coat with long sleeves

Retired entrepreneur Geoff Duck’s debut novel explores the retreat of nature in the deep countryside of North Devon, the unravelling of traditional farming society and the lingering influence of pagan folklore in the rural imagination. With its mysterious sacred groves and ancient farmhouses, macabre carvings of green men in medieval churches and dark wooded valleys, the scene is set for a story of psychological intrigue and suspense

Geoff Duck author of Coat with Long Sleeves — Meet Geoff

Welcome to my website.
It’s going to tell you a little about me and my debut novel ‘Coat with Long Sleeves’, and when I get some reviews, it’ll tell you what other people think of it, too.
It’s not an ordinary book. It doesn’t fit easily into a convenient genre. It addresses some challenging ideas and it’s a bit chunky at five hundred pages, but it is easy to read.
If you’ve already read it, I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven’t, take a look at the site and see if it whets your appetite.

Find out More

Under the green woods
I walk alone.
Once all the fields were mine.
And the trees were mine.
The hills,
The spired coppices,
The straight drills.

Now I must share them-
With tractor-stink,
With harvest-slasher-
But I still find ways
To slip the seeds back
Into the furrow,
To watch them grow-
Remembered,
Or forgot.

And still I am the green man
And still I walk the fields,
And though the land seems empty
It is filled with life,
And though I am forgotten
I still remember,
And I still observe.

— JOHN MATTHEWS

What readers say

Exciting folk horror Novel

The novel intertwines fact and fiction with rich descriptions of the North Devon landscape, vernacular architecture and history of pagan symbolism, which gives the reader a sense of the spirit of the place, and mysteries which might lie beneath the surface. I would recommend to anyone who likes The Wickerman, or similar folk horror stories.
— Lawrence D
A brilliant read!

This is one of the best books I have read in some time. I like my reading to be well written and attached to the essence of the countrysite. This book does it in spades. Truly memorable.
— Ricky T
The writer makes you care

Fascinating look at mental breakdown with pagan magic thrown in. Very dark in places. Well written, the writer makes you care about a protagonist who is thoroughly nasty at times.
— Somerset Loves to Read: Goodreads