'Brave Women'. Rick Stroud remembers his brave daughter Nell at The Oldie Literary Lunch on 9th April 2024 and told us why his latest books mean so much to him

'There is a sort-of link between my two books', Rick Stroud told The Oldie audience today, 'I have had an enormous amount of satisfaction trying to write about very, very brave women'. Rick's latest book 'I'm Not Afraid of Looking Into The Rifles' was sold to Publisher, Simon & Schuster on what would have been his late daughter Nell's 47th birthday (in 2020). 'There is a link to (my books), and that is Lonely Courage is dedicated to my daughter Nell who died of cancer, she was a very, very brave woman and ran a circus, and I'm Not Afraid Of Looking Into The Rifles was sold to publisher Simon Schulster by a sad coincidence on what would have been her 47th birthday, but by then she left us'. Rick had tears in his eyes. He ended his speech with the poem 'The Life That I Have' by Leo Marks. The Oldie Lunch was sponsored by Noble Caledonia River Cruises. Photos by Neil Spence Photography. Audio by Tom Assheton. Held at The National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, London.