The Other Side of the Tide

Ruth Henderson lives in North Shields where the River Tyne meets the North Sea. This landscape has influenced many of her award-winning short stories.

Ruth was the first outright winner of the Biscuit Publishing Short Fiction Prize in 2001 with The Art of Living, which now reappears in this book. In 2004 she won the Newcastle Journal short story competition. She also writes for magazines and has had her work broadcast on BBC Radio 4, when Radio Times described her work as ”... at the cutting edge of modern fiction.”

The Other Side of the Tide and other tales is a novella and three short stories. The overall theme is of Tyneside’s physical and social landscape. The main story is also recorded on CD (abridged version) read by Ruth Henderson, with additional songs and music, written and performed by Celia Bryce.

There will always be children who slip through the net; social and school nets that fail to catch the lost children who live on the edges of society. The character Lydia is such a child. Fourteen-year-old Lydia struggles to rise above her soulless environment. Bullied and beaten, caring for her baby sister, adult before her time, Lydia creates a Hit List of revenge. And she visits a dream world of Tall Ships, a saviour returning, and mermaids. But is she really dreaming? Perhaps the mermaids – the “kelpies” – who wait for Lydia on the other side of the tide, know the answer.

The three short stories embrace and advance the theme, and they demonstrate Ruth Henderson’s talent as a creative writer.

"Ruth Henderson makes us look at some of those things we try to pretend do not happen in our world. . . and in so doing she weaves an absorbing and compelling story."

Denise Robertson

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