I was recently fascinated by an article in the London Times about a woman called Georgiana Houghton who drew spirit drawings in which she imagined she was communicating with the dead. 

I'm a hybrid of logical scientist/doctor, writer and artist. So there might be obvious vibes for me here. So I examined what little I could gleam of her art. One of her paintings, "Glory be to God", is fairly extraordinary. It could be seen, some critics actually do, as the forerunner of abstract art. Others might see it as closer to 1960s - beloved time of my youth - psychedelia. Don't knock it or remind me. I'm already nostalgic.

I am looking now at a sepia snapshot of the good lady. I've warmed to her. I'd have loved the opportunity of a discussion, over a glass of wine, with her.

Extrapolating from the reports at the time, I think she would have told me, without artifice, that she was "channeling guides from the spirit realm."

Is that, however differently we fantasy writers express it, not what we all attempt to achieve?

An art connoisseur called Wright at the Courtauld Gallery in London, commented on Houghton's art, that he was fascinated. "You don't associate this with Victorian culture. It just seemed way out of time."

I have a book, published about 1900, on Women in Art, which I have offered as a present to my daughter, and further to my grand-daughter, in the hope it will inspire them.

Maybe I should introduce them to the extraordinary Georgiana Houghton?

The pic at the top is an artwork by my friend, Endy Roder, illustrating the theme of my book, Sweet Summer.