Book - The Hopkins Conundrum: A Tragic Comedy About Gerard Manley Hopkins....

... and Five Shipwrecked Nuns, by Simon Edge Paperback, 2017. Bought new, still like new. "Tim Cleverley inherits a failing pub in Wales, which he plans to rescue by enlisting an American pulp novelist to concoct a "mystery" about the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins who composed "The Wreck of the Deutschland" nearby. This blends the real stories of Hopkins and the shipwrecked nuns he wrote about with a contemporary love story, while casting a wry eye on the Dan Brown industry. Three strands woven into a highly original mix of commercial fiction, literary biography, and satirical commentary." "Three in one - you get a very sympathetic biography of the "difficult" poet Hopkins, a tragic shipwreck tale, and a cheerful bright romantic comedy that includes a brutal send up of the Dan Brown/ DaVinci phenomenon." As for me, it's been a couple of years since I read this, but as a fan of Hopkins' sprung rhythm and English wit in general, I remember finding this book hilarious. Makes me wish we weren't downsizing.