Old Aylesburian Tim Owen (Ridley '78) has released his first novel, The Cage Full of Birds, a work rooted deeply in his lifelong love of History and profoundly shaped by one of Aylesbury Grammar School’s most admired former teachers, Arthur Taylor.

History runs strongly through the Owen family. All three brothers; Tim, Jeremy and Andrew, studied the subject at A Level, and to mark this shared passion, their mother, Valerie Owen, sponsored the AGS Owen Prize for History, now proudly in its 40th year.

To continue this family tradition, Tim has written the first novel in what will become a four-part series, and credits the inspiration squarely to his AGS History teacher, the much revered Arthur Taylor.

“It was Mr Taylor’s O and A-Level lessons that really opened my eyes to the joy of History,” Tim recalls. “He made the Great Reform Act an event of compelling importance and the Corn Laws of such outrageous impertinence that I was willing to take to the streets to have them scoured from the legislature.”

Years later, when Tim was contemplating a mid-life career change, it was during an afternoon of tea and biscuits at Mr Taylor’s home in Monks Risborough that the venerable teacher persuaded him to consider teaching.

“It was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” Tim reflects. “What followed were many years of teaching medieval history to ten and eleven year olds at Cothill House, an Oxfordshire prep school.”

Tim adds that he remains “most grateful” to Arthur Taylor, explaining that many things in his life, including three decades of conducting school tours of the Somme Battlefield, can be traced back to that same remarkable meeting. Though this element of his story did not make it into the book’s formal press release, Tim notes it as yet another legacy of Taylor’s influence.

Now retired, Tim has channelled his passion for medieval history into fiction. The Cage Full of Birds is the first of four novels in the Gilles of Bec series, described by Tim as an adult version of the lessons he once taught.

The novel is based on real events. It follows Gilles, a young monk sent in 1138 by the great Benedictine abbey of Bec in Normandy to its estate of Stivetun in Berchescire. His charge seemed straightforward: manage the abbey’s lands and minister to the souls of its peasant tenants. But England was in political and religious turmoil, and Gilles soon found himself drawn into a web of dilemmas that would test both his ingenuity and his faith.

Tim explains:

“He had to contend with the self-serving Bishops of Wyncestre and Sarum; Alvric, the obdurate reeve of the village; and the seductive Maud of Walingeford. And then there was the guileful Peter of Waneting, his old mentor from Bec, who was forever shifting shape.”

Gilles’ pursuit of justice thrust him into the heart of calamitous events, forcing decisions that would determine the fate of many. The story is one of real people who lived through The Anarchy, the civil war that gripped 12th-century England. A tale of self-discovery, the triumph of hope over doubt, and ultimately, good over evil.

The launch of The Cage Full of Birds took place in a 17th-century barn built on the land once farmed by the historical Gilles himself. The event raised funds for the restoration of St Michael’s Church, the very church in which Gilles served as priest.

With Christmas approaching, the novel offers a compelling gift idea. The Cage Full of Birds is available in paperback and e-book form through Tim’s website: www.tdowen.co.uk, where readers can also enjoy a much-acclaimed film trailer.

A wonderful achievement from an Old Aylesburian, and a tribute to the lasting influence of a great AGS teacher.