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL][Paperback] by CathyMarieBuchanan, Cathy Marie Buchanan (欧宝娱乐 Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Daughter of Black Lake Trivia

Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Take the Daughter of Black Lake Trivia Quiz quiz. Just so you know, I scored 10/10, Phew! Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 06, 2020 06:47 • Tags: daughter-of-black-lake, iron-age, pagan-britain, quiz, trivia

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Cathy Marie Buchanan is currently reading

Daughter of Black Lake

by Cathy Marie Buchanan (欧宝娱乐 Author)

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Cathy Marie Buchanan said: " I'm not going to review my own novel, but here are some lovely words of support (and if you're sold you can ):

鈥淏uchanan has crafted an engrossing novel awash in historical atmosphere. From religious beliefs to culture I'm not going to review my own novel, but here are some lovely words of support (and if you're sold you can ):

鈥淏uchanan has crafted an engrossing novel awash in historical atmosphere. From religious beliefs to culture clashes to social stratification and the activities of daily life, Buchanan immerses readers in Roman Britain in this beautifully emotive tale of family, community, and love.鈥濃€擝ooklist, STARRED review

鈥淏uchanan captures in this immersive, supernatural latest the hardships of village life in first-century Britain . . . Buchanan鈥檚 descriptions of pagan rituals are fully realized and provide a haunting, engaging backdrop for the two teenage protagonists. Fans of thoughtful, inventive historical fiction will enjoy this transporting novel.鈥� 鈥擯ublishers Weekly

鈥淚n this evocative, meticulously researched novel, Cathy Marie Buchanan creates a world of dark magic and haunting mystery, brutality and beauty. History comes to life on every page.鈥濃€擟hristina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Train and The Exiles

"In a tale that feels at once classic and fresh, Buchanan brings her trademark grace and attention to detail to this luminous story of a mother and daughter in first-century Britannia. Daughter of Black Lake is a thoughtful, compelling novel, a true pleasure to read."鈥擳herese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and The Good Neighborhood

鈥淓vocative and deftly paced. . . transporting us to a time and place we have not lived, yet somehow recognize. . .A historical page turner that鈥檚 the perfect antidote for our uncertain times.鈥濃€擝runonia Barry, New York Times-bestselling author of The Lace Reader and The Fifth Petal

"Some books do more than allow us to imagine another place and time. Some, like Daughter of Black Lake, take us there . . . an enchanting read."鈥擥ail Anderson-Dargatz, Internationally bestselling author of The Cure for Death by Lightening and The Spawning Grounds

...more "

Aug 30, 2020 10:42AM · see review

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Cathy Marie Buchanan rated a book it was amazing Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 04, 2023 07:29AM · 2 likes · like · See a Problem? We鈥檇 love your help. Let us know what鈥檚 wrong with this preview of Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you鈥檙e looking for? Preview 鈥� Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cathy Marie Buchanan voted for Romantic Comedy as Best Romance in the Final Round of the 2023 欧宝娱乐 Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
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Quotes by Cathy Marie Buchanan (?)

“In those clouds I have seen aberrations-flecks of shimmering silver, orbs of color a shade more intense than their surroundings. I have seen them more than once, and I haves decided they are prayers, mine and everyone else's, too.”
― Cathy Marie Buchanan, The Day the Falls Stood Still

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“It is about being born downtrodden and staying that way. Hard work makes no difference, he is saying. My lot, the lots of those around me, were cast the moment we were born into the gutter to parents who never managed to step outside the gutter themselves.”
― Cathy Marie Buchanan, The Painted Girls

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“Willfulness, such as yours, is exactly what a girl needs to raise herself up to do something useful with her life.”
― Cathy Marie Buchanan, The Painted Girls

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Polls

April BoTM Nominations: Sibling Relationships 1st poll~

Top 5 books will move onto the second poll!

The Silent Sister

by Diane Chamberlain

16 votes, 25.0%

The Painted Girls

by Cathy Marie Buchanan

12 votes, 18.8%

The Ice Twins

by S.K. Tremayne

9 votes, 14.1%

Between Sisters

by Kristin Hannah

6 votes, 9.4%

The Second Sister

by Marie Bostwick

5 votes, 7.8%

In the Time of the Butterflies

by Julia Alvarez

4 votes, 6.3%

Two Brothers

by Ben Elton

4 votes, 6.3%

The Good Sister

by Drusilla Campbell

3 votes, 4.7%

Into the Forest

by Jean Hegland

3 votes, 4.7%

Sisters of Heart and Snow

by Margaret Dilloway

2 votes, 3.1%

64 total votes

1 comment

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